A strong season in the Western Hockey League plus a solid showing in last month's summer development camp has earned Tyson Kozak a contract from the Buffalo Sabres.
A seventh-round draft pick by the Sabres in 2021, Kozak has signed his three-year entry-level deal, the club announced Friday. Playing for the Portland Winterhawks, Kozak had a huge breakout season this year by finishing third on the team with 32 goals and fourth in scoring with 69 points. In the 2020-21 season, he had just three goals and 11 points in 18 games.
Kozak tallied 34 goals and 40 assists in the regular season and 10 playoff games with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.
Kozak, who will be Portland's captain for the second straight year come fall, caught the eye of many Sabres officials at development camp.
Said former Sabres captain and current Rochester assistant Michael Peca: "Watching him out there, you’d think he went in the top three rounds to be honest with you."
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Kozak, 19, becomes the sixth member of Buffalo's 2021 draft class to sign their entry-level deal. He joins No. 1 overall pick Owen Power, fellow first-rounder Isak Rosen, second-rounder Aleksandr Kisakov, third-rounder Josh Bloom and fourth-rounder Olivier Nadeau.
Remaining unsigned are Prokhor Poltapov (Round 2), Stiven Sardarian (Round 3), Viljami Marjala (Round 5) and the Round 6 pair of William von Barnekow-Lofberg and Nikita Novikov. Sardarian is scheduled to play next season at the University of New Hampshire while Marjala plays for the Quebec Remparts under Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. Poltapov and Novikov play in the KHL while von Barnekow-Lofberg will again play in Sweden.
