Ranking the Buffalo Sabres CHL Prospects for 2022

KITCHENER, ONTARIO - MARCH 23: Matthew Savoie #93 of Team Red skates against Team White in the 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on March 23, 2022 in Kitchener, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
KITCHENER, ONTARIO - MARCH 23: Matthew Savoie #93 of Team Red skates against Team White in the 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on March 23, 2022 in Kitchener, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
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Buffalo Sabres
KENT, WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 28: Matthew Rempe #32 of the Seattle Thunderbirds, left, and Tyson Kozak #18 of the Portland Winterhawks face-off during the third period of the match at the accesso ShoWare Center on December 28, 2019 in Kent, Washington. The Portland Winterhawks top the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Tyson Kozak, C

Some may scoff at my ranking of a former seventh round pick as the second Buffalo Sabres prospect in the CHL. But Kozak has done nothing but impress over the past season. He totaled 69 goals in 66 contests in 2021-2, his first as a team captain for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, and he also turned heads at development camp.

While Kozak can make plays with the puck, he is also dangerous without it, indicating that he is one of the most complete players in the CHL system. He has impressive stick-handling skills, and phenomenal passing and shooting mechanics, regardless of what type of shot he’s using.

Kozak clocks in as a physical player who can also read opposing plays well. This approach gives him a two-way flair that will only get better with time. I can easily see him in Rochester next season and perhaps even on the Sabres roster three years from today.