Buffalo Sabres: Can Dylan Cozens translate his recent success?

Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens was arguably one of the best players for Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF Worlds. Can he translate his success to the NHL?

The Buffalo Sabres need to be proud of what Dylan Cozens accomplished at the 2022 IIHF World Championships. Just how good was he? Cozens and Canadian teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois tied for third in the World Championships with 13 points.

Only Czechia’s Roman Cervenka (17 points), and Canada’s Drake Batherson (14 points) scored more. Cozens also led all players at the Worlds with seven goals. His 1.30 points per game ranked sixth in the tournament, and he also paced the league with a plus-minus of 12.

Will Dylan Cozens’ success at the IIHF Worlds translate to the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL?

Cozens was hot to start the 2021-22 season, but he cooled substantially as the year wore on, and he ended up with just 38 points in 79 contests. While he excelled in areas of the game that don’t appear on the stat sheet, Cozens was understandably frustrated with his game.

The IIHF is definitely something he can view as a redemption tour, as the tournament featured mainly NHL players whose teams did not make the playoffs. So it wasn’t like Cozens was going out and playing subpar talent.

He did, however, face a few high-end AHL prospects who belong to playoff-caliber organizations. And you can bet that those prospects will see NHL ice sooner than later.

At the NHL level, Cozens played well enough to warrant some excitement. He already showed he can be an effective player at times, despite his hot and cold streaks.

At the Worlds, you saw a player who went out there with a massive chip on his shoulder, knowing he had something to prove to himself and his critics. Cozens did just that. And if he maintains the same mentality with the Sabres, expect him to enjoy a breakout season.

(Statistics provided by Elite-Prospects)