The 2019 and 2021 top picks have had sluggish starts this season after signing long-term extensions
In looking for an explanation why players do not play up to expectations, we sometimes forget that athletes are human beings.
Two key members of the Buffalo Sabres core group that were being relied on to help the club break their 13-year playoff drought were center Dylan Cozens and defensemen Owen Power. The 23-year-old Cozens scored a career-high 68 points (31 goals, 37 assists) last season and signed a seven-year, $49.7 million contract last February. This season, through 47 games, the Yukon Territory native has just 10 goals.
Power was a Calder Trophy finalist after scoring 35 points (4 goals, 31 assists) and playing solid defensively in his rookie season, which earned him a seven-year, $58.45 million extension just prior to the start of the season. In his sophomore season, the 21-year-old has appeared unsettled at times and has struggled to find a level of consistency.
"You have such a good season like Owen did last year, and you sometimes get ahead of yourself, where you get out of the moment." Sabres head coach Don Granato said on Friday.
Cozens admitted putting pressure on himself early in the season based on how much he was now making, and when Sabres head coach Don Granato was asked if that might be a factor as to why both youngsters struggled early on.
"Owen didn't sign till training camp. You think that wasn't on his mind during camp, (it is) a major life-changing life-altering thing, but players all over the league are dealing with this. You've got to learn how to deal with it better than the next guy." Granato said. "This is a new level. The moment Rasmus Dahlin came in this league, he was compared to everybody else that's not even in Buffalo who we just played against.... every night. And that's a lot to take on for young guys and sort out to be able to learn how to dial back in."
Granato indicated that he thought both players have settled in and are playing better after a rough first half, which will be important if the Sabres want to get back on track and build confidence in a season where not much has gone right.
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