With the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics just days away, the final rosters for the men’s hockey tournament have been released and five former members of the Calgary Hitmen will be vying for gold.
Highlighting the list of Olympians is one of the greatest Hitmen in franchise history, Brandon Kozun.
The right winger will don the Maple Leaf in the tournament, which should come as no surprise despite his dual citizenship.
Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Kozun was raised in Calgary since he was 10. He has already suited up for the Great White North in the past, when he played for Team Canada during the 2010 World Juniors and won silver.
The World Junior tournament in Saskatchewan was the first and only time that Kozun represented his country. When he found out that he was chosen to play in South Korea, Kozun needed a reality check to find his bearings.
“I got a call the day before they announced it to everyone. It was pretty early in the morning, so I wasn’t exactly sure if I was dreaming or not,” said Kozun. “The World Juniors was a great experience, but the Olympics is the Olympics; it’s the biggest stage for the sport and to now call myself an Olympian is a huge honour and I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
Kozun is right up there with some of the greatest names to call the Saddledome home. In 217 career games with the Hitmen, Kozun left the club fourth all-time with 270 points. A sixth-round pick by his hometown L.A. Kings in 2009, Kozun spent five seasons toiling in the American Hockey League before finally debuting with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013-14 season. He appeared in 20 games, picked up a pair goals and assists. Finishing the season with the Toronto Marlies, Kozun headed overseas to the Kontinental Hockey League.
Growing up on Canadian soil, Kozun witnessed several great achievements for the Canadian hockey program. Whether it was at the Olympics, the junior level or World Cup success, Kozun was thrilled anytime Canada came out on top.
“The (Sidney) Crosby goal sticks out in my mind, but anytime Canada won, there was always a cool story to it,” said Kozun, who is hoping to add his own cool story to the extensive list of international Canadian hockey accomplishments.
Kozun is no stranger to success, as he was a key part in capturing one of the two Ed Chynoweth Cups in franchise history, when the Hitmen advanced to the Memorial Cup for the 2009-10 season. Though the Hitmen days might be in the rearview mirror, the memories still linger.
“I was part of some great teams, with great coaches and won a lot of games with the Hitmen. Junior hockey is some of the most fun you can have as a hockey player and I still look back on those times with fond memories,” said Kozun.
Kozun won’t have too much time these days to look back in the past, as Team Canada wraps up their pre-tournament schedule Feb. 11, when they take on another former Hitmen player. Canada will drop the puck for real Feb. 15 when take on Team Switzerland.
The vacated spots by NHL players allowed former Hitmen Fredrik Pettersson to slot into the lineup for Team Sweden. He’s no stranger to international play, as he has amassed 194 games while wearing the Three Crowns, dating back to when he was 16.
Twice Pettersson has dressed for the World Juniors and the World Cup, having earned three medals throughout those tournaments. When Sweden announced their Olympic roster Jan. 16, Pettersson was floored at the chance to compete for his first Olympic medal.
“I got really happy when I found out I got picked for the team. First of all, it’s always an honour to represent your country and to do it in the Olympics is a dream,” said Pettersson.
Taken with the Hitmen’s second pick in the 2005 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft — a draft that produced future NHLers such as Anze Kopitar, Alex Edler, and Michael Frolik — Pettersson dressed in 111 games in two seasons, from 2005-07 and racked up 43 goals, 50 assists and 93 points.
That success earned him the 157th overall selection by the Edmonton Oilers during the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The North American professional route didn’t workout for Pettersson, as he only spent one season in the American Hockey League, when he played in 67 games for the Chicago Wolves in 2010-11, scoring 11 goals and 32 points.
That hasn’t stopped him from having a distinguished career overseas that has spanned more than a decade, highlighted by winning the Continental Cup as the top team in the Kontinental Hockey League with the Donbass Donetsk.
This year, Pettersson plays in Zürich, Switzerland for the Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions of the National League. In 43 games, the right winger has 24 goals and 48 points, but is more than ready to start his Olympic journey.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the Olympics, but I haven’t really considered it possible until this year,” said Pettersson. “When I first heard there was not going to be any NHL players, right away it became my goal to be a part of it.”
Pettersson and his teammates are training in Sweden arrived at the Olympic Village this Wednesday for the pre-tournament games. Oscar Möller is the only teammate with any WHL experience, as he played 131 games for the Chilliwack Bruins from 2006-08.
The former Hitmen fondly remembers his time in Calgary and believes his Olympic dream wouldn’t have happened without his time in the Western League.
“For me to play with the Calgary Hitmen was amazing. I spent two years in Calgary and everything from the organization, to my teammates, to my billet family, my teammates and the fan base was amazing. It was the best decision so far in my life. I am very grateful for everything they did for me. I will always remember my time there and will always be proud of being a Hitmen,” said Pettersson.
Appearing in the Winter Olympics for the first time ever, the South Korean team carries one former Hitmen player.
Maybe the most peculiar journey to the Olympics is the Canadian-born Alex Plante. With non-South Korean parents, Plante will represent the host country after a long journey through the minors landed him with the Anyang Halla of the Asia League.
Plante was a force on the blue line for the Hitmen, when he played for the club from 2004-09. A lock-down defender, Plante registered 18 goals and 71 assists in 224 games for the Hitmen. Those stats and his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame landed him a first-round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, when the Edmonton Oilers nabbed him 15th overall.
Playing 10 games over three seasons with the Oilers from 2009-11, he collected a pair of assists and can say that he fought in the NHL. But for the most part, he was planted in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons and Oklahoma City Barons until the end of the 2012-13 season.
From there, his talent took him to Austria and then Norway, and was searching for his next payday when an unusual suitor came calling.
His contract in South Korea earned him a passport and has allowed him to spend two seasons with the national program, where he has nine points in 23 games.
The CHL Import Draft also landed a future Olympian for the Hitmen in 2007, when they drafted Bostjan Golicic 40th overall.
Born in Kranj, Slovenia, Golicic enjoyed modest success with the Hitmen. In two full seasons, he played in 124 games, scored 38 goals and contributed 86 points.
Golicic immediately left to go play professionally in Europe, where he has bounced around from the EBEL (Austria) and Ligue Magnus (France) hockey leagues, along with competing in dozens of professional tournaments.
Group B is stacked against Slovenia, as they will be hard pressed to find a way out past the United States, the Russian Team and Slovakia.
Taking advantage of his father’s German citizenship, Brooks Macek turned a strong junior career into a fruitful professional career, and can now call himself an Olympian.
Macek was the 43rd overall selection by the Tri-City Americans during the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft.
The Hitmen got their hands on Macek when they acquired him, along with Spencer Humphries and a conditional 2012 third-round pick for defencemen Matt Mackenzie back on Jan. 10, 2011.
Macek spent parts of three seasons with the Hitmen, totalling 149 games, 51 goals and 84 assists. He served as an alternate captain during his final season with the club in 2012-13.
The Winnipeg, Man. product was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2010, but took advantage of his father’s roots and signed a two-year deal with the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga — Germany’s top league.
After three productive seasons with the Roosters, where the centre averaged 17 goals, 20.3 assists and 37.3 points, Macek jumped ship and signed with the EHC Red Bull Munchen. In two seasons with his new DEL team, he has 43 goals and collected 28 assists in 100 games.
Macek has competed in a pair of Deutschland Cups with Germany and racked up 54 games of international competition over the past three seasons.
The Germans will operate out of Group C, which contains Pettersson and the Swedes, Norway and the always-impressive Team Finland.
The elimination rounds begin Feb. 19, with the gold medal game going on the second last day of the Games, Feb. 24.
Of course, they will all be chasing a gold medal and the rights to join the exclusive list of former Hitmen Olympic champions — a list that is currently occupied by the one and only, Ryan Getzlaf.
