ROCHESTER – The most impressive part of Buffalo Sabres prospect Tyson Kozak’s performance Wednesday wasn’t the goal he scored by driving to the net and deftly backhanding a rebound in.
No, while Kozak displayed tenacity and skill in scoring his team-leading third goal, his play later in the Americans’ 6-1 win was more notable.
With the Amerks comfortably up 5-0, he raced into his own zone to thwart a breakaway attempt by the Cleveland Monsters.
“I saw one of their guys, he was quite a ways ahead of me,” Kozak said following the game in Blue Cross Arena. “But I had a little bit of speed coming back, so I knew I could catch him. I just put my head down.”
Kozak’s hustle illustrates why the Sabres value him so highly. Despite being a seventh-round pick in 2020, 193rd overall, his aggressive two-way game has helped him quietly emerge as one of their best forward prospects.
“We believe in him,” Amerks coach Mike Leone said. “He’s a straw that stirs the drink on any line he plays on.”
On Wednesday, that was the first line. In Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to Toronto Marlies, the Amerks had seven power plays, meaning Kozak, who doesn’t play on the units, lost ice time.
So Leone shifted Kozak, a natural center, to left wing alongside prospects Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosen, two first-round selections, to award him more minutes.
“I haven’t played it a ton, but I thought I did OK,” Kozak said of playing the wing. “It’s an adjustment, but it felt good.”
In scoring three early goals, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Kozak might be adding a missing piece to his game and enhancing his chances of earning his first NHL recall. He scored five times in each of his first two seasons.
“We think he can be a 15-goal scorer,” Leone said.
Still, Kozak said he’s focused on “playing a 200-foot game” and “selfless hockey.”
“That stuff will come eventually, and so far, it has,” he said.
Last month, Amerks assistant coach Vinny Prospal said if Kozak develops a scoring touch, his game could resemble one of the NHL’s best two-way forwards, Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli.
“Vinny calls him our Cirelli,” Leone said.
What else is notable about a hot start Kozak attributes to the confidence he generated earlier in his AHL career? His health. After a lower-body injury he suffered during the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament forced him to miss NHL training camp, he has played all five of Rochester’s games.
Fresh off a season in which injuries cost him 31 contests, he said dealing with another one last month “was definitely tough mentally.”
“But I think (it) just gave me a little bit more time to prepare for the season, get my body physically ready and mentally ready,” he said.
Sabres prospect Noah Ostlund, 20, scored his first AHL regular-season goal Wednesday, whistling a shot in from above the right circle.
As the 16th overall pick in 2022, Ostlund carries a reputation as an offensive center. But dating back to the NHL preseason, his checking ability has also wowed Leone.
“His play away from the puck in our zone is as good as I’ve seen from a player that young, his willingness to not cheat the game and be on the right side of the puck, and he’s going to get rewarded,” he said.
Leone said the Swedish rookie has been the Amerks’ most consistent player since last month.
Ostlund scored once last year during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Leone broke his goalie rotation Wednesday, awarding Michael Houser the start. The veteran rewarded him by stopping 25 shots.
“Just give him a home game,” Leone said of why he played Houser. “I think he earned the right to play in front of our home crowd.”
So far, Houser, who has an AHL contract, has outplayed goalie Felix Sandstrom, who has a two-way NHL deal.
Houser has compiled a 2-1-0 record with a 1.69 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Sandstrom, meanwhile, has registered a 0-2-0 mark with a 3.60 goals-against average and an .865 save percentage.
