The Case for Tyler Bozak: All Tyler Bozak Discussion Here

[theIceWookie]

the points are nice.

how is he on the face off dot. how is he defensively. does he win battles on the boards. these are the things that separate the really good centres from Bozey

I've been a big critic of his over the years. Decent player sure but he's been a player that drags Kessel down offensively before this. Some can deny it all they want but the advanced stats supported this statement strongly. However he's improved in a big way and that might not be the case any longer. It will be interesting to see if he can produce away from Kessel now.

Faceoffs he's top 25 in the league right now. 54.7 percent, which is very good.

I think he's overrated defensively. He's decent. He's not amazing strength wise and he's got pretty bad corsi numbers.

But he's improving. I'll give more credit this year than I have in the past.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

While Kessel may not be the greatest defensive player, it's no excuse as to why Bozak is always being out-matched in puck battles on a consistent basis.

I don't know what you are watching but Bozak is the best player on the #1 line winning puck battles. He uses body position and his stick to win battles JVR and Kessel do not, despite them being bigger players weight wise.

Bozak is not a crasher, but neither is Bergeron or Krejci.

Still here is proof he is more physical than people like to portray him as.

 

[Face Of Bear]

Most underrated player on the Leafs.

 

[ULF_55]

I suspect he'll get around 38-42 points on the 2nd. line.

We know how inept the 2nd. line players are, someone with his skillset is going to be hard pressed to get anything more than 38-42 points.

 

[Warden of the North]

I really dont understand the hate Bozak gets. Its not his fault the team hasnt been able to acquire a better C then him.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Bozak is a strong second liner. However, he shouldn't be on the same line as Kessel. If anything plugging JVR on his wing would produce a more effective pair. Instead, we ought to have a Kadri - Kessel pair.

 

[ShooterMikgaven]

He's the free wallet to end all free wallets

 

[hockeygeek]

To be honest I've always been a big Bozak supporter but I'm not that thrilled with his season so far. I'm happy with his finish but he just seems to be leaching off Kessel right now. I'd like to see him create more on his own. Maybe help balance the line out when Kessel is having an off night.

 

[Diatomic]

I suspect he'll get around 38-42 points on the 2nd. line.

We know how inept the 2nd. line players are, someone with his skillset is going to be hard pressed to get anything more than 38-42 points.

It depends on whether he gets 1st unit PP time IMO. If he's playing on the 1st unit he should be able to get ~50 points again, but if not your prediction is very plausible. He's had a great start though.

 

[Maplebeasts]

I suspect he'll get around 38-42 points on the 2nd. line.

We know how inept the 2nd. line players are, someone with his skillset is going to be hard pressed to get anything more than 38-42 points.

I'm just going on what I see in him right now, and I would say if he gets pp time with JVR and Kessel he nets north of 50 points. Im thinking 20-35 roughly

 

[The Blue Devil]

I don't know what you are watching but Bozak is the best player on the #1 line winning puck battles. He uses body position and his stick to win battles JVR and Kessel do not, despite them being bigger players weight wise.

Bozak is not a crasher, but neither is Bergeron or Krejci.

Still here is proof he is more physical than people like to portray him as.

So to prove that he's tough you show to clips of him hitting Tony Lyman and TYLER FREAKIN ENNIS? Bozak is no where near even Krejci in defensive game as we so recently saw this past weekend, don't even get me started on Bergeron. He doesn't use "stick" or "body" positioning to win battles effectively, he's actually pretty poor as most should have been able to see him get dominated by good players in the D-zone.

 

[bunjay]

I've been a big critic of his over the years. Decent player sure but he's been a player that drags Kessel down offensively before this. Some can deny it all they want but the advanced stats supported this statement strongly. However he's improved in a big way and that might not be the case any longer. It will be interesting to see if he can produce away from Kessel now.

Faceoffs he's top 25 in the league right now. 54.7 percent, which is very good.

I think he's overrated defensively. He's decent. He's not amazing strength wise and he's got pretty bad corsi numbers.

But he's improving. I'll give more credit this year than I have in the past.

A guy who plays against top defensive matchups with wingers who can barely be bothered to play in their own zone will always have poor Corsi numbers.

I'm not saying Bozak is some sort of defensive juggernaut, just that even a Bergeron's numbers would suffer under the circumstances.

 

[bunjay]

I really dont understand the hate Bozak gets. Its not his fault the team hasnt been able to acquire a better C then him.

A lot of the criticism is from people who think Kadri is that centre. So Bozak is hurting the team by taking a better player's rightful place

 

[ULF_55]

He is a +3 on the O-Zone start to finish rating.

Player|O-Zone Start|O-Zone Finish|+/-
LEO KOMAROV|40.2|50.6|10.4
DAVID CLARKSON|42.3|51.2|8.9
MICHAEL SANTORELLI|40.3|48.2|7.9
PETER HOLLAND|34.4|42|7.6
JAKE GARDINER|53.3|60|6.7
RICHARD PANIK|30|36.6|6.6
ROMAN POLAK|37.5|42.9|5.4
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK|43.9|48.8|4.9
CODY FRANSON|40.4|44.9|4.5
STUART PERCY|30.9|34.2|3.3
TYLER BOZAK|44.4|47.4|3
PHIL KESSEL|44.7|46|1.3
DANIEL WINNIK|42.6|43.9|1.3
STEPHANE ROBIDAS|39.7|41|1.3
MORGAN RIELLY|54.4|53.5|-0.9
DIONP HANEUF|47.1|45|-2.1
MATT FRATTIN|44.4|40|-4.4
JOFFREY LUPUL|47.8|43.2|-4.6
NAZEM KADRI|50.8|42.7|-8.1
BRANDON KOZUN|52.4|37.5|-14.9

Shows he drives the puck forward, and doesn't always end up in retreat mode.

 

[indigobuffalo]

He is a +3 on the O-Zone start to finish rating.

Player|O-Zone Start|O-Zone Finish|+/-
LEO KOMAROV|40.2|50.6|10.4
DAVID CLARKSON|42.3|51.2|8.9
MICHAEL SANTORELLI|40.3|48.2|7.9
PETER HOLLAND|34.4|42|7.6
JAKE GARDINER|53.3|60|6.7
RICHARD PANIK|30|36.6|6.6
ROMAN POLAK|37.5|42.9|5.4
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK|43.9|48.8|4.9
CODY FRANSON|40.4|44.9|4.5
STUART PERCY|30.9|34.2|3.3
TYLER BOZAK|44.4|47.4|3
PHIL KESSEL|44.7|46|1.3
DANIEL WINNIK|42.6|43.9|1.3
STEPHANE ROBIDAS|39.7|41|1.3
MORGAN RIELLY|54.4|53.5|-0.9
DIONP HANEUF|47.1|45|-2.1
MATT FRATTIN|44.4|40|-4.4
JOFFREY LUPUL|47.8|43.2|-4.6
NAZEM KADRI|50.8|42.7|-8.1
BRANDON KOZUN|52.4|37.5|-14.9

Shows he drives the puck forward, and doesn't always end up in retreat mode.

Makes ya want to <3 Komarov though eh?

 

[The Winter Soldier]

So to prove that he's tough you show to clips of him hitting Tony Lyman and TYLER FREAKIN ENNIS? Bozak is no where near even Krejci in defensive game as we so recently saw this past weekend, don't even get me started on Bergeron. He doesn't use "stick" or "body" positioning to win battles effectively, he's actually pretty poor as most should have been able to see him get dominated by good players in the D-zone.

Clips dispel Bozak does not use his body, that is all it was intended for. Nothing more, nothing less. No one has claimed Bozak is Backes 2.0, but he isn't Connolly 2.0 either, what I find inconsistent in your arguments in years is you pick and choose who you deem as soft is, I know you pinpointed this as losing board battles, but may I remind you the Center you propped up for 2 years was a -10 against Krejci in the playoffs 2 years ago when He was far worse than Bozak was and is on the boards. Fact is, Bozak is efficient on the boards and he doesn't shy away from contact as you portrayed him as being. It is an inconsistent argument you have going here. If you are to nitpick him on this, then atleast be fair as with players you like.

 

[ULF_55]

Makes ya want to <3 Komarov though eh?

van Riemsdyk - Bozak - Komarov
or
Komarov-Kadri-Kessel

 

[Joey Hoser]

Clips dispel Bozak does not use his body, that is all it was intended for.

The fact that you had to go back to the AHL in 2009 to get an appropriate clip actually re-enforces that, rather than dispel it, and shows us that it is not a part of his game.

That's kind of like showing the clip of Kessel "knocking down" Chara and saying that taking down guys twice his size is part of his game.

 

[Durrr]

Bozak is 86th in ES points in the past 3 years, far below Kessel, JVR, Lupul and Kadri (but surprisingly above some big names). Highly doubt he hits 50 points without 1st line pp minutes, but he will be more then capable on the second line.

Shout out to Ovi, who is 104th in this regard .

 

[The Winter Soldier]

The fact that you had to go back to the AHL in 2009 to get an appropriate clip actually re-enforces that, rather than dispel it, and shows us that it is not a part of his game.

That's kind of like showing the clip of Kessel "knocking down" Chara and saying that taking down guys twice his size is part of his game.

Incorrect and incorrect.

 

[The Blue Devil]

Clips dispel Bozak does not use his body, that is all it was intended for. Nothing more, nothing less. No one has claimed Bozak is Backes 2.0, but he isn't Connolly 2.0 either, what I find inconsistent in your arguments in years is you pick and choose who you deem as soft is, I know you pinpointed this as losing board battles, but may I remind you the Center you propped up for 2 years was a -10 against Krejci in the playoffs 2 years ago when He was far worse than Bozak was and is on the boards. Fact is, Bozak is efficient on the boards and he doesn't shy away from contact as you portrayed him as being. It is an inconsistent argument you have going here. If you are to nitpick him on this, then atleast be fair as with players you like.

I've not once talked about Grabo being a great defensive player like you and others do with Bozak. Again showing 2 clips of him hitting 2 weaker players doesn't show that he is strong or good along the boards. Go watch all the teams that have dominated us, our 1st specifically. While Kessel and JVR were weak defensively, Bozak wasn't a saint either, he lost a good share of board battles that would've given him an easy opportunity to get the puck out.

I also never said that Bozak avoids contact, that's something that you made up in your mind to argue about. The only person with an inconsistent argument is you.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I've not once talked about Grabo being a great defensive player like you and others do with Bozak. Again showing 2 clips of him hitting 2 weaker players doesn't show that he is strong or good along the boards. Go watch all the teams that have dominated us, our 1st specifically. While Kessel and JVR were weak defensively, Bozak wasn't a saint either, he lost a good share of board battles that would've given him an easy opportunity to get the puck out.

I also never said that Bozak avoids contact, that's something that you made up in your mind to argue about. The only person with an inconsistent argument is you.

Yeah I agree with this. Bozak is better than Kessel and JVR, but he's not all that great at that aspect either.

I think some of that might be because that line has pretty much got stuck in old habits. New surroundings might help them all.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I've not once talked about Grabo being a great defensive player like you and others do with Bozak. Again showing 2 clips of him hitting 2 weaker players doesn't show that he is strong or good along the boards. Go watch all the teams that have dominated us, our 1st specifically. While Kessel and JVR were weak defensively, Bozak wasn't a saint either, he lost a good share of board battles that would've given him an easy opportunity to get the puck out.

I also never said that Bozak avoids contact, that's something that you made up in your mind to argue about. The only person with an inconsistent argument is you.

We agree on one point, our top 6 is pretty flawed when 2 way play is discussed. Where Bozak is our most complete player as it stands right now of the 5 or 6 we can consider top 6 players. This may be as dubious distinction, but it is the truth.

Which is why I find it puzzling why people are so quick to say he is not good defensively when there are 4 or 5 others worse than him.

As for board play, Bozak does not get enough credit for this, he is effective using his body to win puck battles and to shield the puck.

Again I am not making claims he is David Backes, but he is not Tim Connolly either.

 

[Purity*]

We agree on one point, our top 6 is pretty flawed when 2 way play is discussed. Where Bozak is our most complete player as it stands right now of the 5 or 6 we can consider top 6 players. This may be as dubious distinction, but it is the truth.

Which is why I find it puzzling why people are so quick to say he is not good defensively when there are 4 or 5 others worse than him.

As for board play, Bozak does not get enough credit for this, he is effective using his body to win puck battles and to shield the puck.

Again I am not making claims he is David Backes, but he is not Tim Connolly either.

I disagree with this completely. Bozak is terrible on the boards, I see him lose 80% of the puck battles he engages in.

 

[theIceWookie]

Incorrect and incorrect.

Two clips posted in 2011 don't really change his point at all...