Dylan Cozens has hit a rough patch in his development with the Buffalo Sabres.
The talented young forward can’t seem to get on the same page with the other four skaters on the ice, especially in the offensive zone. The trend through the first seven games paints a picture of a player who is trying very hard but simply isn’t currently able to make the proper read for a pass or shot in the offensive zone.
Don Granato’s methodology relies on two things in the offensive zone: crisp passing, and layers of attack which is meant to swamp the opposition with new levels of attack as the Sabres’ rush makes its way to the opposition’s goalie. Cozens has been somewhat fixated on hitting the trailing man coming into the offensive zone and that habit has led to numerous turnovers in the early going. When entering the zone, Cozens will often skate to the top of the circle, pull up, and fire a pass toward the point to no one in particular. This has led to rushes the opposite way on more than a few occasions.
Cozens is often on the right side of the ice when he pulls that maneuver, rather than in the middle of the ice where he could leave a drop pass and push a defenseman down to the goalie. In contrast, when watching “That ‘70s Line… with Tage Thompson, Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson, all three players fan out on the rush and hit the opposition blue line with the express purpose of driving the net at high speed. Yes, Asplund may leave a pass for trailing right defenseman, or try to feed it to the left side defenseman, but he does it with speed rather than trying to force something flatfooted.
Granato took Cozens off the top line during Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks and replaced him with Arttu Ruotsalainen for the last portion of the first period. Cozens was playing with Skinner again to start the second period, though Cozens played only 10:00 of ice time during the contest. Cozens is seeing nearly 70% offensive zone deployment this season, but he has a team-worst -4 rating to start the campaign and he hasn’t been able to find his way onto the score sheet with much regularity.
Fans have seen this movie before. Players have been forced into the lineup too soon for a myriad of different reasons and they struggle to acclimatize to the pace and skill of the NHL. Casey Mittelstadt and Thompson were perfect examples of that, and it took them a long time to get to the point where they’re finally achieving solid, individual on-ice success. It also took a stint in Rochester for both of them after they each hit a performance rock bottom.
Don Granato, while on the WGR550 morning show with Howard and Jeremy this week, indicated that he knows that Cozens is struggling and making mistakes during the early going.
“In the NHL, you’re held accountable for those (mistakes), and called out for those, and that presents a challenge. We want to support him through that. Here’s this young guy, he doesn’t have experience yet but he has this incredible ceiling and incredible talent right now. He just needs time to learn situations and the game.…
The head coach also knows that Cozens likely missed out on learning experiences at the American Hockey League level.
“We started this conversation about Rochester and the value of playing in the American league. It’s not easy for a guy like that to jump from junior hockey, bypass the American league and come into the NHL. You miss a lot of developmental things that you can take care of without being in the limelight and maybe being held accountable for or being called out for.…
There wasn’t much talk among the fan base about Cozens going to Rochester prior to the 2019-2020 season as the Sabres were in full win-now mode and they brought in a well-respected veteran in Eric Staal, from whom Cozens was supposed to learn the ropes. That didn’t pan out very well. Staal was never a fit so it’s hard to say what exactly Cozens may have gleaned from that experience. He never hit his offensive stride last year, though, and the goal he scored last weekend was his first in 24 games. There certainly was no talk about Cozens going to Rochester this season, as the Sabres looked to have maybe two NHL-capable centers (one of whom was Dylan Cozens).
Then a couple of funny things happened. Thompson became a completely reasonable center option out of nowhere, and Cody Eakin played much better than last year while centering Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo. Add to that the ability for Arttu Ruotsalainen to play some center and suddenly the Sabres look like they have respectable depth down the middle.
The Sabres have managed an excellent 5-1-1 record without the services of their presumed number one center, Casey Mittelstadt who suffered an upper body injury. The coach said there is a possibility he could return to the lineup following the conclusion of this four-game western roadtrip, at which time the Sabres would have another center available in addition to Thompson, Ruotsalainen and Eakin. That could open up the possibility of Cozens playing for the Rochester Americans.
The situation in Rochester couldn’t be better for Cozens. The 2020 draft dynamic duo of Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka are lighting the league up right now, even without a high-caliber center between them (with all due respect to Sean Malone). Quinn has 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 games, and Peterka has 1 goal and 4 assists in 5 games. Cozens could slide in between those two and immediately give the Amerks an elite top line, while also allowing Cozens to gain some confidence from an offensive perspective. The offensive production ceiling for those three would be incredibly high.
The trio of Cozens, Quinn and Peterka could very well be the future second line of the Buffalo Sabres in as little as a year or two. Allowing those three to grow their chemistry at the American League level could be the kind of catalyst needed to make that happen. The change wouldn’t have to be for the rest of the season, either. Further injuries would undoubtedly necessitate Cozens’ return to the Sabres at some point down the line.
It’s something to consider when Mittelstadt returns.