Tim Bozon
| Tim Bozon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 24, 1994 St. Louis, MO, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Montreal Canadiens Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | ||
| National team |
 France | ||
| NHL draft |
64th overall, 2012 Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 2010–present | ||
Timothé Bozon (born March 24, 1994) is a French ice hockey left winger with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL), a major junior league in Canada. Bozon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father, Philippe Bozon, played hockey for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL), but was raised in France, where his father is from. Bozon then moved to Switzerland to further his career, before moving again to Canada after the Blazers selected him in the 2011 CHL Import Draft. At the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Bozon was selected 64th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Internationally Bozon has played for the French national junior team in several tournaments and joined the French national senior team in the 2013 IIHF World Championships.
Playing career
Bozon grew up in Germany and Switzerland while his father played hockey in those countries, and began to play hockey in Mannheim, Germany while his father was a member of Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.[1] When Philippe moved to Switzerland, Bozon followed, and was a player for the junior clubs of Genève-Servette HC, the Kloten Flyers and HC Lugano. At age 15 Bozon decided he wanted to follow the path of Nino Niederreiter, a fellow Swiss junior player who had just moved to North America at age 17 and joined a team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) to further his career. Bozon wanted to eventually play in the National Hockey League and realized there were more scouts following teams in the CHL, which oversees three major junior hockey leagues in Canada and the United States.[2] He had preferred to play for a team in the Ontario Hockey League, but was instead selected by the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, twenty-seventh overall at the 2011 CHL Import Draft.[3] He joined the Blazers for the 2011–12 season and played 71 games for them, recording 36 goals and 35 assists for 71 points. His goal total was the most among all WHL rookies, his points second among rookies and third overall on the Blazers.[4] Bozon was recognised for his efforts by being named the WHL's Western Conference nominee for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie-of-the-year.[5] He also was a co-recipient of the Blazers rookie-of-the-year award, sharing it with goaltender Cole Cheveldave.[6]
Midway through the season Bozon was ranked 39th overall amongst North American-based skaters for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[7] When the final rankings for the draft were released at the conclusion of the season, Bozon was listed 42nd overall for North American skaters.[4] At the draft he was selected in the third round, 64th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens. Bozon was excited to be selected by the Canadiens, who are the only NHL team based in a French-speaking city.[8]
Bozon recorded 36 goals and 91 points in 69 games during the 2012–13 season, finishing second on the Blazers in scoring and tied for eighth overall in the WHL.[9][10] In the playoffs Bozon scored six points in eight games; a fractured wrist kept him out of most of the Blazers' playoff games.[11]
International career
Born in the United States and raised in Switzerland by French parents, Bozon possesses American and French citizenship. However he chose to play internationally for the French national team, as both his father and grandfather did.[8] As Bozon said regarding his choice, "All of my family are French, and my grandfather and father played for France’s national team. It’s why I play too."[12] At the 2011 IIHF World U18 Division IB Championships, he helped France to a third place finish, the first time the French under-18 team had ever won a medal in an IIHF tournament.[12] His six points in five games were tied for eleventh overall in tournament scoring and tied for the led on the French team.[13] Bozon declined to participate in the 2012 World Junior Division IB Championships because he wanted to stay in North America and help the Blazers.[14]
Bozon made his debut for the French national senior team at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.[10] His first game came against Slovakia and he recorded an assist.[15]
Personal life
Bozon was born in St. Louis, Missouri because his father, Philippe Bozon, was playing hockey with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. Philippe was the first French-born and -raised player in the NHL, and spent parts of four seasons with the Blues from 1991 until 1994. Philippe returned to Europe in 1994 and played for teams in France, Germany and Switzerland.[16] He participated in four Olympics for France and became a coach after his playing career ended; in recognition of his international play, he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2008.[17]
Bozon was raised in Lugano, Switzerland, along with his older sister Allison (born 1992) and younger brother Kevin (born 1995).[17] His mother, Hélène Barbier, was an alpine skier.[18] Bozon's grandfather, Alain, also played hockey, and captained the French national team in the 1960s and was inducted into the French Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.[2] Aside from English, Bozon speaks French, Italian and German.[17]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Genève-Servette HC U15 | Swiss U15 | 31 | 30 | 24 | 54 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Genève-Servette HC U17 | Swiss U17 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Genève-Servette HC U15 | Swiss U15 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Genève-Servette HC U17 | Swiss U17 | 29 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Kloten Flyers U17 | Swiss U17 | 30 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | Kloten Flyers U20 | Elte Jr. A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Kloten Flyers U20 | Elite Jr. A | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Lugano U17 | Swiss U17 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 22 | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Lugano U20 | Elite Jr. A | 27 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 71 | 36 | 35 | 71 | 40 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 2012–13 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 69 | 36 | 55 | 91 | 58 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | ||
| WHL totals | 140 | 72 | 90 | 162 | 98 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 21 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | France | U18 DI | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011 | France | U18 DI | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |||
References
- ^ Szemberg, Szymon (2012-06-23). "211 dreams were born here". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ^ a b Aykroyd, Lucas (2013-05-06). "Good genes, great future". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
- ^ Hastings, Marty (2012-02-14). "Flying Frenchman lifts off". Kamloops This Week. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ a b Kimelman, Adam (2012-06-01). "Bozon latest Swiss player to succeed in WHL". NHL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ Hunter, Mark (2012-03-23). "Awards spotlight shines on Blazers". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ^ Hunter, Mark (2012-03-22). "Cheveldave doesn't plan on making any changes". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ^ NHL (2012). "2012 NHL Draft Midterm Rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ^ a b Basu, Arpon (2012-06-23). "Tim Bozon has a chance to realize father's dream". NHL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ Kamloops Blazers (2013-04-29). "Hrabas to play pro, Bozon to World Championships". BlazerHockey.com. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
- ^ a b Aykroyd, Lucas (2013-05-02). "France returns to the dance". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
- ^ Drinnan, Gregg (2013-04-18). "Cheveldave, Bozon on Blazers' bus heading south". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
- ^ a b NHL.com (2012). "Tim Bozon Prospect Card". NHL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ IIHF (2011-04-16). "2011 IIHF World U18 Division IB Championships Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ Drinnan, Gregg (2011-12-05). "Hrbas, Bozon have different takes on tournaments". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ Pakarinen, Risto (2013-05-03). "Slovakia opens with a win". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
- ^ Legends of Hockey (2012). "Philippe Bozon Page". LegendsofHockey.net. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ a b c Drinnan, Gregg (2011-07-13). "Bozon hopes to follow father's footsteps to NHL". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ Hildwein, Yann (2012-06-22). "La NHL attend Timothé Bozon" (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved 2013-02-03.