“It’s Good To Be Back” | Tyson Kozak After Returning To Practice | Buffalo Sabres

Well, I know you were on the ice for the morning skate, but good to be back out with the guys. Yeah, it’s good to be back. Uh, obviously sucks to get injured. Uh, but that happens. It’s part of the game. I’m just kind of glad it wasn’t something too serious. So, wasn’t out too long and it’s good to be back. What happened? Uh, I just took a took a weird hit in the Toronto game. It wasn’t really a big hit or anything. Just kind of a weird movement and uh just a lower body inj body injury. I’m not sure if I can really say anything, but I know you can’t help it. I mean, but still the timing of it. I mean, you’re just getting your opportunity playing most games. That just has to really be upsetting, you know, the timing of an injury like that when you’re just getting your NHL career started. Yeah, it definitely sucks, but uh those things happen. I mean, pretty much everybody goes through it. So, I just try to stay positive. Uh, luckily, like I said, it wasn’t a a going to be a long-term thing, so I knew I was going to be back uh relatively quickly. So, it’s good to be back uh with everybody. After that game against the Wings, Lindy said he’s trusted to play against anybody. How much confidence does that give you to know that he can throw you out there against Demi Do against Matthews, against some of the top players in the league offensively? Yeah, I mean uh obviously it feels good to have the uh coach’s trust. Uh, I think coming into last season, uh, definitely helped me gain a little confidence, too. Just knowing that I can play, uh, in this league and then obviously, uh, just try to play a responsible, uh, 200T game, try and be good defensively as well. What helped you offensively? I mean, you started to score some goals. You guys play quite a bit of the game in the offensive end with the way the three of you for check. What help What helped you offensively? because you’re right. We we’ve always known you have a good defensive game, but what’s helped you turn it into more of a two-way game? I think it’s just going to the net really. I think the goals I’ve scored have kind of been all around the the blue paint. So, I think just hanging around there. Uh and obviously, um two lineates that I play with help out a lot. Uh they hang on to pucks down low. Uh really wear down the other teams. So, I’m just hanging around the net and uh luckily I’ve uh found the back of the net a few times. What’s the thought process in the room? I mean, here you guys at home, you’re 50 and two. You’ve got points in nine out of 10 games and you’re basically one point lasted, one point out of the playoffs. I mean, you basically have kept up with all that winning. And is it frustrating or is it just hey, we can only take care of what we can take care of? Yeah, I mean you try not to focus on standings too much. You just try to focus on each game and uh every day uh just try and get better each and every day. Uh obviously there’s there’s things we can work on and uh yeah, I think we’ve had a good stretch of games uh collecting points. So that’s always big uh towards the end of the season as well because it could come down to one or two points in the end. So uh I think we just got to consistently play a full 60 minutes. I think we’ll be we’ll be good. What about this building 5012 the last seven games being able to play well in this building? What what’s been say the secret, but what’s been the the recipe to to doing well in the last seven here at home? Um I’d say we just we just want to make this place a tough place to play. I mean uh we’ve been playing well. Uh obviously we’ve been getting really good goalending as well. So, I think we’re just trying to want to we’re trying to develop this place into being a really tough place for other teams to play. Is that where you and Dun can help too because with the way you guys get in and it’s also physical the way the way in Malenstein too the way you guys play. It just seems like this year guys are bigger, you’re stronger and more physical. Yeah, I think so. Uh it’s kind of just how all three of us play the game. 200 foot physical. Just try and play the right way. Uh don’t really cheat the game at all. Just try to play honest 200 foot hockey. All three of us. Is there a different feel for you around the locker room now? It’s been almost a year since your debut and you have so many other AHL guys filling in with you. Does it feel like you’ve been more comfortable around here than you did a year ago? Yeah, I’d say obviously coming in last year, I was obviously uh really really nervous, but uh when I came in, the guys made it really comfortable for me. Uh welcome me with open arms, made it really easy. Uh but yeah, playing in those first couple games was definitely nervous and then kind of getting my feet under me, I started to build some more and more confidence and started to feel good. What’s it been like to see three of your boys in the past week get their first NHL goal? Austin done. Yeah, it’s crazy. Yeah, couldn’t be happier for them. Uh I’ve spent a lot of time with those guys in Ro, so to see them come up and score some goals, it’s it’s really cool to see. You get to see the work. We don’t get to Rochester that talk about, you know, how they work together at this point. Well, I mean, uh Rosie and Oski have been there for a little bit. Uh Gunner was there, I think, just last year. This will be the second year. about that. So, I’ve been around Rosie and Austin more and they really put in the work. They’re there early every day and they’re leaving late every day. They they want to make it to the next level and obviously seeing them score some goals is really rewarding for them and it’s pretty cool to see. Thank you. It’s been a couple weeks. Have you watched the video of Shaq shouting you out on TNT? Yeah, I seen it. I had a lot of people send me that. Something you ever thought would happen? No, I never thought my name would come out of that guy’s mouth. So, now you got to beat him at some point. Yeah, we’ll see.

Buffalo Sabres forward Tyson Kozak spoke to the media after practice on November 5, 2025. This was Kozak’s first full practice back with the team and he talked about how he feels being back with the team. He also discussed his role so far this season and how he feels he fits in with the offense. Kozak talked about what the team needs to do to separate themselves in the standings from other teams around them.

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