Draft tracker: 5 questions with Tim Bozon, Kamloops Blazers

Tim Bozon could complete a trifecta for Swiss-trained players who have honed their game in the wild west.

The past two NHL draft cycles have seen Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bärtschi blossom into high first-round NHL picks after coming to the Western Hockey League as relative unknowns. It might be a gun-jump to say another player from the land of the Alps is on a similar arc. However, Bozon, who is French but played in Switzerland, has made a strong impression as a 17-year-old with the Kamloops Blazers. The 6-foot-1, 178-pound left wing leads all WHL yearlings with 56 points in 52 games, while helping the Blazers reach some dizzying highs one year after experiencing some terrifying lows. He would be a frontrunner for rookie of the year honours were it not for Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart, who's averaging a point per game and is 19 months younger than Bozon.

"I came here to be better on the small ice," says Bozon, whose father, former Quebec leaguer Philippe Bozon, played 144 NHL games for the St. Louis Blues in the 1990s before completing his career in Switzerland. "For the European guys, we don't know the small ice, so I wanted to learn the real hockey. Once I had a good adaptation, I felt fine.

"It's been great," adds Tim Bozon, who was 39th in NHL Central Scouting's midterm North American rankings. "It's a really good season for us. For me, it's great to be on one of the best teams in the division."

Bozon, who is fluent in four languages after spending the previous year in largely Italian-speaking Lugano, notes coming to North America has increased the impetus to become a more complete player. As it stands, his arsenal of offensive skill at least put him in the range of being a second-round pick, where NHL teams often go for a skilled player.

"I had some trouble with some my D zone," Bozon admits. "I've been working on that with my coaches in Kamloops [Guy Charron and associate coach Dave Hunchak]. I also have to work on my physical play."

Bozon's commitment to the Blazers has seemed total. He passed on representing France in a lower-tier world junior tournament in December in order to face stiffer competition in Kamloops. That said, he's proud of how he's crossed over between two different spheres of the sport.

"When I with France in under-18, we won bronze medal, in Division 1, that's something I'm really proud of," he says. "We're not really a hockey country. But if I continue to have success this year and get drafted, I'm going to be really proud for sure."

1. May you elaborate on how you talked with other players who have come out of Switzerland to excel in the Western Hockey League?

"I talked a lot with [Calgary Flames first-rounder] Sven Bärtschi, [former Portland Winterhawks and New York Islanders rookie] Nino Niederreiter and [Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman] Dave Sutter. Dave Sutter is one of my good friends back home so I talked a lot with him about what to expect here and I talked a lot with Niederreiter, because he's a forward. He told me what to do and what not to do."

2. What do you think scouts would say, other than having to put on more muscle and improve your quickness, is the biggest area of the game you need to work on before you can turn pro?

"I think I do have to improve with my quickness, moving my feet faster. I have good skating, but when I'm stopping, sometimes I can do it better. I've talked with some scouts and they've told me to work on that — stopping in front of the net and just react [to score] a goal."

3. What surprised you the most about the WHL during the first month or two after you arrived?

"The guys are bigger, stronger, so it's a more physical game. I'm really surprised with [how business-like] it is here. It's important here, the hockey. The fans come to watch the young guys like us. A lot of good support. When I played back home, we don't play in front of fans. Just parents and family come watch us."

4. How proud are you of increasing the Swiss presence in major junior hockey?

"You see Niederreiter and Bärtschi, two years [ago] and last year, and you want to come here and try to be like them. They did a pretty good job here. It's awesome. You see guys from the same country do well and you want to try to be like him and have the same success they had."

5. Favourite TV show or movie?

"TV show is Desperate Housewives. I know it's not for men, but I like it."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: The Canadian Press).