Former Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon claims he was "lied to" after a cold, unexplained omission from the French Olympic team despite feeling that his play warranted his selection.
The French Ice Hockey announced on Tuesday its rosters for France’s men’s and women’s Olympic ice hockey Teams. Many in the hockey world were surprised by the omission of 31-year-old left winger Tim Bozon, a former Montreal Canadiens prospect and the son of French hockey legend Philippe Bozon.
Bozon, who had three points in three games for France in the Olympic qualifying tournament and has represented France at the past four IIHF World Championships, revealed in an interview with Gregory Beaud of French website Blick that he found out in November he wouldn’t be on the team.
“But I found out because I was the one who took the initiative to get some news,” Bozon explained. “Because I had absolutely no communication. Zero. Not before the first (national team event) in November, not during, not after. Nothing. After 10 days, I was the one who called the coach. Personally. Without that, I would never have gotten an explanation.”
Interestingly, the head coach of the French national team is Yorick Treille, who at the start of this season was Bozon’s coach in Switzerland for Genève-Servette. Bozon was relieved of his duties early in the season, following a poor start.
As for the conversation he had with Treille in November, Bozon said, “Very coldly, he tells me clearly that I haven’t been selected for the Olympic Games. His tone is harsh, almost hateful. I really felt his anger.”
Because of his dad’s professional career, Bozon was born in the United States, played most of his youth hockey in Germany and Switzerland, and junior hockey in Canada and has always been seen as somewhat of an outsider in terms of French hockey.
While playing for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, Bozon was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by Montreal in 2012. In March 2014, his life was threatened by a bout of meningitis, from which he recovered to play the following season.
Bozon played pre-season games for the Canadiens in 2014 and 2015 but never made it into an NHL regular-season game. He split three seasons between the AHL and ECHL in the Montreal and Florida Panthers organizations before returning to Switzerland in 2017, where he’s played ever since.
In seven World Championships playing for France, Bozon has 19 points in 45 games.
“And when I told him what I’d accomplished, he admitted I was one of the best players,” said Bozon. “But despite that, he didn’t select me.”
Bozon said that he’s known Treille for a long time and he didn’t sense any issue between the two prior to the latter’s dismissal from the Swiss club.
“If there had been a problem, why would he have selected me for the Olympic qualifying tournament?” Bozon wondered. “And above all, why would he have practically forced me to come to the World Championships in Sweden last spring when I was severely injured?”
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to captain French Olympic qualifying team
The <a href="https://www.hockeyfrance.com/a-la-une/2024/08/edf-la-liste-pour-le-tqo/">French Ice Hockey Federation named its roster for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament</a> on Monday. The list of 25 players includes seven from the domestic Ligue Magnus, five from Switzerland’s National League, four from the Czech Extraliga, two from the Finnish Liiga and one each from the NHL, AHL, KHL, German DEL, Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan, and Slovak Liga.
Bozon said that he felt Treille somehow blamed him for what happened in Switzerland and is now “making (him) pay for something.” Bozon described that early in the season, he was still recovering from the hamstring injury that hampered him during the Worlds, and that his play improved after Bozon’s dismissal.”
“ I think he felt betrayed,” said Bozon. “But on my end, there was never the slightest intention of playing against him.”
Bozon said that, officially, he was told that he was not chosen because he doesn’t backcheck or fit into the team’s “DNA” but he doesn’t buy these reasons.
“I feel like I’ve been lied to, like I’ve been given reasons that don’t hold water,” Bozon continued. “I accept my personality, I accept my flaws. But what I’m being accused of isn’t the reality. That’s why I wanted to share my reality. My truth. And I think I have the right to speak about it.”
Former Washington Capitals right winger Pierrick Dubé, who currently plays in the KHL, was also not named to the team.
The French roster does include veteran captain Pierre-Éourard Bellemare, Washington goaltending prospect Antoine Keller, Tim’s younger brother Kevin and Sacha Treille, the younger brother of head coach Yorick. It’s expected that Montreal’s Alexandre Texier, the only French player in the NHL, will be added in January.
Predicting France's 2026 Olympic roster: Will Bellemare play?
France has not officially qualified for the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics but, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/latvia-denmark-slovakia-and-maybe-france-qualify-for-2026-olympics">based on having the best second-place finish within its group at the recent Olympic qualifiers, the French are next in line in the highly likely event that a Russian team does not participate</a>.