Dylan Cozens makes his presence felt in his debut with Ottawa Senators

Dylan Cozens skates during pre-game warmup before his first contest as a member of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Acquired from Buffalo, Cozens only arrived in Canada’s capital on Friday evening. Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo /GETTY IMAGESArticle content

Dylan Cozens will need some time to make himself at home.

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On Saturday afternoon, the Ottawa Senators’ new centre was trying to make himself comfortable in his new surroundings.

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Twenty-four hours after being traded to the Senators along with blueliner Dennis Gilbert in exchange for forward Josh Norris and defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker, Cozens made his Ottawa debut in the 4-3 overtime victory against the New York Rangers at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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Cozens contributed an assist and a career-high nine hits, so he left a strong first impression. Not bad work for a guy who landed in Ottawa at 9 p.m. Friday, went to bed and headed straight to his new office on Saturday morning.

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“It felt great,” Cozens said after Saturday’s game. “You couldn’t have drawn it up any better with a little comeback win in overtime for the first one. I’m so happy and excited to be part of this group and do something special here.”

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Cozens was the centrepiece of the deal for Ottawa, and one of the reasons the Senators brought him here was because they wanted to add a physical element, plus he has a chance to help the club make the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

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“These big, meaningful games, you just get up for them so much more,” Cozens said. “You get so excited to play every night and go to war. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

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Cozens was welcomed with open arms. He finished with 17 minutes 27 seconds of ice time, plus he was 5-for-9 in the faceoff circle.

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He received a cheer from some fans when he took his first shift 90 seconds into the game. He and Gilbert were both given strong applause when they were featured on the scoreboard early in the first period.

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Head coach Travis Green moved Cozens into the spot previously held by Norris between wingers Drake Batherson and David Perron.

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Gilbert and Cozens were picked up at their Kanata hotel by Batherson and arrived at the rink together.

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Batherson and Cozens played together for Canada at the IIHF world championships in 2022 and have stayed in touch. After the trade was completed Friday, they texted several times.

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Ottawa assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner was on the coaching staff at that world tournament in Finland, as were members of the Senators’ training and equipment staff, so Cozens wasn’t a stranger to everyone when he walked in the room.

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“We’re actually really tight,” Batherson said. “We played there together for two weeks and we hung out a lot during that tournament. We talked to each other every time we (played Buffalo).