NHL Mock Draft 2019: No.4 — Dylan Cozens

Picking fourth overall is definitely a little disappointing for the Colorado Avalanche front office since they entered the Draft Lottery with an 18.5 percent chance at landing the No.1 overall pick.

The Avalanche acquired this pick from the Ottawa Senators as a part of the package that sent Matt Duchene to the Senators last season. The Senators finished last in the NHL this season, by a wide margin, and it looked highly likely that the Avalanche were going to add Jack Hughes to a team that already includes Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Still, possessing a roster that was able to make some noise in the playoffs this year and having the No.4 and No.16 overall picks in this year’s draft is nothing but good news for Avalanche fans. They obviously missed out on another potential franchise defining centre, but have the ability to choose a potential second-line centre at No.4—all three of Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach and Trevor Zegras are all still on the board and the sense is the Avalanche are going to take one of them. Colorado’s two top prospects (Cale Makar and Conor Timmins) are both defensemen, so adding another quality forward to the pool seems like the logical choice. Vladislav Kamenev, who they acquired from Nashville, Martin Kaut, last year’s No.16 overall pick, and Shane Bowers, also acquired in the Duchene trade are among their top forward prospects heading into 2020.

With the No.4 Overall Pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select…

Dylan Cozens — C — Canada 🇨🇦

Cozens is capable of playing centre or the wing, which is similar to players like Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher, and Alexander Kerfoot, who are already on the Avalanche roster and give them plenty of flexibility. Cozens, who has great size (6-foot-3, 183 lbs.) skates exceptionally well and comes into the draft as one of the class’s most well-rounded prospects.

The Whitehorse, Yukon native scored 34 goals with 50 assists, to rank 11th in the WHL with 84 points in 68 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes this season. Cozens was also an assistant captain for Canada at the U18 World Juniors, where he scored four goals with five assists to rank third on the team in points (nine) in seven games.

Cozens is a player who projects to be a future No.2 centre but could always end up being a winger as well. Cozens could end up replacing Carl Soderberg on this roster when the 33-year-old’s contract expires at the end of next season. He might not be the flashiest pick but is arguably the safest among the remaining forwards. If Cozens ends up playing on the right wing, the Avalanche would have a big, powerful right-side as he joins Rantanen (6-foot-4, 215 lbs.) and Kaut (6-foot-2, 176 lbs.).

Scouting Report

Cozens skates remarkably well for a player his size and he’ll only get better as he gets older and stronger. Add that to his high-end offensive skill set, and he could fill the Avalanche’s hole at second-line centre as soon as next season. — Adam Kimelman (NHL.com)
Cozens does not project to become a regular on the highlight reel in the NHL. He does project to become a very good NHL forward. With his skating ability, his size and his talent level, Cozens has all the components to become a quality first line forward in the NHL, whether on the wing or at center. Evaluators feel he could be in the NHL by the 2020-21 season as well. — Corey Pronman (The Athletic)

Rankings

#14 — HockeyProspect.com
#10 — Future Considerations
#5 — ISS Hockey
#5 — NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)

Highlights

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