Huskies’ Taran Kozun named Canada West male athlete of the year

Taran Kozun knows a thing or two about hard work.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey goaltender was named the Canada West male athlete of the year on Thursday after leading the conference in every major statistical category to win an 11th Canada West banner in February.

His prize? A one hour lunch break from a window installation job he’s doing with his father to take calls from friends and reporters.

“I’m supposed to be cutting boards, but I told (my dad) I’m on lunch now, so he’s OK with that I guess,” Kozun said from the job site at Smeaton, Sask.

“He gets to eat while I do phone calls, so I just got to eat quick after so I can get back to work without not getting a meal.”

When Kozun’s not operating a saw, he’s proving to be one of the greatest athletes in the U Sports ranks. This past season he finished atop the conference in save percentage, goals against average, shutouts and wins by posting some eye-popping numbers.

The third-year Huskie from Nipawin finished the regular season with 1.87 goals-against average, .931 save percentage, five shutouts, and 17 wins.

If that wasn’t enough to seal the award win, Kozun became the first Huskies goaltender and second goaltender in the conference’s history to score a goal.

He doesn’t think the goal separated him from other nominees.

“The other nominees had great seasons and they get to do special things while they play their sports, so it’s tough to gauge I find because of how different the sports are,” Kozun said.

“It seems like every other sport can have surreal moments like that.”

Six Huskies have now won athlete of the year dating back to when the award was first handed out in 1993. Being mentioned alongside company that includes an Olympic athlete and a Grey Cup winner is the most humbling part for Kozun.

“It’s crazy,” Kozun said. “To be recognized with them is just something that I thought would never happen.”

Derek Hulak, Sarah Crooks, Kelsie Hendry, Adam Ens and Warren Muzika are the other Huskies to win the award.

Kozun is no stranger to awards. As a member of the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds, Kozun won the Del Wilson Award as goaltender of the year in 2015. Accomplishing the same feat at the Canada West level wasn’t on his radar.

“It’s not something I really thought that would happen during the year or after the year. To get it is a huge accomplishment,” Kozun said.

Huskies hurdler Michelle Harrison was named a finalist for female athlete of the year award but lost out to University of Manitoba swimmer Kelsey Wog.

Kozun will wait until June 25, when the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards are awarded to the country’s top student athletes in U Sports.