Nothing, Not One Thing, Will Ever Distract Owen Power

Owen Power, last year's first overall draft pick, will make his NHL debut Tuesday night when the Buffalo Sabres take on his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. In preparation, the Sabres posted a Q&A video for fans to "get to know" him. Having watched it several times, I feel confident Power has what it takes to win a million Norris Trophies.

You are thinking, maybe, that this guy makes Connor McDavid look like personified charisma. How does Power style his hair? "Shower, comb it back and then just let it kinda dry out on its own." What is his hockey nickname? "Uh, I think a lot of guys probably call me OP." What does he like to listen to? "I normally don't listen to any music." Does he prefer blue cheese or ranch? "Neither, I—just barbecue sauce." My personal favorite: Asked for a non-hockey athlete he likes, Power takes a very long pause and finally chooses Michael Jordan, who retired from basketball about five months after Power was born. "I didn't really get to see him play much," Power says. "I think it's just more so from what I've heard about him." He seems equally hip in this later exchange:

Yes! Yes!! This is the kind of single-minded fellow you want clearing out pucks from the front of your net when the game is on the line. A professional athlete racking his brain for the name of one other professional athlete and one television show is doing something right. No thoughts of songs, other sports, hair, condiments, or pop culture will pull Owen Power's focus from where it needs to be: bailing out Casey Fitzgerald. A secondhand story about the '96 Bulls might get through to him on occasion, but you could do worse than that as distractions go. Sabres fans, congratulations on drafting someone whose life "off the ice" is, as it should be, nothing at all. What a hockey lad! What a star! You have yourselves a keeper.