Olen Zellweger
#8 · Defence · Buffalo Sabres
Born Sep 10, 2003 in Calgary, Alberta, CAN (age 23) · 5'10", 193 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 34th overall in 2021 by ANA (round 2)
Compare with a similar player
The defencemen closest to him in points in 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.
Kaedan Korczak
VGK ·
9 P in 26 GP
Josh Mahura
FLA ·
9 P in 30 GP
Declan Chisholm
MIN ·
9 P in 31 GP
Zac Jones
NYR ·
9 P in 31 GP
Jacob MacDonald
SJS ·
9 P in 34 GP
Career
Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.
Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ANA | 26 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -6 | 4 | 34 | 14 | 0.35 | $844K |
| 2024-25 | ANA | 62 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 20 | 130 | 37 | 0.32 | $844K |
| 2025-26 | ANA | 76 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 4 | 34 | 119 | 33 | 0.29 | $844K |
| 2026-27 | BUF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | $3.1M |
| 4 seasons | Career | 168 | 16 | 35 | 51 | -2 | 60 | 284 | 85 | 0.30 |
Playoffs
Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | ANA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.67 |
| 1 season | Playoffs | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.67 |
2023-24 season totals
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Shooting % | Avg TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -6 | 4 | 34 | 14 | 0.35 | 5.9 | 19:17 |
Contract
His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 718 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.
The contract
Signed by the Anaheim Ducks on Aug 13, 2021, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.8M, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2025-26, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.
| Season | Cap hit | Base salary | Signing bonus | Performance bonuses | Paid in all | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $844K | $775K | $93K | $83K | $868K | |
| 2024-25 | $844K | $833K | $0 | $833K | ||
| 2025-26 | $844K | $833K | $0 | $833K |
Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.
Contracts he has signed
| Signed | Signed by | Kind | Seasons | Years | In all | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2026 | Buffalo Sabres | New contract | 2026-27 to 2028-29 | 3 | $9.3M | $3.1M |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Anaheim Ducks | Entry-level | 2023-24 to 2025-26 signed for 2021-22, slid | 3 | $2.8M | $844K |
Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2023-24 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.
2023-24 analytics
Rating
Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 252 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.
The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.
On the ice
What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean
These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.
Who he played with
| Defence pair | GP | Time | CF% | xGF% | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Fowler · Olen Zellweger | 25 | 334:44 | 46.2 | 41.3 | 8-17 |
| Urho Vaakanainen · Olen Zellweger | 8 | 20:47 | 48.8 | 36.5 | 1-0 |
| Olen Zellweger · Pavel Mintyukov | 10 | 13:22 | 57.1 | 77.0 | 1-1 |
| Robert Hagg · Olen Zellweger | 1 | 11:12 | 38.1 | 33.8 | 0-0 |
The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.
Chances and finishing
Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.
Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 250 who played 300 minutes or more this season.
His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.
Where he shot from
Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.
Game log
| Date | Opponent | Result | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 2024 | @ VGK | W 4-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19:44 |
| Apr 13, 2024 | @ LAK | L 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22:39 |
| Apr 12, 2024 | vs CGY | L 3-6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21:14 |
| Apr 9, 2024 | vs LAK | W 3-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:00 |
| Apr 7, 2024 | vs STL | L 5-6 (SO) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 24:46 |
| Apr 5, 2024 | vs SEA | L 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18:51 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | @ CGY | W 5-3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18:19 |
| Mar 31, 2024 | @ VAN | L 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20:45 |
| Mar 30, 2024 | @ EDM | L 1-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:37 |
| Mar 26, 2024 | @ SEA | L 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17:41 |
| Mar 24, 2024 | vs TBL | L 2-3 (OT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16:49 |
| Mar 21, 2024 | vs CHI | W 4-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21:22 |
| Mar 19, 2024 | vs MIN | L 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16:12 |
| Mar 17, 2024 | @ STL | L 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20:09 |
| Mar 15, 2024 | @ WPG | L 0-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17:58 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | @ MIN | L 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23:30 |
| Mar 12, 2024 | @ CHI | L 2-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23:38 |
| Mar 10, 2024 | vs NYI | L 1-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22:48 |
| Mar 8, 2024 | vs DAL | L 2-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19:37 |
| Mar 6, 2024 | vs OTT | W 2-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16:54 |
| Mar 3, 2024 | vs VAN | L 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:06 |
| Mar 1, 2024 | vs NJD | W 4-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17:27 |
| Jan 31, 2024 | vs SJS | W 3-2 (OT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19:49 |
| Jan 27, 2024 | @ MIN | W 3-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17:54 |
| Jan 25, 2024 | @ DAL | L 3-4 (OT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13:53 |
| Jan 23, 2024 | vs BUF | W 4-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13:42 |