Sabres prospect Tyson Kozak having an 'incredibly impressive' rookie season with Amerks

On the Rochester Americans’ side, assistant coach Michael Peca remarked, “That’s why you don’t fight a guy who doesn’t say anything.”

Tyson Kozak didn’t instigate the fight. He was goaded into the confrontation when Thompson challenged him in front of the Amerks’ bench. Kozak ended it quickly by pummeling the aggressor with multiple upper-cut punches. Players and coaches in Rochester had seen that quiet intensity from Kozak in the past, but it was typically through his worker-bee approach in games.

At only 20 years old, Kozak is among the Amerks’ most trusted forwards. He’s responsible defensively, blocks shots, shuts down opposing power plays, wins important faceoffs and, when necessary, defends himself with fists that must have felt like bricks to Thompson in their fight on April 1.

“People that are pretty silent, you leave them alone,” warned Peca, a two-time Selke Trophy winner during his 14-year NHL career. “Those are the dangerous people. Guys that are chirping all the time, those are the chihuahuas at the front door. They're just trying to keep you away. But the big dog that just lays at the front door, that's the guy that's ready to kill you – that’s Kozy.”

We simply do not recommend messing with Tyson Kozak 👊 pic.twitter.com/YcspWyHAJI

— x-Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) April 1, 2023

Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen are the Buffalo Sabres prospects who have garnered the most attention as rookies in Rochester this season because of their status as first-round draft picks and their tantalizing skill sets. Quietly, Kozak emerged as another development success story for the Amerks, who open their best-of-five North Division finals playoff series Thursday night in Toronto against the Marlies.

Kozak doesn’t have the counting stats of those skilled forwards. He finished the regular season with only five goals and 10 points in 55 games, but his surging confidence was on display from the outset in Rochester’s series-clinching win Saturday night in Syracuse. Kozak, a seventh-round draft pick of the Sabres in 2021, scored the opening goal by getting to the front of the net to finish a pass from Rosen and blocked several shots during the Crunch’s push in the third period of the overtime victory.

“As good as Rosen and Kulich are in in the offensive part of their game, Kozy is as good in his defensive game,” boasted Amerks coach Seth Appert. “And for him to be one of our best penalty killers and one of our best defensive players and most physical players as a 19-, 20-year-old in this league is incredibly impressive.”

Two years ago, Kozak was preparing to finish an abbreviated season with the Portland Winterhawks and didn’t think he would even be considered for the NHL draft given all the opportunity he missed because the Covid-19 pandemic caused the Western Hockey League to hold an 18-game schedule in 2020-21.

Once the season ended, Kozak started hearing about the interest. Teams were impressed that a young center in that league would prioritize and excel at defending. He was tough, intense and routinely showed he was doing whatever it took to win.

Unlike most young forwards his age, Kozak never cheated to try to create offense. He learned as soon as he arrived in Portland in 2018 that he had to carve out a niche as a shutdown, physical, miserable-to-play-against defensive forward. There were too many other skilled players for goal-scoring to be his calling card.

The Sabres saw enough from Kozak to select him with the first pick of the seventh round, 193rd overall, and trusted that more offense would come from the center. The breakthrough occurred last season when he captained Portland and produced 32 goals with 69 points in 66 games. Buffalo’s development staff presented a glowing recommendation to General Manager Kevyn Adams and associate general manager Jason Karmanos.

Kozak impressed at development camp in July and continued to prepare for another season in junior hockey when he learned the Sabres wanted to sign him to an entry-level contract.

"It was very surreal," he recalled. "I can't even put it into words. I was just so excited."

He was among their leading scorers at the Prospects Challenge in September and stuck around training camp long enough to impress the NHL coaching staff, including Don Granato. Kozak then joined the Amerks to begin a challenging adjustment to the American Hockey League.

“I kind of I knew it was gonna be hard,” he said following practice Tuesday. “I didn't have quite high expectations as I had for myself last year, but I thought I played well. It's just really hard to produce in this league. I've loved it every moment. It’s huge for me now that I’ve seen that I can score in this league. Once it started to come, I feel like I was playing a lot better every game.”

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, Kozak had to learn how to play his physical brand of hockey against bigger, stronger competition. Confidence can be difficult to conjure for any young forward, let alone one who is defensive-minded and unwilling to take risks that can leave his teammates exposed to scoring chances. He had two goals in 33 games to start the season. And as soon as Kozak began to see results with the puck, he dealt with an injury.

Kozak missed three weeks in March because of a knee-on-knee hit during the game in which he fought Laval’s Riley McKay and delivered multiple, impactful body checks. Kozak regained the rhythm that was lost when he returned to the lineup and scored against Utica before he fought Tage Thompson’s younger brother, but a thumb injury kept Kozak out of the lineup for the final six games of the regular season.

There are times the Amerks’ coaches want Kozak to not be so quiet. He’s gotten to areas where he can score or make a play with the puck, but communication with teammates can be paramount in those situations. Kozak is no longer uncertain about what he can accomplish in pro hockey. He was among Rochester’s most reliable players as it rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to eliminate the Crunch.

A decision to focus on defense at a young age gave Kozak a skill set that will be a separator as he toils away in Rochester to carve out a niche in a Sabres prospect pipeline that’s filled with skilled forwards.

“I’m so impressed by what he's done over the last four months and how he continues to grow and be a big part of our team,” added Peca, an outstanding two-way center for the Sabres from 1995-2000. “When we're down a goal or up a goal late the game, he's the first guy over the boards. That’s a massive responsibility for a kid that's (20 years old) and first-year pro. … The thing that I'm most proud of, and that I'm most excited about, is that he's trusting himself. He’s trusting what he sees and he's not hesitating.”