Tyler Bozak Tyler Bozak ( born March 19 , 1986 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for and an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Bozak has also played for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . Prior to being signed by the Maple Leafs as a free agent , Bozak had played two seasons with the University of Denver Pioneers of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Playing career . Amateur . Bozak started playing in the British Columbia Hockey League ( BCHL ) for the Victoria Salsa ( later known as the Victoria Grizzlies ) in the 2004 – 05 season . He spent three seasons in the BCHL with the Victoria franchise . In his final season , Bozak recorded 128 points ( 45 goals and 83 assists ) , and was awarded the Brett Hull Trophy as the league ' s Top Scorer . On December 11 , 2006 , the University of Denver Pioneers announced that Bozak had signed a letter of intent to play hockey for the school . He joined the Pioneers for the 2007 – 08 season . During his freshman year with the club , Bozak played in all 41 games and led the team in scoring with 34 points ( 18 goals and 16 assists ) . He was second in the country with five shorthanded goals . During the season , Bozak was named the Red Baron Western Collegiate Hockey Association ( WCHA ) Rookie of the Week four times and was named the Hockey Commissioner ' s Association ( HCA ) Rookie of the Month for December . At the end of the season , Bozak was named to the All - WCHA third team and to the All - WCHA Rookie Team . Heading into his sophomore season with the Pioneers , Bozak was named to the College Hockey News Preseason All - America Team On December 12 , he tore the meniscus in his left knee in a game against Minnesota State , and this caused him to miss more than half of the Pioneers season . After the season , Bozak was named to the All - WCHA Academic Team . Professional . After his sophomore season , Bozak was a heavily pursued free agent in spite of never being drafted by an NHL team . He signed a two - year , entry - level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 3 , 2009 . Exact financial details of the contract were not released , but it has been rumoured to be worth close to $ 4 million per season if all performance bonuses were to be reached . Bozak did not suit up for the Leafs at the end of the 2008 – 09 season , instead taking the time to further rehabilitate his injured knee . Bozak attended the Maple Leafs ' training camp prior to the 2009 – 10 season . He had a strong training camp , though due to salary cap constraints , he was sent down to the Leafs ' AHL affiliate , the Toronto Marlies Then - Maple Leafs Head Coach Ron Wilson admitted that Bozak indeed had a strong camp , stating , " He ' ll probably have to go down because of numbers . Based on the way he played in training camp , he ' s certainly worthy of playing in the NHL , but we may not have room at the beginning . " Bozak was eventually recalled on October 13 , 2009 , and made his NHL debut the same night against the Colorado Avalanche . During the game , he recorded his first NHL point , an assist on a goal scored by defenceman Francois Beauchemin After playing one game for Toronto , Bozak was returned to the Marlies on October 15 . Later in the season , on January 12 , 2010 , he was again called by the Maple Leafs , where two days later , on January 14 , he scored his first career NHL goal in a 4 – 0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers . Bozak had his first career two - goal game on January 1 , 2011 , against the Ottawa Senators as part of a 5 – 1 win . In the following off - season , on July 5 , he then agreed to terms on a two - year contract extension with the Maple Leafs . On July 5 , 2013 , two years later , he signed a five - year , $ 21 million deal with the Maple Leafs . On March 28 , 2015 , towards the conclusion of the 2014 - 15 season , Bozak scored his first career NHL Hat trick as well as recording one assist to cap off a four - point performance , contributing to all four Toronto goals . Bozak would finish the season with a career - high 23 goals whilst tying his career high of 49 total points . On December 28 , 2015 , Bozak was named one of the NHL ' s three stars of the week for the period of December 21 – 28 . Bozak had 5 points in this 3 game span , and picked up his second career hat trick along the way , in a 7 – 4 win over the Avalanche on December 21 . Personal life . Bozak ' s parents are Mitch and Karon , and he has one older brother , Justin . He graduated from Sheldon - Williams Collegiate in Regina , Saskatchewan . While in high school , he volunteered for the Raise a Reader program and was on the honour roll all three years . While at the University of Denver , Bozak majored in Business . Bozak is a Ukrainian - Canadian . Bozak is currently engaged to Molly Robinson and had his first child in November 2015 , Kanon Bozak .