Dylan Cozens Appreciation Thread

[Norcal]

I appreciate Dylan Cozens

[woods-racer]

There are positives and negatives with the Cozen fight.

 

We have a young, tough player that can handle his own in a scrap and seems determined to make a name for himself at a very early start to what should be a very long career. He embodies the tough, gritty hard to play against guy the fan base for any team loves to have.

 

But has he put a bull's eye on his back now? Will seasoned vets feel the need to put the rooky in his place? Will he get attention now from more physical players that aren't looking for a fight but just want to *send a message*?  These are my concerns mainly because we have no one else that may be willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with him in these types of games.

[SwampD]

2 hours ago, SDS said:

 

Cal is on a hot streak. 

This mainly concerns me and I’m not mad at all. It’s just a strawman argument. But forgive Cal because he gets a lot wrong.

Now that it is 2021, I would like to see the last remaining professional league punish fighting like every other sports league in the world. I don’t think it is inherent that the game of hockey requires people to punch other people, regardless of who enjoys it.
 

2nd, I vehemently disagree that an act that who’s frequency is already down 80-90% has any of the grandiose affects attributed to it. It has been proven those benefits don’t exist, and the coaches and the players, whom already moved away from this on their own, have agreed by phasing it out through their coaching and player selection. 

3rd, what I haven’t said before, but it is worth pointing out, is that with fighting effective removed in most every level except the NHL, it is more dangerous. Players user to throw their helmets off to protect each other’s hands. Go watch the video of your #7 draft choice repeatedly pounding his right fist into a solid helmet and let me know if that’s intelligent. 

I’m not mad. I have a philosophy on sports/life and I’ve accepted the evolution of the game, which moved away from this stuff long ago. 

Rob Ray said that there has never been a helmet that he has punched that hurt as much as a human head.

[SDS]

22 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Rob Ray said that there has never been a helmet that he has punched that hurt as much as a human head.

I don’t have a lot of experience punching hockey helmets and I only have a few youthful experiences punching human heads, but I can’t imagine one would choose to preferentially hit a hockey helmet. It also goes against the tradition of each taking off their helmets, which I have always understood as means to protect each other’s hands (as well as not get criticized for protecting their head).

[Stoner]

3 hours ago, SDS said:

 

Cal is on a hot streak. 

This mainly concerns me and I’m not mad at all. It’s just a strawman argument. But forgive Cal because he gets a lot wrong.

Now that it is 2021, I would like to see the last remaining professional league punish fighting like every other sports league in the world. I don’t think it is inherent that the game of hockey requires people to punch other people, regardless of who enjoys it.
 

2nd, I vehemently disagree that an act that who’s frequency is already down 80-90% has any of the grandiose affects attributed to it. It has been proven those benefits don’t exist, and the coaches and the players, whom already moved away from this on their own, have agreed by phasing it out through their coaching and player selection. 

3rd, what I haven’t said before, but it is worth pointing out, is that with fighting effective removed in most every level except the NHL, it is more dangerous. Players user to throw their helmets off to protect each other’s hands. Go watch the video of your #7 draft choice repeatedly pounding his right fist into a solid helmet and let me know if that’s intelligent. 

I’m not mad. I have a philosophy on sports/life and I’ve accepted the evolution of the game, which moved away from this stuff long ago. 

Good post, but why start with a personal attack? Or can you objectively prove Cal is wrong a lot? It's a hockey message board full of opinions. Is he saying the Sabres were founded in 1974 or Rick Jeanneret was GM in 2002?

[SDS]

5 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Good post, but why start with a personal attack? Or can you objectively prove Cal is wrong a lot? It's a hockey message board full of opinions. Is he saying the Sabres were founded in 1974 or Rick Jeanneret was GM in 2002?

I’m just fighting in front of the net for position. 🥊 

[Cal Naughton Jr]

[Cal Naughton Jr]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Good post, but why start with a personal attack? Or can you objectively prove Cal is wrong a lot? It's a hockey message board full of opinions. Is he saying the Sabres were founded in 1974 or Rick Jeanneret was GM in 2002?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion no matter how wrong it is. I’m hoping to see somebody else drop their gloves tonight 

[Norcal]

Dylan Cozens already has some grown man strength

[LTS]

20 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

I give a round of applause when Sabres players do this. So many times, a forward about to head off on a change has a wide open defenseman standing at their faceoff dot with no one else in the zone, and rather than give him the puck, go change, and hit the attack with fresh skaters, we instead hand it to the OPPONENT's defenseman before peeling off to change anyway. It's obviously a natural reaction to get it in deep, and sometimes it's the right choice (if the D need to change too), but when the option is there, keep the puck! 

Absolutely.  Simply put, you don't win if the puck if you don't have the puck. Circling back to your D to retain possession should be the play over dumping it in to the other team. The only time you deviate is when you need a wholesale change or you simply can't get it back to the D without an equal opportunity of turning it over.

 

[nucci]

20 hours ago, woods-racer said:

There are positives and negatives with the Cozen fight.

 

We have a young, tough player that can handle his own in a scrap and seems determined to make a name for himself at a very early start to what should be a very long career. He embodies the tough, gritty hard to play against guy the fan base for any team loves to have.

 

But has he put a bull's eye on his back now? Will seasoned vets feel the need to put the rooky in his place? Will he get attention now from more physical players that aren't looking for a fight but just want to *send a message*?  These are my concerns mainly because we have no one else that may be willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with him in these types of games.

Unlike in Buffalo, this is a non story for the rest of the league. 

[Weave]

9 minutes ago, nucci said:

Unlike in Buffalo, this is a non story for the rest of the league. 

In fairness, the rest of the league doesn't seem to have a complete lack of players willing to step out of their comfort zone when needed.

[darksabre]

I'm bumping this one to mention a comment Paul Hamilton made on WGR last night. In response to a caller asking who the leadership of this team is going to be, he didn't even hesitate to say Cozens. Hamilton praised him as being very mature for his age and for being someone who is already mentally prepared to carry the load. Said he thought there would be no reason not to pin the C on him in the fall. 

Paul Hamilton appreciates Dylan Cozens somethin fierce.

[Taro T]

38 minutes ago, darksabre said:

I'm bumping this one to mention a comment Paul Hamilton made on WGR last night. In response to a caller asking who the leadership of this team is going to be, he didn't even hesitate to say Cozens. Hamilton praised him as being very mature for his age and for being someone who is already mentally prepared to carry the load. Said he thought there would be no reason not to pin the C on him in the fall. 

Paul Hamilton appreciates Dylan Cozens somethin fierce.

Sure.  Cozens hasn't been here long enough to actively show distain for his questions yet.  Give it time.  They'll both come around.  😉

 

[darksabre]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Sure.  Cozens hasn't been here long enough to actively show distain for his questions yet.  Give it time.  They'll both come around.  😉

 

Oh I think once Paul picks you as one of his favorites you stay that way forever 😅

[jad1]

22 hours ago, darksabre said:

I'm bumping this one to mention a comment Paul Hamilton made on WGR last night. In response to a caller asking who the leadership of this team is going to be, he didn't even hesitate to say Cozens. Hamilton praised him as being very mature for his age and for being someone who is already mentally prepared to carry the load. Said he thought there would be no reason not to pin the C on him in the fall. 

Paul Hamilton appreciates Dylan Cozens somethin fierce.

I think this more a reflection of Hamilton's idiocy than Cozens' leadership.

The worst thing that the Sabres can do to Cozens is to put him on their Middlestadt/Thompson development plan.

Cozens showed promise last season, but he still was young and inconsistent.  He only scored 12 points in 40 games.

Cozens should spend the next couple of seasons working on his own game, and that probably means racking up big minutes in Rochester for 30 or 40 games.

The biggest problem with every GM and coach the Sabres have had since the tank is that they needlessly rushed the development of every young, talented player they drafted, and gave them roles they weren't ready to handle, and then did nothing to support them in those roles.

Making Cozens the captain this season would just be more of the same.

Giving him the responsibility of the captaincy during a period where its questionable if the GM's first priority is to win games, and after the fiasco of the Eichel situation, would just be the latest in a series of dumb moves that this franchise has become famous for.

[Cal Naughton Jr]

19 minutes ago, jad1 said:

I think this more a reflection of Hamilton's idiocy than Cozens' leadership.

The worst thing that the Sabres can do to Cozens is to put him on their Middlestadt/Thompson development plan.

Cozens showed promise last season, but he still was young and inconsistent.  He only scored 12 points in 40 games.

Cozens should spend the next couple of seasons working on his own game, and that probably means racking up big minutes in Rochester for 30 or 40 games.

The biggest problem with every GM and coach the Sabres have had since the tank is that they needlessly rushed the development of every young, talented player they drafted, and gave them roles they weren't ready to handle, and then did nothing to support them in those roles.

Making Cozens the captain this season would just be more of the same.

Giving him the responsibility of the captaincy during a period where its questionable if the GM's first priority is to win games, and after the fiasco of the Eichel situation, would just be the latest in a series of dumb moves that this franchise has become famous for.

Definitely waayyyy too early to give him the C. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Cal Naughton Jr

[Weave]

20 minutes ago, jad1 said:

I think this more a reflection of Hamilton's idiocy than Cozens' leadership.

The worst thing that the Sabres can do to Cozens is to put him on their Middlestadt/Thompson development plan.

Cozens showed promise last season, but he still was young and inconsistent.  He only scored 12 points in 40 games.

Cozens should spend the next couple of seasons working on his own game, and that probably means racking up big minutes in Rochester for 30 or 40 games.

The biggest problem with every GM and coach the Sabres have had since the tank is that they needlessly rushed the development of every young, talented player they drafted, and gave them roles they weren't ready to handle, and then did nothing to support them in those roles.

Making Cozens the captain this season would just be more of the same.

Giving him the responsibility of the captaincy during a period where its questionable if the GM's first priority is to win games, and after the fiasco of the Eichel situation, would just be the latest in a series of dumb moves that this franchise has become famous for.

 

This is exactly what happens when you rid the team of vets and have a lineup that necessitates putting kids in key roles.  And they are doing it again.

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, jad1 said:

I think this more a reflection of Hamilton's idiocy than Cozens' leadership.

The worst thing that the Sabres can do to Cozens is to put him on their Middlestadt/Thompson development plan.

Cozens showed promise last season, but he still was young and inconsistent.  He only scored 12 points in 40 games.

Cozens should spend the next couple of seasons working on his own game, and that probably means racking up big minutes in Rochester for 30 or 40 games.

The biggest problem with every GM and coach the Sabres have had since the tank is that they needlessly rushed the development of every young, talented player they drafted, and gave them roles they weren't ready to handle, and then did nothing to support them in those roles.

Making Cozens the captain this season would just be more of the same.

Giving him the responsibility of the captaincy during a period where its questionable if the GM's first priority is to win games, and after the fiasco of the Eichel situation, would just be the latest in a series of dumb moves that this franchise has become famous for.

Agree w/ the bolded to the comma.  Disagree (w/ a caveat) w/ the rest of the bolded.

Cozens should either be on the 2nd line as a RW or on the 3rd or 4th (by ice time, not style of deployment) line as the C.  Either is fine and will aid his development.  But, barring our seeing a surprising move that brings in a guy that can play C and not get blown up as the 1C or even more surprisingly Eichel & team have a reconciliation, then either Mittelstadt or Cozens will be the 1C and either/both will be set up to fail there.

Would rather have Cozens in the A than getting 1st line usage to start this season.  (And DON'T want him in Ra-cha-cha, but ...)  They did Mitts no favors by playing his as the 2C as a rookie.  PLEASE don't do the same to Dylan.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Taro T

[JohnC]

13 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Agree w/ the bolded to the comma.  Disagree (w/ a caveat) w/ the rest of the bolded.

Cozens should either be on the 2nd line as a RW or on the 3rd or 4th (by ice time, not style of deployment) line as the C.  Either is fine and will aid his development.  But, barring our seeing a surprising move that brings in a guy that can play C and not get blown up as the 1C or even more surprisingly Eichel & team have a reconciliation, then either Mittelstadt or Cozens will be the 1C and either/both will be set up to fail there.

Would rather have Cozens in the A than getting 1st line usage to start this season.  (And DON'T want him in Ra-cha-cha, but ...)  They did Mitts no favors by playing his as the 2C as a rookie.  PLEASE don't do the same to Dylan.

I agree with you that Cozens isn't ready to play as a 1C. But what if Cozens is our best option at 2C? Why wouldn't you want to play him there? The Cozens situation is much different from the Mitts situation as to the perils of playing a young player too soon. The biggest difference is that Cozens will be more physically and emotionally mature than Mitts was at that stage. At the time that Mitts first played the real problem wasn't which line was he ready to play as much as was he ready to play at all in the NHL. And the obvious answer was no. He was simply not physically and mature enough to play in the NHL. That's a big difference between Cozens and Mitts when considering where Cozens should play. 

Cozens is a young player with a lot of potential. But even as a young player what stand outs about him is his maturity. Because of that attribute he will be able to constitutionally/psychologically contend with the inevitable struggles of a young player given responsibility. Because of that I'm not as worried as many people are about elevating his role if he shows in camp that he has earned it. 

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I agree with you that Cozens isn't ready to play as a 1C. But what if Cozens is our best option at 2C? Why wouldn't you want to play him there? The Cozens situation is much different from the Mitts situation as to the perils of playing a young player too soon. The biggest difference is that Cozens will be more physically and emotionally mature than Mitts was at that stage. At the time that Mitts first played the real problem wasn't which line was he ready to play as much as was he ready to play at all in the NHL. And the obvious answer was no. He was simply not physically and mature enough to play in the NHL. That's a big difference between Cozens and Mitts when considering where Cozens should play. 

Cozens is a young player with a lot of potential. But even as a young player what stand outs about him is his maturity. Because of that attribute he will be able to constitutionally/psychologically contend with the inevitable struggles of a young player given responsibility. Because of that I'm not as worried as many people are about elevating his role if he shows in camp that he has earned it. 

Why?  Because we don't want to see his development take the same detours Mittelstadt's took.  Yes, Cozens is better in his own end than Mitts was at the same point in their careers.  But unless he put on 20 pounds in the off-season he is not ready to be playing against 1st liners in his own end which 2C's regularly do.

There was ZERO, ZIP, NONE, NO reason to force this team into making Mitts and Dylzn the top 2C's this year.  Simply because Adams appears to be on the way to boxing that in doesn't make it right for their development. 

You know why he kept getting injured last year?  Because though he was mentally mature enough and smart enough to put himself in the right position (but not always as the Pittsburgh injury demonstrated) he wasn't mature physically yet.  How about for only the 2nd ####ing time this century we don't watch the Sabres force kids into roles they aren't ready for simp,yet because we didn't have any other better options?

Am REALLY getting sick and tired of the Sabres continually doing this to themselves.

And Mitts needed to be getting 3rd & 4th line usage.  Not 2nd & even occasionally 1st and not Ra-cha-cha until his head was messed up.

[dudacek]

22 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Why?  Because we don't want to see his development take the same detours Mittelstadt's took.  Yes, Cozens is better in his own end than Mitts was at the same point in their careers.  But unless he put on 20 pounds in the off-season he is not ready to be playing against 1st liners in his own end which 2C's regularly do.

There was ZERO, ZIP, NONE, NO reason to force this team into making Mitts and Dylzn the top 2C's this year.  Simply because Adams appears to be on the way to boxing that in doesn't make it right for their development. 

You know why he kept getting injured last year?  Because though he was mentally mature enough and smart enough to put himself in the right position (but not always as the Pittsburgh injury demonstrated) he wasn't mature physically yet.  How about for only the 2nd ####ing time this century we don't watch the Sabres force kids into roles they aren't ready for simp,yet because we didn't have any other better options?

Am REALLY getting sick and tired of the Sabres continually doing this to themselves.

And Mitts needed to be getting 3rd & 4th line usage.  Not 2nd & even occasionally 1st and not Ra-cha-cha until his head was messed up.

It’s the second stupidest thing we appear to be seeing this summer (after the goaltending situation).

 

[JohnC]

28 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Why?  Because we don't want to see his development take the same detours Mittelstadt's took.  Yes, Cozens is better in his own end than Mitts was at the same point in their careers.  But unless he put on 20 pounds in the off-season he is not ready to be playing against 1st liners in his own end which 2C's regularly do.

There was ZERO, ZIP, NONE, NO reason to force this team into making Mitts and Dylzn the top 2C's this year.  Simply because Adams appears to be on the way to boxing that in doesn't make it right for their development. 

You know why he kept getting injured last year?  Because though he was mentally mature enough and smart enough to put himself in the right position (but not always as the Pittsburgh injury demonstrated) he wasn't mature physically yet.  How about for only the 2nd ####ing time this century we don't watch the Sabres force kids into roles they aren't ready for simp,yet because we didn't have any other better options?

Am REALLY getting sick and tired of the Sabres continually doing this to themselves.

And Mitts needed to be getting 3rd & 4th line usage.  Not 2nd & even occasionally 1st and not Ra-cha-cha until his head was messed up.

Cozens is not Mitts. They are totally two different situations. Don't be surprised if Cozens comes into camp 15 lbs heavier and more muscular. I not arguing to rush any young player. You are misreading what I stated. However, I am less reluctant than you are to play him at a 2C role if he earns it and shows that he can handle it. Mitts was not prepared to even play in the league when he first did. That is not the case with Cozens. 

Granato specializes in working with young players. He knows how to bring them along. If he sees a player can handle a role he will allow him to do so. If he sees a player struggling in his role he pulls back. Cozens is going to demonstrate in camp what role he can handle. Every prospect has their own pace of development. With Cozens I'm less concerned with his fragility than you are. 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

Cozens is not Mitts. They are totally two different situations. Don't be surprised if Cozens comes into camp 15 lbs heavier and more muscular. I not arguing to rush any young player. You are misreading what I stated. However, I am less reluctant than you are to play him at a 2C role if he earns it and shows that he can handle it. Mitts was not prepared to even play in the league when he first did. That is not the case with Cozens. 

Granato specializes in working with young players. He knows how to bring them along. If he sees a player can handle a role he will allow him to do so. If he sees a player struggling in his role he pulls back. Cozens is going to demonstrate in camp what role he can handle. Every prospect has their own pace of development. With Cozens I'm less concerned with his fragility than you are. 

He's competing with Eakin, Asplund, Ruutsaolainen, & some other $750k C's that have not yet been signed for the 2C job and with Mittelstadt for the 1C role.

Barring something unexpected on the Eichel front (either him staying or bringing in a useful now guy) he's winning that 2C role.  He will have EARNED it.  It does NOT mean he's ready for it.

And what are you expecting from Granato?  He can't make chicken salad from chicken you know what.  Who is he going to put in that role ahead of Cozens?  His boss "boxed him in."  (Again, if something rosterwise changes then he may be able to not do what it looks like he's getting forced into doing.)

Playing a role he's not ready for will NOT benefit his development.  It won't necessarily ruin it, but it certainly won't help it.  And again, the team was NOT forced to take this path.  That decision was made by choice. 

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

He's competing with Eakin, Asplund, Ruutsaolainen, & some other $750k C's that have not yet been signed for the 2C job and with Mittelstadt for the 1C role.

Barring something unexpected on the Eichel front (either him staying or bringing in a useful now guy) he's winning that 2C role.  He will have EARNED it.  It does NOT mean he's ready for it.

And what are you expecting from Granato?  He can't make chicken salad from chicken you know what.  Who is he going to put in that role ahead of Cozens?  His boss "boxed him in."  (Again, if something rosterwise changes then he may be able to not do what it looks like he's getting forced into doing.)

Playing a role he's not ready for will NOT benefit his development.  It won't necessarily ruin it, but it certainly won't help it.  And again, the team was NOT forced to take this path.  That decision was made by choice. 

I'm not arguing about what should have been the best course of action regarding the assemblage of the roster. That is what you are doing. Where we are at is where we are at. What we have to work with is what we have to work with. Because of the way the roster is currently constructed with a lot of young players and marginal players Cozens's role will be more advanced than it would be with most teams. I'm aware of that. There really isn't much difference in our views other than I'm less concerned than you are in giving Cozens an advanced role. You believe that it will be to his detriment while I'm less worried about it because of his more resilient makeup.