Hockey pro's return to Whitehorse for the summer is encouraging other Yukon athletes to push their limits

The workhorse from Whitehorse is back in his hometown and his homecoming is inspiring other Yukon athletes to train even harder.

Hockey pro Dylan Cozens, originally from Whitehorse, was picked as 7th overall in the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2019 draft and has now finished his third season with the Buffalo Sabres.

Cozens is back in Yukon and spending the summer training at the Northern Strength Academy.

Academy coach and co-owner Jeremy McCullough said having a major leaguer in their sessions encourages all the athletes to push their training to the limit.

"You get a guy like Dylan Cozens who shows up early, he stays late, he does the extra things and he does it all really well and he does it with that good, you know, that good Yukon type hard work ethic," McCullough said.

"To have an NHL guy in the room, it's really special for us, but it's also really special for all the rest of the athletes. You see everybody kind of just take their level, you know, a couple steps [up]."

Josh Schenk, 18, plays in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for the Trail Smoke Eaters.

He said that training with Cozens is a big motivator for him and some of the other junior hockey players back in Whitehorse for the summer.

"It's definitely cool to see him come back and train with us," he said.

"It's crazy to see the stuff he does, like how hard he trains versus us. He does way way harder stuff than we do I'd say."

In coming home for the summer, Cozens declined the chance to represent Canada for the Hockey World Championship in Finland.

"Going last year took a lot of time off my summer and I barely got to make it home," Cozens said on why he chose not to travel.

"This year I just kind of wanted to focus on coming home here, spending time with my family and just having a longer summer to train and hopefully get ready for a playoff push next year."

McCullough, the coach with the Northern Strength Academy, said their team gets excited about creating training programs and to have a professional athlete is an opportunity for the academy too.

To watch Cozens play, he said, is a lot of fun.

"It's just so exciting to feel like you're a little bit part of it and just cheer that guy on," he said.