WHITEHORSE, Yukon –
Buffalo Sabres centre Dylan Cozens had just finished a gruelling summer off-ice session when he and trainer Ben McPherson drove out into the Yukon wilderness to go fishing.
“I know the spot,” McPherson recalled Cozens saying. And within 10 minutes of casting his line, Cozens hooked a big one.
“He probably had that thing on the line for 40 minutes, and remember, he just had a workout prior to that, deadlifts and hinges. And he’s doing the same thing with the fish,” McPherson said. “He was exhausted by the end of it, a 40-something-pound lake trout. … It was like the biggest fish I’ve ever seen.”
The moment two summers ago has stayed with McPherson because it exemplified the determination Cozens puts into each task — training, fishing, hockey.
“Competitive, like, he wants the biggest …