December 14, 2019
By Fred Liggett
FredL@lstribune.net
A jersey number many Mavericks fans have seen this season is #29, a number belonging to Forward Tad Kozun. Kozy, as his new teammates call him, has been busy on the ice since the start of the season.
Tad scored a goal in two consecutive wins over Wichita to start the month of December. Those games were played on Dec. 1 and 6. The very next night on Dec. 7 Kozy had two assists in another Mavericks win this time over Fort Wayne.
A first-year Maverick who spent time last year with the South Carolina Stingrays, Tad came to the Mavericks with Defenseman Kevin McKernan in a trade with South Carolina for Mark Cooper in the off-season. Cooper was a popular player with Mavs fans last season so Kozy starting off the year so well has made fans and teammates enjoy the fact he is here in Kansas City.
Tad’s favorite pro sports team is the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. This is due to him growing up in Canada. Kozy hails from Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada. That’s where his mom, dad, grandparents and two younger brothers all root him on from home.
Tad’s favorite hockey memory so far was playing with one of his brothers in Midget AAA hockey back in 2011. The team won the championship that season. Speaking of brothers, one of them Teran Kozun began the 2015-16 season on the Mavericks active roster.
Being from Canada it’s no surprise that Kozy first put on a pair of skates at age two or three. His favorite website to visit daily is TSN-Sportsnet allowing him to catch up on all his favorite hockey news. Tad’s favorite sports movie is “Major League.”
If not in hockey today Tad would be either in finance or working in farming back in his hometown.
Following his playing days Kozy wishes to be remembered as someone who came to work every day and was a good teammate. Check out Tad and his new teammates when the Mavericks return to town on Friday, Dec. 20 to host the Utah Grizzlies. The fun inside the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena begins when the puck drops at 7:05 p.m.
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