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Buffalo Sabres Prediction: Dylan Cozens will have a breakout season

By Zach Jezioro

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 23: Dylan Cozens #24 of the Buffalo Sabres in action against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on October 23, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Sabres 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 23: Dylan Cozens #24 of the Buffalo Sabres in action against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on October 23, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Sabres 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens hasn’t really lived up to expectations. This season, I think he will, and this is why he will have a breakout season.

Dylan Cozens is one of the cornerstones on the Buffalo Sabres. The 7th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft is about to head into his 3rd NHL season and stat wise, he really hasn’t lived up to expectations. Obviously as a top 10 pick, there are a lot of expectations, not just from the team but from the fanbase as well.

He was better stat wise last season. According to Hockey-Reference, Cozens had 13 goals and 25 assists in 79 games played last year with the Sabres. During the shortened season, that was Dylan’s rookie year and he scored 4 goals and registered 9 assists in 41 games played.

If you look at his stats, Cozens improved drastically in the leagues he played in before his time with the Buffalo Sabres.

This year, I think this will be the season he takes a huge step forward. I’m not sure if it’ll be like Tage Thompsons breakout season, but I can see Cozens scoring 25-30 goals.

Now that he has two seasons under his belt, he can definitely reach those numbers when it comes to goals. He’s fast, he’s a good two-way player, and he has a great shot. Besides his own talents, look who he is playing alongside with.

We’re still a month away from training camp and we don’t know what the lines will look like, but Cozens could be playing on a line with Victor Olofsson, Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, and JJ Peterka, depending on where the dominos fall.

So yes, I do think Dylan Cozens will breakout this season. For any player, the first couple years are developing and you might not be one of the best players right away. Tage Thompson is a perfect example. During his first couple of seasons, he was a third or fourth liner.

light. Related Story. Deeper dive into Dylan Cozens’ season

Last season, he was only two goals away from reaching 40. I’m not sure if Cozens can get to 40 but I see him having a good season. As mentioned in the first sentence of the article, Dylan is viewed as a cornerstone on the Sabres. He will prove why that’s the case during the 2022-2023 season.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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