Dylan Cozens was 12 years old when his NHL-sized dreams began to outgrow the reality of his life in Whitehorse. The Yukon's only city offered little in the way of competition for a player of Cozens' talent, leaving him to join a men's league before he was a teenager.
The experiment left Cozens with a broken leg. Two years later, he left home for the Delta Hockey Academy in British Columbia, setting off the chain of events that would lead to him being selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the seventh pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The lessons of his upbringing traveled with him. Veteran teammate Kyle Okposo commented on Cozens' "old-school hockey" mentality after the 20-year-old shook the Sabres with a third-period fight against New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren on Tuesday.
'Always engaged' | How Dylan Cozens has shown a maturity beyond his years
Rookie's two-way game, attention to detail has impressed veteran teammates
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