Dylan Cozens

Dylan Cozens (born February 9, 2001), nicknamed the "Workhorse from Whitehorse", is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Cozens was born on February 9, 2001, in Whitehorse, Yukon, to Mike Cozens and Sue Bogle.

When he was three years old, Cozens' father built a backyard ice rink on which he learned how to skate and later play ice hockey.

Because there were limited hockey players in Whitehorse, Cozens often played against older opponents; when he was 12, he broke his leg after being boarded by an adult man in a house league game.

The incident convinced Cozens and his family to find teams within his age group outside of Whitehorse, and at the age of 14, Cozens moved to British Columbia to develop his skills at the Delta Hockey Academy.

During Delta's 2015–16 season, Cozens scored 19 goals and 31 points in 25 regular season games, as well as five goals and six points in three postseason games.

In January, Cozens participated in the 2016 John Reid Memorial Bantam Tournament with the Delta team.

He led all tournament players with nine goals and 15 points in six games and was named to the Reid Division All-Star Team.

Outside of Delta, Cozens also spent time with the Prince George Cariboo Cougars of the BC Hockey Major Midget League to build his strength and skills in the minor ice hockey circuit.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL) selected Cozens in the first round, 19th overall, of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

It was the first time that a Yukon-born player had been selected in the first round of the WHL draft.

He signed with the team that May, but because he was below the WHL's age minimum for the upcoming 2016–17 season, he played for the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, British Columbia, instead.

He scored his first junior ice hockey goal in his WHL debut, a 5–3 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on November 13, 2016.

After three games, he returned to Yale, where his 57 points (27 goals and 30 assists) in 30 games were tied for the CSSHL Midget Prep league lead.

Cozens added another two goals and four points in three CSSHL playoff games, and once the Yale season ended, he rejoined Lethbridge for the WHL postseason.

There, he had three goals and eight points in 12 playoff games before the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Regina Pats in the Eastern Conference Championship series.

Cozens returned to the Hurricanes for a full rookie season in 2017–18.

After recording 13 points in as many games, including a five-game point streak and a three-point game against the Medicine Hat Tigers, he was named the WHL Rookie of the Month for October 2017.

Cozens recorded his first WHL hat-trick on January 13, leading Lethbridge to a 5–2 victory over the Kootenay Ice.

That performance, combined with three goals and six points in a two-game series against the Red Deer Rebels, earned Cozens WHL Player of the Week honours for the week ending January 14.

In his first full season of junior ice hockey, Cozens posted 22 goals and 53 points in 57 regular-season games, and he received the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the top rookie in the WHL.

The Hurricanes faced the Rebels in the first round of 2018 WHL playoffs, and Cozens recorded his first postseason hat-trick in the second game of the series.

Although the Hurricanes lost to the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series, Cozens was named the WHL Rookie of the Month for April 2018 after recording seven goals and 13 points in 16 playoff games.

Cozens was a finalist for the CHL Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season, a title that ultimately went to Alexis Lafrenière of the Rimouski Océanic.

At the start of the 2018–19 season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Cozens, who had five goals and ten points in four games, an "A"-level prospect.

His 14 points in 10 games led Lethbridge in scoring, and Cozens was one of three Lethbridge players to represent Team WHL at the 2018 CHL Canada/Russia Series.

On November 23, Cozens recorded the first six-point game of his junior hockey career, scoring a hat-trick and recording an additional three assists in Lethbridge's 8–4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Sabres selected him seventh overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

He is the first player from Yukon to be a first-round Western Hockey League (WHL) draft pick, a first-round NHL draft pick, and a member of the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team.

Born and raised in Whitehorse, Cozens began ice skating on a backyard rink when he was three years old.

He often played against older opponents due to the limited pool of ice hockey players in his hometown, and after being injured by an adult player in a house league game, Cozens decided to move to British Columbia and play within his age group.

After attending the Delta Hockey Academy, he was taken by the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes.

After posting 22 goals and 53 points in his rookie junior ice hockey season, he received the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for the top first-year WHL player.

He followed this performance with 84 points in 68 games the next season, and 85 points in 51 games before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2019–20 WHL season early.

In his final WHL season, Cozens was a First Team All-Star and the runner-up for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy.

Cozens joined the Sabres for the season, recording a point in his NHL debut.

He battled several setbacks during his rookie season, including time in COVID-19 protocols and two upper-body injuries.

The following season, Cozens, who had been playing on the wing as a rookie, moved back to his natural centre position to occupy a space abdicated by Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel.

In January, Cozens was appointed the captain of Team Cherry at the 2019 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Cozens finished his sophomore junior hockey season with 34 goals and 84 points in 68 regular-season games, and the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked him the No. 5 prospect among all North American skaters.