Dylan Cozens: naive kid, or culture change spokesman

[dudacek]

“Everyone here is very excited for what we’ve got going and the pieces we have, and we know that we’re going to be a real great team in this league one day and we know that we are going to be a team that can compete for a Cup.” - Dylan Cozens, responding to a question about the recent Rochester call-ups.

When Cozens says this, he sounds like he believes it.

He looks at Krebs and Quinn and Levi and has seen firsthand what they can do against the best players their age in the world. He knows what Johnson and Peterka and Power and Dahlin have done on the WJC stage, and probably Samuelsson and Jokiharju, and UPL and Mittelstadt as well. We saw Krebs responding in a similar way last week, when he spoke about a group coming together for the next decade or more.

The Sabres have assembled 10 top prospects (Power, Quinn, Peterka, Cozens, Johnson, Levi, Krebs, Portillo, Dahlin and Samuelsson) all born within a 30-month span. There has to be a certain amount of swagger that comes from seeing that many top athletes gathered on one team at the cusp of adulthood, the type of young alpha confidence that must permeate places like the Alabama football program.

We talk a lot about culture change. And I think we recognize that Cozens represents the type of culture we want our team to have.

I guess my question is, do the other members of the Blinding Light Brigade feel the same way and are they approaching this opportunity the same way?

Have we collected the right pieces at the right time with the right support system for critical mass to be achieved? Can they survive the growing pains and achieve their potential together?

Or is Dylan just in the same naive headspace Jack Eichel was five years ago?

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/dylan-cozens-11022/t-277437090/c-10166546

Edited January 11, 2022 by dudacek

[inkman]

Once the purge was complete, players old and young seemed to have a burden lifted off their shoulders.  All of them seem genuinely excited and happy to be here.  They know the wins will come.  Had they gotten anything close to average goaltending, the wins would be there. 

[Doohicksie]

Fake it till you make it.  He may not believe it, but if he keeps saying it perhaps it will come true.

[Doohicksie]

24 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Or is Dylan just in the same naive headspace Jack Eichel was five years ago?

Jack believed in himself.  Dylan believes in the team. 

[PerreaultForever]

I think you extended things too far. Cozens believes it, because that is just the kind of guy he is. He's a competitor, he's been a winner, and he's a dedicated hockey player. He believes in himself, and he believes in the possibilities. He doesn't "know" those guys will be good and so forth, but he doesn't think about it that deeply. He simply competes. I don't think that's naive. 

Now he hasn't been broken yet. He hasn't been tainted by years of frustration and losing and still losing so this might all change in a few years if we do not get better.

There's no reason to think he's wrong, but at this point things could repeat, it's impossible to know. We are still far from the necessary point where the team expects to win and is held fully accountable each time they don't. 

3 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Jack believed in himself.  Dylan believes in the team. 

That's convenient, but I don't think it's true. 

[inkman]

5 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Jack believed in himself.  Dylan believes in the team. 

[Doohicksie]

9 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

That's convenient, but I don't think it's true. 

Do you think Eichel looked at the team we had and said, "Wow!  This team is going somewhere!"  I don't think he did.  I think he figured he would have to carry the team every night.

[dudacek]

59 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I think you extended things too far. Cozens believes it, because that is just the kind of guy he is. He's a competitor, he's been a winner, and he's a dedicated hockey player. He believes in himself, and he believes in the possibilities. He doesn't "know" those guys will be good and so forth, but he doesn't think about it that deeply. He simply competes. I don't think that's naive.

But the gist of my question is are there enough players coming around Cozens who are like Cozens and approach the game the same way?

As far as the bold goes, I think he does, at least in the context of outside the NHL. He's played with or against most of them on the international stage. He's watched most of them perform first-hand and right out of his mouth he's been following their seasons.

And they all seem to be dedicated hockey players and winners: captains, top player honours and/or gold and silver medalists on the world stage. Almost to a man.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by dudacek

[pi2000]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Jack believed in himself.  Dylan believes in the team. 

Nah... Jack believed in the team too... he believed in the guys around him, he talked about Sam and Risto and Evander and the young guys in the pipeline (Asplund, MIttlestadt, etc..) taking this team to the playoffs down the road and he legitimately believed.    

All young players coming in to a rebuild say this... across all sports.    It's boilerplate.   

[LGR4GM]

I just watched Stetson Bennett win the natty... ***** it,  Cozens for President

[Marvin]

26 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Nah... Jack believed in the team too... he believed in the guys around him, he talked about Sam and Risto and Evander and the young guys in the pipeline (Asplund, MIttlestadt, etc..) taking this team to the playoffs down the road and he legitimately believed.    

All young players coming in to a rebuild say this... across all sports.    It's boilerplate.   

IMHO, Eichel and Reinhart felt like the team was designed for them to carry the scoring load while everyone else had to just hold their own.  But each season, the bottom line or two was never good enough and there was at least one bad defencive pair.

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Do you think Eichel looked at the team we had and said, "Wow!  This team is going somewhere!"  I don't think he did.  I think he figured he would have to carry the team every night.

Actually when Eichel first got here I think he probably believed there was a lot of potential and all the team needed was him to take it up a notch. He likely expected it to be easier, as it had always been easy for him before, and everybody told him he was the next great one, so ya, I'm sure he felt he'd be the best player here too, but I doubt he looked at other names on the roster and thought I'm surrounded by crap. 

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

But the gist of my question is are there enough players coming around Cozens who are like Cozens and approach the game the same way?

As far as the bold goes, I think he does, at least in the context of outside the NHL. He's played with or against most of them on the international stage. He's watched most of them perform first-hand and right out of his mouth he's been following their seasons.

And they all seem to be dedicated hockey players and winners: captains, top player honours and/or gold and silver medalists on the world stage. Almost to a man.

 

Well idk about Cozens, but I'm certainly hoping we are going to build a roster like that filled with players who compete every shift and leave it all on the ice. Go that extra and demand excellence and then that attitude can rub off, or even be demanded, of every new body that comes in here as the years go by. It's been lacking for a long time and is long over due. So far I haven't really seen it on the ice though. Not on a consistent basis and certainly not from the team as a whole. There's still lots of slack and quit out there on many a night. Maybe not from Cozens, but it's still there. 

I know everybody here hates Marchand but I watched him tonight get his big nose mashed into a pulp and yet him and that bloodied mug didn't even miss a shift and then he scored some goals and assists to boot and was there at the end of the game tapping everybody on the back like a true leader. I want that on Buffalo. I want warriors! I hope they are coming. 

[K-9]

I don’t think Cozens has a single disingenuous bone in his body. He’s old school and seems to thoroughly enjoy playing the game. And he wants the tough assignments, wants the leadership role; actually embraces the challenges. Wanting it is so important. And I think lack of wanting it by past players was a big part of the problem. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by K-9

[Weave]

There is no small amount of niave and idealism there.  Its not a bad thing though.  We’ve all been there.

[Digger]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

But the gist of my question is are there enough players coming around Cozens who are like Cozens and approach the game the same way?

As far as the bold goes, I think he does, at least in the context of outside the NHL. He's played with or against most of them on the international stage. He's watched most of them perform first-hand and right out of his mouth he's been following their seasons.

And they all seem to be dedicated hockey players and winners: captains, top player honours and/or gold and silver medalists on the world stage. Almost to a man.

 

Nice comments to read from Cozens.  I would think that he's happy to finally see Krebs and Quinn coming up to play with.  It's not that any of them are saviors for the team on their own but the youthful enthusiasm, talent, belief in their own talent that they can play and that they are open to coaching and improving.  I think that he gets excited by having more guys to feed off that things will be getting better as they grow and develop.  Fans feel that way too.

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Nah... Jack believed in the team too... he believed in the guys around him, he talked about Sam and Risto and Evander and the young guys in the pipeline (Asplund, MIttlestadt, etc..) taking this team to the playoffs down the road and he legitimately believed.    

But not ROR.  Let's get rid of him.  We don't even need him.

Whether it was Jack or the management allowing/encouraging it, Jack walked around from Day One like he owned the place.

[GASabresIUFAN]

It’s called Hopium and it’s very dangerous stuff.  It must be taken wisely and used as directed it can lead to championships (Braves, Dawgs 😁).

One legit worry is still the goaltending.  If we don’t get solid goaltending we aren’t going anywhere.

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It’s called Hopium and it’s very dangerous stuff.  It must be taken wisely and used as directed it can lead to championships (Braves, Dawgs 😁).

One legit worry is still the goaltending.  If we don’t get solid goaltending we aren’t going anywhere.

If 5'11" walk on Stetson Benett can win the Natty, then 6' seventh rounder Devon Levi can win the cup.

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

IDK why people keep talking about this Eichel guy.  I checked his stats and he isn't even playing in the NHL this season...

[GASabresIUFAN]

36 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

If 5'11" walk on Stetson Benett can win the Natty, then 6' seventh rounder Devon Levi can win the cup.

Until we see Levi as a pro, I’ll reserve judgement (and the Hopium).

[dudacek]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well idk about Cozens, but I'm certainly hoping we are going to build a roster like that filled with players who compete every shift and leave it all on the ice. Go that extra and demand excellence and then that attitude can rub off, or even be demanded, of every new body that comes in here as the years go by. It's been lacking for a long time and is long over due. So far I haven't really seen it on the ice though. Not on a consistent basis and certainly not from the team as a whole. There's still lots of slack and quit out there on many a night. Maybe not from Cozens, but it's still there. 

I know everybody here hates Marchand but I watched him tonight get his big nose mashed into a pulp and yet him and that bloodied mug didn't even miss a shift and then he scored some goals and assists to boot and was there at the end of the game tapping everybody on the back like a true leader. I want that on Buffalo. I want warriors! I hope they are coming. 

You haven’t seen much of the players I’m talking about either - certainly not developed and together over an extended period of time.

[PickaPecaPickles]

9 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Nah... Jack believed in the team too... he believed in the guys around him, he talked about Sam and Risto and Evander and the young guys in the pipeline (Asplund, MIttlestadt, etc..) taking this team to the playoffs down the road and he legitimately believed.    

All young players coming in to a rebuild say this... across all sports.    It's boilerplate.   

This is probably a good take. I think Cozens is like a lot of talented R1 picks who are used to winning.  It's not naivete, it's what we should expect from young guns.

I think the necessary ingredient is a winning culture that pervades the organization.  It's not unlike what the Bills went through.  How many coaches and GMs over the 17-year drought?  All brought "hopium" when they arrived, but only one was able to drain the swamp in the organization and start over. McDermott and Beane also got rid of Non-process guys.  I don't think Eichel, Rhino and Risto are non-process, but the organization needed to start fresh, and also keep a few holdover vets to help the young'uns along (Kyle O = Kyle W?). 

It seems to me that Adams has tried to clean house and create a similar culture change, but I'm not familiar enough with the org itself, at least compared to the Bills. The source of toxicity of the Bills org was mostly Russ Brandon and somewhat Whaley.  I don't think there was an equivalent in the Sabres org that made it dysfunctional--was there?  It does appear that Adams has started anew by hiring his own people (like Karmanos).

So, in my limited view of the org, Cozens is like Tre White coming in and saying something similar, but it only matters if there is the culture to support it, as was established by McDermott and Beane. Is KA getting done?

[Zamboni]

42 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Until we see Levi as a pro, I’ll reserve judgement (and the Hopium).

Yea I’m of the same mindset. Nothing wrong with being excited for the development of a prospect. And how he looks in lower leagues. It’s rather exciting.

but I believe Levi will be successful at the pro leagues… When he’s actually successful at the pro leagues. I’ve felt the same way about every prospect every year. Some have delivered. And some have failed. It would be awesome if he delivers.

[dudacek]

"The common denominator or characteristic for all of these guys that I've mentioned — Quinn, Cozens, Krebs, Dahlin I'd throw in that category — is — Thompson and Mittelstadt too — is that they're so ultra-competitive and they love the game of hockey so much that when something bad happens they don't switch to something else and go home and hang their head. They don't let it go until they fix it."

— Don Granato on WGR, after responding to a question about Owen Power by saying "his personal standard is as high as it gets."