Prodigious Power dazzling veteran Canadian men's hockey contingent ahead of Olympics

Rookies in elite-level hockey often discover their harshest critics in their own dressing room — perhaps even sitting right next to them on the bench.

But Owen Power need not fear such an initiation. In fact, the 19-year-old defenceman is already dazzling the veterans at a pre-Olympic training camp for the Canadian men's hockey team in Davos, Switzerland.

A first-overall draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Power is arguably the best hockey player on the planet outside the National Hockey League — and his Olympic teammates recognize a budding superstar when they see one.

"I'm very impressed," says defenceman Mark Barberio, who logged parts of eight NHL seasons before joining Kazan Ak-Bars of the Kontinental Hockey League. "He's big man for his age, a big body. It looks like he's already got the NHL size on him. And he's an extremely smooth player, who skates very well and he's very efficient on his edges.

"I'm excited to see him in game action."

WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo breaks down Canada's Olympic men's hockey roster:

Barberio, 31, is hardly the only one feeling excited. After only a couple of practices, eight-year NHL veteran Jason Demers says Power reminds him of Victor Hedman, the Tampa Bay Lightning superstar who has won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That's quite the comparison for a young man who was murmuring Monday about the difficulty of virtually attending his University of Michigan classes, while in Switzerland, due to the six-hour time difference.

With the NHL not participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympics — due to the rash of game cancellations caused by the COVID-19 virus — the Canadian men's hockey team is composed of players at different stages of their hockey journey. The majority — including Barberio, Demers, and former Montreal Canadiens forward David Desharnais — are on the back end of their careers playing professionally overseas.

At 37, Eric Staal is the granddaddy of the bunch, hoping for one last NHL opportunity after the Olympics.

And then there's Power, the six-foot-six, 214-pound blueliner who slows the game down like Alex Pietrangelo and munches minutes like Edmonton Oilers rearguard Darnell Nurse.

"I'm sure he could play in the NHL right now easily and Buffalo would have won another 10 to 15 games," Demers says. "I'm excited to potentially play with him, or just play on the same defensive unit, and try to see if I can lend any kind of advice to him.

"But I mean, he's the first-overall pick for a reason."

Given the popularity of the world junior hockey championships in this country, you can bet many diehard Canadian hockey fans will tune into the tournament to see how Power fares on the Olympic stage.