In June 2019, Dylan Cozens became the first player from Yukon to be picked in the first round of the National Hockey League draft. In December, he became the first player from Yukon to represent Team Canada at the World Juniors. The Lethbridge Hurricanes centre has brought a lot of pride to the territory, Canada's smallest by population, but usually doesn't get to spend all that much time there.​

"This is the longest I've been home in probably the last five or six years," said Cozens, who moved to British Columbia at age 14 to pursue his hockey career. "It's been good to spend some time with my family and just get out on the lake fishing, get out hunting."

The COVID-19 pandemic, which halted the Canadian Hockey League season before the playoffs in March, allowed Cozens to head north for an extended stay. And he recently got to experience something new by going on his first moose hunt.

"We're way out in the bush, like, way, way out, so no [phone] service for four days," the 19-year-old Whitehorse native said. "So, you just realize anything can happen. Like, we see bears walking around us and we've always got to be on our toes and be ready for a situation like that. It was just an experience I felt I needed to have being from Yukon, you know, getting out and going on my first big hunt ... I didn't realize how much work it was to go on a moose hunt and then cleaning the moose, skinning them, taking all the meat."

All three members of the hunting party ended up with a moose.

"It was a crazy experience," Cozens said. "The type of adrenaline rush you get when you're just about to pull that trigger is pretty crazy."

Cozens is now taking aim at a roster spot in the NHL and another gold medal at the World Juniors. The Sabres prospect, picked seventh overall,  believes he can make the team whenever the next season begins. He's also keeping an eye on the World Juniors, which will be held in Edmonton as scheduled albeit it in a bubble and without fans. Cozens is one of seven potential returnees for Team Canada and a leading contender to be captain. 

Cozens spoke to TSN via Zoom this week about his leadership style and why he believes he's ready to take a big step in his career. The following is an edited transcript of the conversation. 

What was your reaction to the news the 2021 World Juniors will be held? 

"It's definitely good news that it's still going to happen [considering] all the other things that had been cancelled. The way they've done the NHL bubble seems to work so I see no reason why they should cancel the World Juniors."

What will it be like to play without fans? 

"We definitely would've had a pretty big advantage being on home ice with all the fans, but we'll have to create our own energy. It's definitely going to be intense. The boys are going to have to get each other up and the bench is going to have to be the energy producer."