Trevin Kozlowski Explained

Trevin Kozlowski
Birth Date:27 March 1997
Birth Place:Santa Clarita, California, USA
Height Ft:6
Height In:4
Weight Lb:220
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Team:Free agent
Former Teams:Iowa Wild
Career Start:2021
Draft:Undrafted

Trevin Kozlowski is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the ECHL. He was an E-4 specialist in the Army Reserve and an All-American for Army.

Playing career

Kozlowski attended The Gunnery, a prep school approximately 3,000 miles from his home town. Despite the distance, he was a star for the school's ice hockey team, being named the most valuable player and setting the shutout record as a senior.[1] After graduating, he spent a season with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks while preparing for his entry into the United States Military Academy. After a less than stellar season of junior hockey, Kozlowski did not play at all as a freshman. As a sophomore, Kozlowski split time in goal with two other netminders. While each performed equally in goal, Jared Dempsey ended his playing career after the season and Kozlowski entered his junior season with only one teammate to beat out for the starting role. In 2020 he did just that and played in the vast majority of Army's games, posting some of the best numbers in the history of the program.[2] Kozlowski backstopped the team to its best record in over a decade but couldn't build upon his success in the playoffs due to the cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

While his senior season was curtailed due to the pandemic, Kozlowski continued to improve and got Army to post its best record in 25 years. Kozlowski posted the best goals against average in the 118-year history of the Black Knights and led the team to the cusp of its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. While an overtime loss in the conference semifinal ultimately prevented Army from reaching the national tournament, Kozlowski's achievements were recognized and he was joined by teammate Colin Bilek for just the second time that the program had a player nemed to the All-American team.

After graduating, Kozlowski had an opportunity that few before him could claim. While the service academies typically required their graduates to perform 5 years of active service immediately after graduation, that changed in 2019. Then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper changed the military's policy, allowing graduated to defer active service while pursuing professional sports careers.[4] This allowed Kozlowski to sign a contract with the Iowa Wild after the season and continue his playing career.

During his first full season of professional hockey, Kozlowski played for the Iowa Heartlanders during their inaugural season. As a player he was entitled to receive two complimentary tickets to each home game and decided to give the seats to active or retired military members. The recipients of "Trevin's Tickets" would also be entitled to meet with Kozlowski after each game. Additionally, despite the difficulties presented by COVID-19, Kozlowski ties to find time to visit with former military personnel at the Iowa City VA Medical Center.[5]

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLOTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2016–17Salmon Arm SilverbacksBCHL29 9 16 0 1538 102 1 3.98 .892 1 0 1 0 10.01 .762
2017–18ArmyAHA
2018–19ArmyAHA14 5 6 2 758 34 0 2.69 .899
2019–20ArmyAHA31 17 11 3 1854 68 1 2.20 .909
2020–21ArmyAHA20 14 4 1 1253 40 2 1.91 .922
2020–21Iowa WildAHL1 0 1 0 59 3 0 3.04 .864
2021–22Iowa HeartlandersECHL23 9 11 2 1315 77 0 3.51 .899
2021–22Iowa WildAHL3 1 1 0 142 6 0 2.53 .918
2022–23Iowa HeartlandersECHL6 1 3 1 282 17 0 3.61 .869
2022–23Greenville Swamp RabbitsECHL1 0 1 0 59 4 0 4.06 .840
NCAA totals65 36 21 6 3,865 142 3 2.18 .911

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-Atlantic Hockey First Team2020–21[6]
AHCA East Second Team All-American2020–21[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: Trevin Kozlowski . Army Black Knights . January 24, 2022.
  2. News: 2021-22 Hockey Record Book . Army Black Knights . January 24, 2022.
  3. Web site: Remainder of 2020 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Cancelled. atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. March 12, 2020.
  4. Web site: From cadet to Heartlander: The story of goalkeeper Trevin Kozlowski . Daily Iowan . November 11, 2021 . January 24, 2022.
  5. Web site: From cadet to Heartlander: The story of goalkeeper Trevin Kozlowski . Daily Iowan . November 11, 2021 . January 24, 2022.
  6. Web site: Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners . Atlantic Hockey . March 11, 2021 . March 31, 2021.
  7. News: Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners. NCAA.org. June 11, 2013.