2019 Draft Diary: Dylan Cozens

Dylan Cozens (6-foot-3, 181 pounds), a projected top-5 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver on June 21-22, will write a monthly diary this season for NHL.com leading up to the draft. The 17-year-old forward is in his second season with Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League. Winner of the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year last season, Cozens leads the Hurricanes with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 10 games. In his first entry, Cozens discusses life in Whitehorse, Yukon, and his start to the 2018-19 season.

Hello hockey fans.
Thanks for taking the time to read my first diary for NHL.com.
I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon; there aren't a lot of NHL players out of this area. I love camping and fishing in the summers.
When I was younger, I played on the Alberta rep team but there wasn't a lot of competition. We'd have to play against the house league kids, who were an age-group older. You never really had a chance to play against other rep kids, so that was tough. The only time we got to play against them was when we used to travel in tournaments, and it was during those games I knew I could compete with the other players from the other teams.
That's when I knew I needed to move away to get myself out there and showcase myself. I moved away from Whitehorse to attend the Delta Academy in British Columbia when I was 14.
I was the first Yukon-born player taken in the first round (No. 19) of the 2016 WHL bantam draft. Last year was a learning year for me with how the league worked and what it does to your body. Going into this year I knew what I needed to work on to get stronger, take care of my body every day. After every game, I make sure I get a good cool down in. I know what to expect but I still need to go out and prove myself every day.
On Wednesday, I learned I was selected to represent Team WHL to play against Russia in the 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series in Kamloops (Nov. 5) and Vancouver (Nov. 6). I'll play with all the other top players in the league, so that's really going to be special. To be able to do it with my two teammates, Jordy Bellerive (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Calen Addison (Penguins), is amazing because they're two of my very good friends. Bowen Byram (2019 draft eligible) and Kirby Dach (2019 eligible) are also two of my best friends, so it'll be great being with them on the team. I won a gold medal with Byram and Dach on Canada's Under-18 team at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

So far, it's all been good with my personal play. I feel I could still be better every game, I know I can be better. I just want to focus on being consistent throughout the whole season and when hit with adversity, be able to overcome it.
I'm supposed to be a top guy on my team this year and produce every night. Since it is my draft year, there's some pressure there too, but you just need to know to block it out when you get to the game and not worry about it too much. I know there's going to be ups and downs, but you just have to keep a level head, focus on your game and get better.
After a win against Kootenay on Oct. 16, our team is 4-4-2. We play Medicine Hat on Saturday, so we're looking forward to that. We've had a little bit of a slow start to the season, not playing our game at times, but we're starting to come together now. We know what we need to do and how we need to play to be successful. I believe we'll have a good team and, by midseason, I feel we'll be one of the top teams in the league. We just need to focus on ourselves and work at it. We're learning what we need to do.
Thanks for reading. Check back next month.