Toronto Maple Leafs: Comparing Bozak to Bill Derlago
Bill Derlago was a fourth overall pick in 1978 who, for the most part, was a scoring center for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tyler Bozak had a different journey to the NHL but performs the same role with the team.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Derlago from the Vancouver Canucks alongside Rick Vaive for Dave Williams and Jerry Butler.
The Leafs signed Bozak out of the University of Denver as a free agent and he has now played over 500 career games, a remarkable achievement for an undrafted player.
Similarity #1: Great Playmaker
Derlago had a very nice shot (he scored a career high 40 goals in 1983-84) but his playmaking abilities were even better. He would use his strong skating and above average stick handling to create space and then pass the puck across the crease, or he would go behind the net and pass the puck in front.
Bozak is very similar. He has been known as the set-up guy for his whole career. First he was setting up Phil Kessel and now he’s setting up Mitch Marner. He will use his strong vision to find openings and pass the puck to an open player. He will also use his above average skating to try and create some open space for his teammates.
Similarity #2: Strong at Face-offs
Derlago was very good at taking face-offs and it’s one of the reasons that he had a lot of assists. He would win the draw back to one of his defenceman who would then shoot and sometimes score. They had the perfect set up and it all started with a face-off win from Derlago.
Similarly, Bozak is known as one of the best face-off takers in the league. He has the led the Toronto Maple Leafs in that category for the last couple of years. He’s a valuable piece to the Leafs because he is counted on when the team needs a face-off win in the offensive or defensive zone.
Similarity #3: Calm Demeanor
Despite playing in a very aggressive league, Derlago was, for the most part, a very calm player. Having a career high 50 penalty minutes (PIM) in 1983-84 is nothing compared to others during his time. For comparison, Dave Williams had 294 PIM that season, almost six times more. He was well respected by his peers and because of that, rarely had to fight. Over his 9 season career, Derlago had seven fights.
Bozie is one of the calmest players in the NHL currently. He had a career high of 44 PIM in 2014-15. During that season, Steve Downie had a league high 238 PIM, more than fives time the amount Bozak had. He has been in the league for 8 seasons now and has only been in one fight which was during the preseason.
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Conclusion
Derlago and Bozak were both 2nd line center material. They both are great playmakers who can help make a goal. Both players are strong at face-offs. Also, neither player affected their teams with a bad penalty, for the most part, because they both are very calm compared to other players.
If I had to choose between Derlago and Bozak, I would probably choose Bozak. Derlago was a good player but his consistency is not the greatest. He had four productive seasons and then fell off the map. Bozak on the other hand, has had 4 good seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and is still getting better – having a career high 55 points last season.
Let me know who you would choose. Also, who would you like for me to compare Connor Brown, Zach Hyman and Frederik Andersen to?
*stats from hockeydb.com & hockeyfights.com