Dylan Cozens - What will his impact be this season?

[GASabresIUFAN]

I was just looking at how Joel Farabee (14th overall in 2018) did last year for the Flyers.  He had 8g 13a for 21 points in 52 games.  Joel had a great game yesterday (1g 3a) to start the season.  I really like Joel, but think Cozens is the better player.  

Looking at Joel's numbers makes me think that Cozens will grow as the seasons progresses.  Can we see 10g and 15a this season if he plays everyday?  Will RK let him play everyday?

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I was just looking at how Joel Farabee (14th overall in 2018) did last year for the Flyers.  He had 8g 13a for 21 points in 52 games.  Joel had a great game yesterday (1g 3a) to start the season.  I really like Joel, but think Cozens is the better player.  

Looking at Joel's numbers makes me think that Cozens will grow as the seasons progresses.  Can we see 10g and 15a this season if he plays everyday?  Will RK let him play everyday?

If he plays on the PP I think he could. But those points would be less valuable for us, considering who else we could stick out there, than if he puts up a solid ES contribution. That would be massive - I'm not sure that happens without, say, Skinner though, him being another ES scorer. If he's paired with say Eakin and Rieder and it clicks as our checking line, he's not going to have a great raw stats season I don't think but could theoretically be well utilized in such a role to the benefit of the team. 

[IKnowPhysics]

Cozens' NHLe, based on his 85P in 51GP in the WHL (0.27), is 37P in an 82game NHL season.  That pace would be good enough for 5th among Sabre forwards (behind Eichel, Reinhart, Olofsson, and Johansson) last year.  That's up from 27P projected the year before.  He'll be a contributor this year and he's only getting better.

As long as we give him good support, reasonable quality of competition, and appropriate ice time, he'll be just fine.

[Taro T]

19 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I was just looking at how Joel Farabee (14th overall in 2018) did last year for the Flyers.  He had 8g 13a for 21 points in 52 games.  Joel had a great game yesterday (1g 3a) to start the season.  I really like Joel, but think Cozens is the better player.  

Looking at Joel's numbers makes me think that Cozens will grow as the seasons progresses.  Can we see 10g and 15a this season if he plays everyday?  Will RK let him play everyday?

25 points in 56 games is very plausible.  Translates to ~36 points in a full season.

He's got the opportunity to be an everyday player.  Hoping he takes it.

[Zamboni]

I think the rookie season of Cozens impact will be roughly in the ballpark of the full rookie season of Reinhart and Skinner. So would you consider them “impactful” in their rookie seasons?

And “impactful” has a different definition for different fans.

[GASabresIUFAN]

18 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

I think the rookie season of Cozens impact will be roughly in the ballpark of the full rookie season of Reinhart and Skinner. So would you consider them “impactful” in their rookie seasons?

And “impactful” has a different definition for different fans.

Skinner had 30+ goals and 60+ points as a rookie for the Canes. He was their 2nd leading scorer behind Staal.  He was very impactful.  Reinhart is a better proxy.   He has 20+ goals and 40+ points.  I don’t think will play as high in the lineup and therefore will probably have less scoring opportunities, but i can see him moving up in the lineup (and Thompson go down) as the season’s progresses.

[I-90 W]

He looked great tonight, hard worker. 

[Thorner]

Cozens is our most satisfying high pick so far

 

 

 

(am i joking?)

[PerreaultForever]

I expected Cousins to start the year as a solid 4th line level player and by seasons end be a solid 3rd line level player with maybe some PP duty as well. Seeing him fit in tonight I think he will be 2nd line level by year's end. 

[Weave]

I guess I wasn't as struck as some of you.

He looked to me like he was a step behind in the neutral zone and D zone.  He almost appeared slow to me, and he's never looked slow to me any other time I've seen him play.  He played better in the O zone but there were a number of times where he was clearly physically overmatched. He lost alot of puck battles.  But he also looked like he had a good sense of play.  He went to the rights spots and put his nose where it belonged, so that's good.  His line was probably the most effective line of the night for Buffalo.  He seemed to mesh well with his linemates.  And he hustled.  He competed.

Overall my initial reaction is pretty neutral.  I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see obvious growth this season.

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

I guess I wasn't as struck as some of you.

He looked to me like he was a step behind in the neutral zone and D zone.  He almost appeared slow to me, and he's never looked slow to me any other time I've seen him play.  He played better in the O zone but there were a number of times where he was clearly physically overmatched. He lost alot of puck battles.  But he also looked like he had a good sense of play.  He went to the rights spots and put his nose where it belonged, so that's good.  His line was probably the most effective line of the night for Buffalo.  He seemed to mesh well with his linemates.  And he hustled.  He competed.

Overall my initial reaction is pretty neutral.  I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see obvious growth this season.

This.  Exactly.

For being a big kid, he still looked like a kid (physically, not style of play).   When he fills out he could be a very good player.  But he competed hard and was a big part of that Rieder goal.  He lost a fair # of puck battles but stayed with the play & tried to win it back.  Had a couple of nice passes; had some that didn't click.

Really liked the effort.  The results should come w/ acclimation & growing into that frame.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Cozens was late to camp because of the Wjr.  I wonder if some of what we saw was a lack of practice time w his new mates and knowledge of RK’s principals. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Curt]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Cozens was late to camp because of the Wjr.  I wonder if some of what we saw was a lack of practice time w his new mates and knowledge of RK’s principals. 

Agree.  He has been with the team no more than a week.  After being a team leader on a finals team in a very compact and emotional tournament.

I could see him taking a little time to settle.  As long as he doesn’t start to really struggle, I think he needs to stay in the NHL lineup.

[Weave]

23 minutes ago, Curt said:

Agree.  He has been with the team no more than a week.  After being a team leader on a finals team in a very compact and emotional tournament.

I could see him taking a little time to settle.  As long as he doesn’t start to really struggle, I think he needs to stay in the NHL lineup.

I would call what I saw last night struggling.  But I think he should stay in the lineup in the short term, albeit in protected minutes.

There is no doubt in my mind that some of what I perceived last night is due to his lack of time in camp, thus the cautious optimism.  Still, he struggled.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Curt said:

Agree.  He has been with the team no more than a week.  After being a team leader on a finals team in a very compact and emotional tournament.

I could see him taking a little time to settle.  As long as he doesn’t start to really struggle, I think he needs to stay in the NHL lineup.

Expect a fair amount of missed passes across the board was due to 6 new guys in the lineup, many of which have played together for only a handful of sessions.  And the majority of players haven't skated in anger for 10 months.

Ullmark in tonight.  They should look better if they can either have Staal or adequately replace him. 

[dudacek]

4 hours ago, Weave said:

I guess I wasn't as struck as some of you.

He looked to me like he was a step behind in the neutral zone and D zone.  He almost appeared slow to me, and he's never looked slow to me any other time I've seen him play.  He played better in the O zone but there were a number of times where he was clearly physically overmatched. He lost alot of puck battles.  But he also looked like he had a good sense of play.  He went to the rights spots and put his nose where it belonged, so that's good.  His line was probably the most effective line of the night for Buffalo.  He seemed to mesh well with his linemates.  And he hustled.  He competed.

Overall my initial reaction is pretty neutral.  I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see obvious growth this season.

This is mostly a good take.

I think people's reactions are a bit overstated because he showed pace and hustle and attention to detail on a roster that had little of either. His execution was meh, but I think that will improve.

He should be able to stay in the roster because of that pace and hustle and attention to detail, while his brain and body acclimate to NHL skill and pace, and his skill starts to become more evident.

[nfreeman]

Cozens also IMHO showed an instinct for getting to the net and creating traffic and an uncomfortable situation for the goalie -- a needed component on this team.

[Norcal]

I thought Cozens showed good hustle and energy a few times in the offensive end. His strong play on the puck directly led to the goal by Reider. He didn't look as comfortable in the defensive end however. 

[Trettioåtta]

I've really liked his game so far. Muscled off the puck a bit too easily, but he has a good nose for where to be and has some good moxie to want to try and win battles.

[bunomatic]

He hasn’t been completely beaten down by losing yet but give it time. Patience grasshopper.

[pi2000]

On 1/16/2021 at 1:54 PM, bunomatic said:

He hasn’t been completely beaten down by losing yet but give it time. Patience grasshopper.

I dont think it's the losing.  It's the culture.   Play hard earn a contract then go through the motions, collect your Pegula bucks and keep getting ice time because the franchise cares dearly about your feelings so they won't cut your ice time or waive you in the offseason... it's a nice comfortable cozy life as a Sabres player.

[PerreaultForever]

On 1/16/2021 at 11:54 AM, bunomatic said:

He hasn’t been completely beaten down by losing yet but give it time. Patience grasshopper.

I'm actually starting to think this too (even if it is supposed to be just a joke). So not what impact will Cozens have on the Sabres, but what impact will the Sabres have on Cozens. 

[inkman]

He will have no impact.   The number one overall pick “next Nick Lidstrom” is only noticeable when he deposits the puck on the opponents stick right onto the opponents tape.  NFW Dylan does anything of note.  I hate this team and this league.  

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

He will have no impact.   The number one overall pick “next Nick Lidstrom” is only noticeable when he deposits the puck on the opponents stick right onto the opponents tape.  NFW Dylan does anything of note.  I hate this team and this league.  

I've been following around in your wake liking all your posts but this one gets a dude have a snickers. 

[inkman]

17 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I've been following around in your wake liking all your posts but this one gets a dude have a snickers. 

It’s been a slow steady build. I want to read or hear one thing that makes me feel good about this team.  Just one. Krueger’s voice makes me want to barf.  Jack sounds like a lifeless robot going through the motions until he can get traded.  Dahlin, oh boy.  
 

I had hope this season.  It was squashed so immediately that I’m reeling.  They need a back up goalie and one ***** defenseman they can count on.   They have none.  They all suck.  All of them.  Ralph keeps trotting the same bozos out there in the same combos.  
 

Do something Ralph.  Yell at someone.  Bench Skinner, Dahlin and for gods sake Hutton.  Give your team a chance.