Tim Bozon

Timothé "Tim" Phillipe Bozon (born March 24, 1994) is an American-born French ice hockey left winger who is currently playing with Lausanne HC of the National League (NL).

Tim Bozon
Born (1994-03-24) March 24, 1994
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 Lausanne HC
Hamilton Bulldogs
St. John's IceCaps
Springfield Thunderbirds
EHC Kloten
Genève-Servette HC
National team  France
NHL Draft 64th overall, 2012
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2015–present

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 Kamloops Blazers selected him in the 2011 CHL Import Draft. At the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Bozon was selected 64th overall by the Canadiens. During his third season with the Blazers Bozon was traded to the Kootenay Ice. 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. Bozon contracted a life-threatening meningococcal infection in early 2014, though he ultimately recovered.

Playing career

Junior

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 predominantly 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]

On May 30, 2013, Bozon signed a three-year entry level contract with the Canadiens.[12] He was returned by the Canadiens to the Blazers for a third year with the team prior to the start of the 2013–14 season. After starting the season with the Blazers, where he was fifth in team scoring with seven points in thirteen games, Bozon was traded to the Kootenay Ice on October 22, 2013. The Blazers, who also sent defenceman Landon Cross, received Colin Shirley, Matt Thomas, and three draft picks in return.[13]

Bozon's season was ended prematurely due to a diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis on March 1, 2014; at that point he had recorded 62 points in 50 games for Kooteney.[14] His illness caused him to lose 40 pounds (18 kg); he had difficulty speaking and had to re-learn how to walk. As he recovered, he resumed skating in June 2014 and by September, he attended the Canadiens' rookie camp.[15] Bozon participated in the Canadiens main training camp, and later played three exhibition games with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs; however it was decided that in consideration of the time missed due to his illness, it would be best for Bozon's development for him to play a final major junior season, and he was assigned to Kootenay for the 2014–15 season, where he appeared in 57 games and finished fourth on the team in scoring with 63 points.[16]

Professional

After the conclusion of the WHL season Bozon was assigned to the Bulldogs and made his professional debut, appearing in one game for the team.[17] For the 2015–16 season he was assigned to the St. John's IceCaps, as the Canadiens relocated the Bulldogs to St. John's, Newfoundland.[18] He split the season with both St. John's, where he played 41 games and had 8 points, and the Canadiens' ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast, where he had 9 points in 15 games.[19]

On October 6, 2016, prior to the 2016–17 season, Bozon was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Racine.[19] He was immediately assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL for their inaugural season, and spent the season between them and the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL, scoring 15 points in 43 games for Springfield, and another 6 points in 14 games for the Monarchs.[20] At the end of the season, and with his NHL contract over, Bozon signed a contract with Kloten to return to Switzerland for the following season. Because he played junior in the Swiss system, Bozon would not count against the team's import limit, despite being French.[21] At the end of his first season with Kloten, the team got relegated to the Swiss League and Bozon was immediately released. Bozon tallied 12 points in 44 games and posted a poor -13 rating. On July 17, 2018, Bozon followed in his dad's footsteps by joining Genève-Servette HC on a one-year deal. On February 7, 2019, Bozon was signed to a two-year contract extension by Geneva through the 2020/21 season. On November 30, 2019, Bozon cross-checked Mark Arcobello from behind who fell head first into the boards. The action resulted in a game misconduct for Bozon as well as a 4-game suspension with a CHF 6,400 fine.

On September 14, 2020, Bozon was traded, along with Petr Cajka, to Lausanne HC in exchange for Joel Vermin.[22]

International play

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."[23] At the 2011 IIHF World U18 Division I Championship, 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.[23] His six points in five games were tied for eleventh overall in tournament scoring and tied for the lead on the French team.[24] Bozon declined to participate in the 2012 World Junior Division IB Championships because he wanted to stay in North America and help the Blazers.[25]

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.[26] He played in five of France's seven games during the tournament and finished with the one assist.[27]

Bozon was named to the French national team coached by his dad for the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. France lost all its 7 games and got relegated to Division IA.

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.[28] 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.[29]

Bozon was raised in Lugano, Switzerland, along with his older sister Allison (born 1992) and younger brother Kevin (born 1995).[29] His mother, Hélène Barbier, was an alpine skier.[30] Bozon's grandfather, Alain Bozon, 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.[29]

On March 1, 2014, the day after a game against the Saskatoon Blades, Bozon was admitted to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where he was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitidis.[31] He spent four weeks in hospital, some of it in a medically induced coma, before being released on March 28, 2014.[32]

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 U15 Swiss U15 3130245424 —————
2007–08 Genève-Servette U17 Swiss U17 44260 —————
2008–09 Genève-Servette U15 Swiss U15 121552024 —————
2008–09 Genève-Servette U17 Swiss U17 291582318 —————
2009–10 Kloten Flyers Swiss U17 3026295522 1024610
2009–10 Kloten Flyers Elte Jr. A 32024 —————
2010–11 Kloten Flyers Elite Jr. A 31010 —————
2010–11 Lugano U17 Swiss U17 8891718 521322
2010–11 HC Lugano U20 Elite Jr. A 2716132924 31120
2011–12 Kamloops Blazers WHL 7136357140 1150511
2012–13 Kamloops Blazers WHL 6936559158 842610
2013–14 Kamloops Blazers WHL 1334713 —————
2013–14 Kootenay Ice WHL 5030326234 73696
2014–15 Kootenay Ice WHL 5735286319 —————
2014–15 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 10000 —————
2015–16 St. John's IceCaps AHL 4153814 —————
2015–16 Brampton Beast ECHL 153692 —————
2016–17 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 43871524 —————
2016–17 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 143360 —————
2017–18 EHC Kloten NL 44751241 —————
2018–19 Genève-Servette NL 424101410 61122
2019–20 Genève-Servette NL 42 7 7 14 31 — — — — —
AHL totals 8513102338 —————
NL totals 8611152651 61122

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2010 France U18 DI 50110
2011 France U18 DI 53362
2013 France WC 50110
2016 France WC 60002
2019 France WC 70442
Junior totals 103472
Senior totals 180554

References
  1. Szemberg, Szymon (June 23, 2012). "211 dreams were born here". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  2. Aykroyd, Lucas (May 6, 2013). "Good genes, great future". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  3. Hastings, Marty (February 14, 2012). "Flying Frenchman lifts off". Kamloops This Week. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  4. Kimelman, Adam (June 1, 2012). "Bozon latest Swiss player to succeed in WHL". NHL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  5. Hunter, Mark (March 23, 2012). "Awards spotlight shines on Blazers". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  6. Hunter, Mark (March 22, 2012). "Cheveldave doesn't plan on making any changes". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  7. NHL (2012). "2012 NHL Draft Midterm Rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  8. Basu, Arpon (June 23, 2012). "Tim Bozon has a chance to realize father's dream". NHL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  9. Kamloops Blazers (April 29, 2013). "Hrabas to play pro, Bozon to World Championships". BlazerHockey.com. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  10. Aykroyd, Lucas (May 2, 2013). "France returns to the dance". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  11. Drinnan, Gregg (April 18, 2013). "Cheveldave, Bozon on Blazers' bus heading south". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  12. The Canadian Press (May 30, 2013). "Canadiens sign forward prospect Bozon to three-year contract". TSN.ca. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  13. Kamloops Daily News (October 22, 2013). "Kamloops Blazers trade Bozon to Kootenay". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  14. NHL (March 19, 2014). "Canadiens prospect Bozon out of intensive care". NHL.com. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  15. "Tim Bozon skates with Canadiens after near-fatal meningitis scare". CBC News. September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  16. Montreal Canadiens (October 10, 2014). "Canadiens assign forward Tim Bozon to the Kootenay Ice". Canadiens.com. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  17. Pecoskie, Teri (April 19, 2015). "AHL Bulldogs era ends, memories endure". Hamilton Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  18. Montreal Canadiens (September 26, 2015). "Canadiens assign 17 players to the AHL St. John's IceCaps". Canadiens.com. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  19. Florida Panthers (October 8, 2016). "Panthers acquire Tim Bozon in trade with Canadiens". FloridaPanthers.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  20. Agence QMI (April 26, 2017). "Tim Bozon jouera en Suisse". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Montreal. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  21. L'Équipe (April 27, 2017). "Tim Bozon rejoint Kloten" (in French). leqeuipe.fr. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  22. "Confirmed - Vermin joins GSHC, Bozon and Cajka join LHC". www.swisshockeynews.ch. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  23. NHL.com (2012). "Tim Bozon Prospect Card". NHL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  24. IIHF (April 16, 2011). "2011 IIHF World U18 Division IB Championships Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  25. Drinnan, Gregg (December 5, 2011). "Hrbas, Bozon have different takes on tournaments". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  26. Pakarinen, Risto (May 3, 2013). "Slovakia opens with a win". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  27. IIHF (May 13, 2013). "Player Statistics by Team - France" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  28. Legends of Hockey (2012). "Philippe Bozon Page". LegendsofHockey.net. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  29. Drinnan, Gregg (July 13, 2011). "Bozon hopes to follow father's footsteps to NHL". Kamloops Daily News. Kamloops, British Columbia. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  30. Hildwein, Yann (June 22, 2012). "La NHL attend Timothé Bozon" (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  31. CBC (March 5, 2014). "WHL star Tim Bozon critically ill with meningitis, family says". CBC.ca. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  32. CBC (March 28, 2014). "Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon excited to check out of hospital". CBC.ca. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
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