A Lethbridge Hurricanes centre is poised to make history in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Dylan Cozens, a 17-year-old from Whitehorse, Yukon, is set to be the highest drafted Yukoner ever.
Though, that is not a tall tower to climb.
The territory is not known for producing high-end NHL talent.
Only two Yukon-born hockey players have ever taken the ice at the highest level and only one of them was drafted.
Bryon Baltimore appeared in two games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1980 and Peter Sturgeon, who was drafted in the second round by the Boston Bruins in 1974, played six games with the now-defunct Colorado Rockies from 1979 to 1981.
Cozens said he wants to represent and honour his community.
“I got so much support back [in Whitehorse] and I loved growing up there. I’m super happy to be from there and I want to make everyone proud.”
Being from such a small hockey market, Cozens had to move away from his home and family to improve his game.
He spent time in Tsawwassen, B.C., at the Delta Hockey Academy and in Abbotsford, B.C., at the Yale Hockey Academy before being drafted by the Hurricanes 19th overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.
Cozens’ WHL debut season for the Hurricanes had fans enamoured from the start.
He came in at the tail-end of the season, playing three games and acquiring one goal in that time.
Cozens was then called upon to play in the WHL playoffs, where he tallied three goals and five assists in 12 games, including a clutch, game-tying goal in game seven of the first round, on route to a series win.
Cozens had a solid sophomore season last year, with 22 goals and 31 assists, he scored at nearly a point-per-game clip (0.93 points per game played).
This year, his offensive production has exploded, at least through the first seven games of the season.
Currently, Cozens is sitting at almost a two-point-per-game pace, with 13 points in just seven games played.
“My first year here I was learning everything and learning how the league worked. I knew what I had to work on over the summer and this year I have a little more experience. It’s definitely been a good start for me I want to keep it up throughout the season.”
Brent Kisio, head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, said Cozens is a special player who he believes will be a dominant player at the NHL level, but he still needs to improve his game.
“He’s a really good hockey player. At his age, there’s always room to grow so I’d say every aspect of his game could be improved. To make the next level and be one of the top guys at the next level you have to keep working. Offensively his game has improved this year, but he still has strides to make defensively.”
Cozens is projected to be drafted early in the first round, being charted as high as second overall by some scouts, behind the consensus first overall pick, Jack Hughes.
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 21 and 22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C.
