Meet the Leafs : Tyler Bozak

Born March 19, 1986 (1986-03-19) (age 24),
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height
Weight 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft undrafted
Playing career 2009–present


Bozak started playing in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for the Victoria Salsa (later known as the Victoria Grizzlies) in the 2004–05 season.[1] He spent three seasons in the BCHL with the Victoria franchise. In his final season, Bozak recorded 128 points (45 goals and 83 assists), and was awarded the Brett Hull Trophy as the league's Top Scorer.[2]

On December 11, 2006, the University of Denver Pioneers announced that Bozak had signed a letter of intent to play hockey for the school.[3] He joined the Pioneers for the 2007-08 season. During his freshman year with the club, Bozak played in all 41 games and led the team in scoring with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists).[1] He was second in the country with five shorthanded goals.[4] During the season, Bozak was named the Red Baron Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Rookie of the Week four times and was named the Hockey Commissioner's Association (HCA) Rookie of the Month for December.[4] At the end of the season, Bozak was named to the All-WCHA third team and to the All-WCHA Rookie Team.[4]

Heading into his sophomore season with the Pioneers, Bozak was named to the College Hockey News Preseason All-America Team.[4] On December 12, he tore the meniscus in his left knee in a game against Minnesota State, and this caused him to miss more than half of the Pioneers season.[4] After the season, Bozak was named to the All-WCHA Academic Team.[4]

[edit] Professional
After his sophomore season, Bozak was a heavily pursued free agent. He signed a two-year, entry level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 3, 2009.[5] Exact financial details of the contract were not released, but it has been rumoured to be worth close to $4 million per season if all performance bonuses are reached.[6] Bozak did not suit up for the Leafs at the end of the 2008-09 season, instead taking the time to further rehabilitate his injured knee.[7]

Bozak attended the Maple Leafs training camp prior to the 2009-10 season. He had a strong training camp, but because of salary cap concerns, he was sent down to the Leafs American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Toronto Marlies. Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson admitted that Bozak had a strong camp, "He'll probably have to go down because of numbers. Based on the way he played in training camp, he's certainly worthy of playing in the NHL, but we may not have room at the beginning."[8] Bozak was called up by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 13, 2009,[9] and made his NHL debut the same night against the Colorado Avalanche. During this game, he recorded his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by Francois Beauchemin.[10] After playing one game, Bozak was returned to the AHL's Marlies on October 15, 2009.[9] Bozak was called up by the Maple Leafs again on January 12, 2010.[9] On January 14, 2010, Bozak scored his first NHL goal against the Philadelphia Flyers.[11]

Source Wikipedia