Tyler Bozak just keeps defying his critics. He has been doing it for three years now.
Defying those fans and media who would like to see him tarred and feathered and run out of town. Defying the critics who say he’s not top-line material; who say he’s not good enough to be centring Phil Kessel.
They say they want a big, skilled centre, somebody who can create space for the sniper and get him the puck. They’ve been saying it for three years now.
Well, guess what? Tyler Bozak is still here; still on the top line, still playing alongside Kessel.
And he has been playing big — like that centre people so desperately want — playing bigger than the generous 6-foot-1, 195 pounds he is listed at. Big minutes in important situations, playing the power play, playing the penalty kill, defying his critics.
And the confidence his bosses are showing in the Regina native continues to grow.
Bozak’s ice time under head coach Randy Carlyle has gone up by
