On Monday, Hockey Canada announced Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens will play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Finland.
The IIHF World Championship begins on May 13th, and Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens will be joining Team Canada for the event. Cozens is one of five confirmed Sabres for the event following Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Asplund (Sweden), John Hayden (USA), and Henri Jokiharju (Finland).
Cozens is no stranger to international hockey. The Workhorse from Whitehorse has experience playing in the World Junior Championship in 2020 and 2021. He even received All-Star Team Honors following his 2021 appearance.
Dylan Cozens among five Buffalo Sabres confirmed to play in the 2022 IIHF World Championship
The center had an outstanding first half of the 2021-22 season for the Buffalo Sabres points-wise and finished the year with 38 points in 79 games, scoring 13 goals and providing 25 assists. Cozens was unhappy with his play, but much of his second half production did not come on the stat sheet.
He made improvements in specific categories last season, shooting a career-best 8.1 percent while logging 15:54 of ice time. He also set a career high in hits, blocks, and takeaways, while his giveaways per game decreased from 0.48 to just 0.379.
Cozens also excelled in face-offs this season, winning 45.6 percent of them. Not the greatest number, but since the Sabres struggled as a whole in the category, Cozens was one of their most reliable when it came to winning the face-off battle.
Next season, Cozens figures to compete for a spot on the second line, possibly alongside either Alex Tuch or Victor Olofsson (if he re-signs). There is also an outside chance he and Casey Mittelstadt will line up alongside one another and rotate between winger and center.
The Sabres, a team on the rise, should consider it an honor to have five players suiting up for the IIHF World Championship. Cozens has shown his value to the team, but let’s explore how the others helped the Sabres this past season.