Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – For two days, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato and general manager Kevyn Adams met with their players, reviewing this past season and going over what they need to do to get better.
Dylan Cozens played in his first 82-game NHL schedule this year. In his rookie season last year, the 2019 first-round pick played 41 games.
During his draft season, Cozens played 68 games in Western Hockey League with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. However, playing a full season in the NHL is a whole different ball game than juniors.
“It was definitely a lot different than last year. It was kind of like a rookie year all over again," the 21-year-old admitted during his end-of-season press conference on Sunday. "It was a big learning experience just with all the travel and all the games, and how quickly it comes at you. It was a lot to learn, and a lot that I’ll take in and make improvements over the summer.
“I think my body held up pretty well. Playing in the WHL, there’s some crazy road trips that we had, so my body was a little bit prepped for it. But there’s times when you’re tired and not feeling quite 100%, and it’s just knowing when to simplify and not try to do too much when you’re feeling that way.”
Cozens spent all season supporting his teammates both on and off the ice. He says it just comes naturally to him.
“The best thing was just hanging out with the team, and getting to really know your teammates and become close friends with them," Cozens said. "I think there were a lot of great relationships built this year within this team.”
Cozens ended up with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points this season, but only scored one goal in his last 29 games. Cozens was getting chances, and he believes those chances will turn into goals.
“I was getting a lot of chances in the second half, they just weren’t quite finding the back of the net for me," he said. "As frustrating as it was, I tried to focus on the positive things. I think I really tried to step up my defensive game and reliability, because as a young guy, I want to be reliable, trusted in the defensive zone and being able to go out there in a close game with a couple of minutes left. That’s a positive I take from the second half.”
Cozens scored 72 goals in his last 119 games of junior hockey. He says it’ll be more difficult to get there now.
“The goalies are just that much better," Cozens admitted. "A big thing for me that I’m going to work on a lot is getting the shots through the defensemen and away from their stick, and get it off as quick as possible, so the goalie has less time to react.
“I do think my shot is hard enough to beat goalies in the NHL. It’s just changing the angle and getting that quickness.”
Cozens is one of the players this team is building around, and he wants nothing more.
“It means a lot to me," Cozens said. "I love this city, I love the organization, I love this team, I love everyone here. I want to be here for a very long time, and be viewed as one of the core guys. I want to do very special things here, and we’re all going to do it together.”
In their meeting with Granato, the players get to talk about what needs to be done to be better next season.
“A big thing is not exposing the puck as much, keeping it away from the defenders and showing the defenders my other options instead of just trying to go 1-on-1 and just being deceptive in that sense,” Cozens said.
The other thing that Cozens needs work at is faceoffs. He only won 45.5% of his draws this season, and he's aware that will be a big area of focus this offseason.
"I want to get really good at faceoffs, and I think as the year went on, I got better and better. But it’s still not enough," Cozens said. "I want to be a really good faceoff guy, so that was a big message.”
Every time the Sabres got a larger crowd this season, they played well and won. It was very obvious they feed off the energy, and Cozens confirmed it.
“That was the big thing that we emphasized on the start of the year, is just earning it," he said. "We didn’t have a sold out building for most of the year, but that’s something we’re going to earn. We want people to come here and want to watch us play.
“Every time it was a full house, the energy in the building was incredible. It really gives us that extra gear, and we do feed off it. They might underestimate how much momentum it gives us, but when they’re cheering like that, it really gives us that extra boost. We just want it to be like that every night.”
Owen Power added that last Friday was one of, if not, the best crowds he’s ever played in front of.
None of the guys are making wild predictions for the future, but there’s one thing that’s clear - Cozens doesn’t want to be doing exit interviews at the end of the regular season.
“We want to start again, and it sucks that we’re done now," Cozens said. "There’s still other teams playing, and that’s going to be motivation for us to make sure that we’re still playing at this time. So next year, that’s our goal. It’s got to be our goal next year, and every single year after that.”
Cozens said he’s working to be a player that is on the ice in all situations, including penalty killing. His average ice-time this season was 15:54.
Some of the Sabres will be playing in the World Championship in Finland later this month. Henri Jokiharju will be playing for the hosts, while Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Asplund will be the archrivals with Sweden.
Tage Thompson has been invited to play for Team USA, but hasn’t decided yet.
Canada talked to Owen Power, but they mutually decided to say no.
