The lanky forward prospect will be an obvious choice for the Philadelphia Flyers if he falls all of the way to 11th overall.
Dylan Cozens, not to be confused with Philadelphia Phillies and Lehigh Valley IronPigs outfielder Dylan Cozens for my fellow four-for-four Philly sports fans, is a power forward prospect who hails from Whitehorse Yukon, Canada. He stands at 6’3, weighs 181 pounds, and uses every inch of that big frame to his advantage.
Cozens has spent his last two years playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and has posted tremendous results to boot. The 18-year-old forward netted 84 points (34 Goals, 50 Assists) in 68 games, which was a 30 point improvement on his 2017-18 rookie year with just 11 more games played. That led all Hurricane players and tied for 10th the entire WHL as well. He also had a solid showing at the Under-18 World Junior Championships as an Alternate Captain for Team Canada, scoring nine points (4 Goals, 5 Assists) in seven international contests. While his efforts couldn’t lead the Canadians to a bronze medal in the tournament, he still sat second on the squad in points.
The Lethbridge forward scores most of his goals with a deadly wrist and one-time shot that he can get off very quickly. He also isn’t afraid to provide screens and get deflections in front of the net. His ability to put the puck in the net overshadows his passing skills, which are superb in their own right. The vision he possesses while on the ice is first-class and has a knack for knowing he his teammates are going to be to set them up for dangerous scoring chances. Cozens is a good skater for his size, too, with an above average first-step, excellent top speed once he gets going, and has the versatility to play either center or right wing.
Now, it’s pretty unlikely that Cozens will be there when the Philadelphia Flyers pick at 11, but with guys like Kirby Dach, Bowen Byram, Alex Turcotte, and Cole Caufield on the rise, he could find himself falling down the board when draft day comes around. For that reason, he’s definitely a guy to keep tabs on.
If he does end up falling to 11, Cozens would be a no-brainer selection for General Manager Chuck Fletcher and help give Philadelphia a top-end talent to replace Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, and Issac Ractliffe in juniors with those three all but likely heading to the Phantoms.