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| (above) David Carle was named DU Assistant Coach on Monday |
Showing posts with label Bozak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bozak. Show all posts
Twitter: David Carle Becomes DU Assistant Coach
Bozak Makes Living Being Phil Kessel's "Wingman"
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| (above) DU alum Tyler Bozak signed a $21 million contract this offseason |
From: National Post
by Michael Traikos
It was the first day of training camp and Tyler Bozak had just finished talking with reporters when Phil Kessel walked by.
As he did, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward called out, “Hey Bozie, you gonna have a good season?”
To which Bozak responded: “Yeah, if you are.”
Both players laughed, but it was not exactly a joke. While Kessel might not need Bozak’s help to score 30 goals this year, it does not work the other way around. Bozak will not have a good year unless Kessel has one. Even then, it is not a given. In the last two years, Kessel has finished sixth and seventh in NHL scoring. Bozak finished outside the top 100 both times [read entire article].
News & Notes From Around PioNation
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| (above) Drew Shore #50 made his NHL debut last night in the Montreal Forum |
DU's mens basketball team will play tonight at New Mexico State on ESPN-U at 9 PM. It should be fun to see the team on national TV.
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DU alum Drew Shore made his NHL debut for the Florida Panthers last night in a 4-1 loss against Montreal. His parents David & Sarah, who are also DU alums, flew up to Montreal to watch the game. Drew was called up after Florida had a rash of injuries.
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The USNDP Under-18 team upset Michigan State 3-1 on Tuesday night in an exhibition game. DU recruits Will Butcher scored a goal and Gage Ausmus had an assist. Great to see DU recruits playing well against college level competition. Bodes well for next season.
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DU alum Tyler Bozak was incredible for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. He went 22-26 on faceoffs and played alongside Gopher alum Phil Kessell on Toronto's top line. Despite some late heroics the Maple Leafs lost 2-1.
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DU alum Patrick Wiercioch is off to a fast start for the Ottawa Senators in his first season in the NHL. He has two assists in his first two games this season. He played 8 games for the Senators last season.
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The University of Denver’s new library will be named for alumnus Ed Anderson following a major donation from the Boston-area venture capitalist and his wife, Linda Cabot. The library will be named Anderson Academic
Commons and slated to open March 25. The building has been rising on the site of the former Penrose Library.
Bozak's Halloween Costume Sparks Controversy
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| (above) It only took 3 hours for every newspaper in Canada to jump on this photo |
From: Toronto Sun
Had it not been for the current lockout, Toronto Maple Leafs & DU Alum Tyler Bozak might have been resting – maybe celebrating – after meeting the Anaheim Ducks at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night.
Had it not been for the current lockout, Toronto Maple Leafs & DU Alum Tyler Bozak might have been resting – maybe celebrating – after meeting the Anaheim Ducks at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night.
Instead, the 26-year-old from Regina, Sask., became the subject of heated social media talk after a tweet from his personal Twitter account appeared to show a picture of himself in blackface, posing as former pop star Michael Jackson while grabbing himself.
Although he promptly removed the tweet the photo was captured by a number of followers, who prominently displayed the image for all to see, leading Bozak to comment on the accompanying backlash that ensued.
“That's a tribute to one of my fave artists,” Bozak tweeted. “For anyone saying its racist is crazy!”
Blackface is a style of makeup used for imitating a black person. It has a history of being used in forms of entertainment based on racist stereotypes.
In three season with the Leafs Bozak has 106 points in 192 games. He agreed to a two-year extension with Toronto last summer.
Thoughts & Observations From Homecoming
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| (above) Purchase a Boone hockey jersey online & you could become a Magness celebrity |
Fantastic student support at both games this weekend. Band, Boone, Cheerleaders, DU Dance Team all did a great job. Awesome to see our hockey team leading by wide margins on both nights and virtually no student fans leaving until the final buzzer. Well played.
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Props to DU for cutting back on the canned music on Saturday night so that the band could be in the spotlight.
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The Saturday night pre-game Taste of DU Event in Gates Fieldhouse was incredible once again. DU doesn't publicize it because they want to keep it for the parents & alumni. Its a sampling from restaurants that are either local or alumni owned. Thanks to the hard-working DU Alumni Office staff that puts on this event annually. Its easily the best pregame event of the hockey season.
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The annual hockey alumni Orange-Lemon Contest had the added bonus of Mark Rycroft, Paul Stastny & Tyler Bozak competing. Wish DU could figure out a way to let the alumni guys do this between periods of the Homecoming game in front of 5,000 fans. And yes, the three DU alums with NHL experience all missed their first shots, so were in the "Lemon" line. Rycroft "won" the Lemon & Petri Gunther the Orange.
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Nice game by DU goaltender Adam Murray on Saturday night. He looked like he was really enjoying himself out there. Great to see.
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Wish I had a dollar for every fan at the game who told me they love the grittiness of this young DU hockey team. Its "Old-time hockey, like Eddie Shore used to play" at Magness Arena.
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Limo ride around campus with Boone and other DU alums on Saturday afternoon was a great experience. Will have to add that to future game day bucket lists.
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TRIVIA QUESTION: When was the last time DU scored five or more goals in four consecutive regular season games? Oct. 25th - Nov. 2nd, 2002. They defeated Alabama-Huntsville 7-2, 7-0 & Wisconsin 5-3, 5-3.
Note: DU did it on two more recent occasions, but needed exhibition games to pull off the feat.
DU Alumni NHL Roundup
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| (above) Matt Donovan stretching during warmups before his first NHL game |
Tyler Bozak [Toronto] - 2 goals and an assist as Toronto lost to Buffalo 6-5.
Joe Colborne [Toronto] - Just recalled to the Maple Leafs recorded an assist.
Matt Donovan [NY Islanders] - Played over 21 minutes in first NHL game, but the Islanders lost to New Jersey 3-1.
Matt Carle [Philadelphia] - Played over 16 minutes and was -2 as the Flyers lost to the arch rival NY Rangers.
Jason Zucker [Minnesota] - Played 11 minutes in his fourth NHL game, but did not record a point.
Chris Butler [Calgary] & Paul Statsny [Colorado] - Teams did not play
News & Notes From Around PioNation
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The National Post has a very complimentary article about Tyler Bozak and what he has done as the first line center for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
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"Thankfully, he is a lot better than where he was when he was lying on that ice," Gwozdecky said of Jason Zucker in the Denver Post today. "It was a dangerous, dangerous hit, and it certainly could have been a lot worse, based on what we saw not only live but on (video)." Check out the entire article.
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Thanks to Boston College winning the Beanpot Tournament last night, DU is now alone in 7th place in the Pairwise Rankings.Tyler Bozak Having Breakout Season In Toronto
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| (above) DU alum Tyler Bozak is back centering the first line in Toronto |
by Jonas Siegel
The job that was supposed to belong to high-priced free agent signee Tim Connolly remains in the hands of University of Denver alum Tyler Bozak.
The 25-year-old has registered 19 points in the last 20 games playing pivot for Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on the Leafs first line. And with 24 points already this season, Bozak is just eight points from matching the total he had all of last season in an underwhelming sophomore campaign.
“I think the main thing for me is just confidence,” he told the Leaf Report. “I'm confident now that I can get the job done out there; I can get points, I can keep my own end clean and whenever you're playing with confidence you're a way better player.”
Several improvements have sparked the breakthrough third season, many of which stem from greater accountability in the defensive zone.
Struggling to put points on the board early last season, Bozak admittedly cheated in his own end, looking to jump-start the production expected of a first-line centre. “But you find out the hard way that that just results in more goals against and less goals for you,” he said. The minus-29 rating, which stuck like a scarlet letter to his name (and was amongst the worst in the NHL) was a source of real frustration and top priority for cleanup this fall. A plus-5 rating thus far demonstrates progress in that regard. “Obviously they're still going to be mishaps,” Bozak said. “We're an offensive line and we want to produce offensively and not spend a lot of time in our zone so there's going to be times where we give up some goals, but we're plus players this year which is nice.”
Offensively in the past, there was a strong tendency on Bozak's part to force-feed Kessel the puck. Running shotgun with a regular 30-goal man, he felt the need and obvious pressure to find his high-powered linemate as much as possible. “Early in my career I would force it to Phil all the time,” Bozak conceded, “and even he doesn't want me to do that; he wants me to take my shots when I have my opportunities.” Without a goal in the opening 14 games, Bozak has found twine seven times now in the last 20 games. “I'm more confident now that I can score goals. Obviously still a pass-first guy and I'm going to be looking to make the pass first, but I'm not going to force the stuff like I used to,” he said.
According to Bozak, the offensive pitfalls – which saw him post just 15 goals and 32 points in 2010-2011 despite logging over 19 minutes a game – tied back to what became a constant mental struggle in the defensive end, a circular effect considering the initial source of the miscues (cheating for offence). “I think last year wasn't [so much] confidence [that] I couldn't score,” he explained, “it was just every time I was on the ice I thought I was going to get scored on, more so than thinking I was going to score or our line was going to score. And this year every time we get a shift I think there's a good chance that we can get a goal between the three of us.”
Kessel (41 points) and Lupul (38) sit comfortably amongst the league leaders in scoring this season, primarily (and rather unexpectedly) with the third-year centre in the middle. Connolly was inked to a two-year contract this past summer, specifically to fill the first-line centre void, but with injuries and the line's continued success without him there's been little reason for Ron Wilson switch things up. He aimed ever so briefly last week to get “more the look of what we expected” with Connolly in between Kessel and Lupul, but after two periods reverted back to Bozak.
“I was able to get on [the line] at the right time when Loops and Phil got hot,” Bozak noted. “They obviously don't want to break up a line that's doing well so I think a lot of the credit goes out to the wingers for that.”
In addition to the flexibility he's provided down the middle, Bozak has also recently returned to the penalty-kill – a role he filled with some success last season – while remaining a quiet, but effective presence on the league's 3rd ranked powerplay (nine points).
Brian Burke claimed to have added a player of first-round caliber when he signed Bozak as a free agent from the University of Denver. With his performance so far this season, Bozak is beginning to justify that hype.
Bozak Tweets About "Justin Bieber Roundup"
From: Busted Coverage Blog
Is Toronto Maple Leafs center & DU Alum Tyler Bozak a nut? We’re not really sure because we don’t know a hell of a lot about him, but we’re beginning to think he is.
This is the same dude who was firing assault rifles with teammate Mike Brown in October, shortly after the NHL season had begun. Nothing could go wrong there, right?
Now, Bozak is recruiting his boys to go to a Justin Bieber concert this summer. He hit up teammate Jake Gardiner on Twitter to pose just that question on Thursday.
We’re not sure when the concert is, but apparently the Leafs don’t really have any plans to be playing in June. Although they haven’t been any good in who knows how long (no, I’m not from Toronto), they’re playing well this season. They’re currently second in the Northeast with 35 points, six points behind the Boston Bruins, but hey, getting into the playoffs for a change is probably enough.
Anyway, we’re not really sure what Gardiner thought about the Bieber concert because he didn’t reply.
However, Ray Kaunisto, who currently plays in the AHL for the Manchester Monarchs and is a Los Angeles Kings draftee, jumped in with the idea to turn the whole thing into an “accidental” Las Vegas excursion.
Video: Joe Colborne's First NHL Goal
It was a memorable evening for DU alum Joe Colborne last night. He scored his first NHL goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, his team won 7-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightening and former DU star Tyler Bozak added two goals for the Maple Leafs.
More Fun With Twitter
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| (above) DU Alum Tyler Bozak (red shirt) posted this photo of several M-16's on his Twitter account |
Colborne Wants To Land On Leafs Roster
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| (above) DU Alum Joe Colborne will be battling in training camp to play alongside fellow Pioneer Tyler Bozak |
From: National Post
by Michael Traikos
Training camp begins for the Toronto Maple Leafs in one week. Until then, head coach Ron Wilson is not allowed on the ice with his team. Nor is he allowed to devise game plans in the dressing room or stand on the bench and shout instructions to his charges. But he is always watching.
Joe Colborne knows this. He also knows that while most of the roster is pretty much set, the Leafs are keeping one spot open on the third line with centre Tyler Bozak and right-winger Colby Armstrong [read rest of article].
Bozak Signs New Contract With Maple Leafs
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| Tyler Bozak |
The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up DU Alum Tyler Bozak to two-year contract yesterday.
Bozak tweeted news of his signing to his supporters on Tuesday, saying "Thanks for the congrats everyone. Glad to be back with the Leafs to play in front of the best fans in the world."
He netted 15 goals and 32 points last year in Toronto. The 25-year-old Regina native played all 82 games in his first full NHL season.
He was originally signed as a free agent out of the University of Denver in April 2009.
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