Prospect Info: 2023 1st Rd Selection - #28 OA (via BOS, WSH) - C, Easton Cowan [London Knights, OHL; [Height 5.11 -- Weight 185]

[WTFMAN99]

Sim basically cost them the game.

 

[613Leafer]

He should be on the Leafs next year - he has nothing left to learn/prove at the junior level, he already weighs more than Marner, he's a good skater, he's responsible defensively, etc. Doesnt have any of the typical weaknesses that can hold a dominant junior player back (eg Robertson was and continues to be very small, lack speed for his size, and struggle defensively).

 

[CabanaBoy5]

He should be on the Leafs next year - he has nothing left to learn/prove at the junior level, he already weighs more than Marner, he's a good skater, he's responsible defensively, etc. Doesnt have any of the typical weaknesses that can hold a dominant junior player back (eg Robertson was and continues to be very small, lack speed for his size, and struggle defensively).

Yeah, he’s got nothing left to prove in junior and since it’s junior or NHL for him, he’ll be playing with the Leafs. Let the speculation begin as to where he plays but I’m willing to bet he’ll be doing some PK’ing. He’s a terrific passer when he has the puck on his stick but he’ll have to learn to move the puck faster.

 

[ToneDog]

Kid is going to replace our super elite RWer and he'll do it for 1/10 of the cost.

 

[Americanadian]

Did everyone here watch the game? I did not see a player that's ready to step into the NHL out of training camp next season.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Did everyone here watch the game? I did not see a player that's ready to step into the NHL out of training camp next season.

He was apart of a 3 goal come back, I thought he played well enough.

Sim screwed them with the 5 minute penalty against.

It's also believed he's been playing with an upper body injury since late regular season.

 

[Leaf Fans]

Did everyone here watch the game? I did not see a player that's ready to step into the NHL out of training camp next season.

I watched the game.

 

[Americanadian]

He was apart of a 3 goal come back, I thought he played well enough.

Sim screwed them with the 5 minute penalty against.

It's also believed he's been playing with an upper body injury since late regular season.

In fairness I only watched 2 games of his mem cup (game 1 and 4). I saw the same player both games though. He is a good player but he wasn't dominant. I didn't see a player who's development would be stalled by another season in the OHL. I also didn't see a player that looks ready to make an immediate impact in the NHL.

 

[Thornbury]

In fairness I only watched 2 games of his mem cup (game 1 and 4). I saw the same player both games though. He is a good player but he wasn't dominant. I didn't see a player who's development would be stalled by another season in the OHL. I also didn't see a player that looks ready to make an immediate impact in the NHL.

That's my take as well. He needs to mature and get stronger. He had a lot of junior player traits that won't work in the NHL. And he would definitely benefit from a year as London's 1C, if that's how it plays out.

 

[TMLife17]

He took some pretty big hits last night. If those were NHLers he wouldn’t have been getting up.

That said he rallied after them and scored a big goal for his team. Pretty nice to see someone not scared of the physicality.

 

[ACC1224]

Did everyone here watch the game? I did not see a player that's ready to step into the NHL out of training camp next season.

Apparently he's ready to replace Marner.....this place

I could see value in having him at the bottom of the lineup, another year in Junior seems like a waste.

 

[The Masters]

great season. cheers to your career with the leafs !

 

[LeafGrief]

He took some pretty big hits last night. If those were NHLers he wouldn’t have been getting up.

That said he rallied after them and scored a big goal for his team. Pretty nice to see someone not scared of the physicality.

I was quite pleased with how he reacted to those hits. The one in the third, when he built up that head of steam inside his own blueline I could see that he was going to get smoked, he knew he was going to get smoked, the whole arena knew he was going to get smoked, and he just dug in harder and lugged that puck up the ice. Got smoked, then got up and scored 20 seconds later. Great to see a player who's not afraid of the physicality, because in the big games there's always going to be guys looking to raise their team by laying someone out. Gotta be willing to take the hit and make the play.

I think it's hard to say if he's NHL ready or not, if I had to bet it would be that he gets his 9 games next year. He's won everything he can conceivably win at the junior level, but I don't have any problem with guys playing the extra junior year. I think he's an NHL winger, so it's not like playing C for a year matters much IMO. I think he's got an NHL ready drive-train, NHL ready skills, and I really love the way that he reads the game. He makes such smart give-and-go's with his teammates every time he's on the ice, he's a player that understands space and how to manage the puck. A player with the right head and heart for the NHL game won't stay in the minors long, but he could absolutely stand to have another two or three years of physically maturing before throwing him out there and letting Zadorov or Xhekaj take runs at him.

The exact sort of player that training camp is for. I think he could win a spot on the third line wing and then rise from there if he's truly NHL ready, or he might need another year or two to get stronger and figure out how to dodge some of those hits.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Yeah good game last night .. but not a great game .. he will be a C in pro hockey but he'll need to grow into role starting out as a W going up/down from Marlies .. but I love his compete, fight and net front instincts .. he will be front and center to our new core in 3 years

 

[Fogelhund]

In fairness I only watched 2 games of his mem cup (game 1 and 4). I saw the same player both games though. He is a good player but he wasn't dominant. I didn't see a player who's development would be stalled by another season in the OHL. I also didn't see a player that looks ready to make an immediate impact in the NHL.

The first game he wasn't as effective as normal, as he'd taken a puck off the foot. The final game, he put up three points, on night when the rest of his team was simply flat. He lead the Memorial Cup in scoring, after being the MVP of the OHL Playoffs.

He's not Connor Bedard though, making everyone else look silly... he's Easton Cowan, and his effort dragged his team back into the final game.

Does that make him NHL ready? Hard to say really, I don't think you know, until you play there. It's up to him to have a good summer, and show in camp, pre-season and maybe a few regular season games that he belongs. I don't think it's possible to say for certain, that he's a guy in the mix, or not.... there should be plenty of competition for spots... if he makes it, great, if not... back to the OHL, though he's a guy who isn't going to learn much more there... it likely won't hurt his development either... but he's a guy who should be in the AHL, if not ready for the NHL.

 

[Americanadian]

The first game he wasn't as effective as normal, as he'd taken a puck off the foot. The final game, he put up three points, on night when the rest of his team was simply flat. He lead the Memorial Cup in scoring, after being the MVP of the OHL Playoffs.

I went to the first game. He was actually better after taking the shot off the foot. It happened about 25 minutes in, he was invisible for that first 25 minutes.

He's not Connor Bedard though, making everyone else look silly... he's Easton Cowan, and his effort dragged his team back into the final game.

I am not trying to drag him down. I am extremely high on him. I watched the whole game yesterday, I didn't see him drag his team. He made an awesome 2 foot pass in the neutral zone on the first goal, a seeing eye shot that most likely wouldn't beat an NHL goaltender for his goal and a phantom assist for his 3rd point. I'm not saying he wasn't very good, I'm saying he wasn't dominant and he didn't drag his team.

Does that make him NHL ready? Hard to say really, I don't think you know, until you play there. It's up to him to have a good summer, and show in camp, pre-season and maybe a few regular season games that he belongs. I don't think it's possible to say for certain, that he's a guy in the mix, or not.... there should be plenty of competition for spots... if he makes it, great, if not... back to the OHL, though he's a guy who isn't going to learn much more there... it likely won't hurt his development either... but he's a guy who should be in the AHL, if not ready for the NHL.

If I was the Leafs I would be pushing the OHL to provide him an exception the same way they did for Wright this year given he won all he could in the OHL.

 

[ACC1224]

Yeah good game last night .. but not a great game .. he will be a C in pro hockey but he'll need to grow into role starting out as a W going up/down from Marlies .. but I love his compete, fight and net front instincts .. he will be front and center to our new core in 3 years

What do you see the Leafs doing with him next year?

 

[Funk21]

In fairness I only watched 2 games of his mem cup (game 1 and 4). I saw the same player both games though. He is a good player but he wasn't dominant. I didn't see a player who's development would be stalled by another season in the OHL. I also didn't see a player that looks ready to make an immediate impact in the NHL.

The OHL or any Junior development league for that matter should allow the drafting team to decide where players play after 4 seasons in junior.

Cowan and many like him are continually forced to play in a league they will get no benefit from developing in.

As for if he is ready, other than game one he was by far London’s best player the entire tournament. Is he McDavid? Nope, but if he is comparable replacement to Marner at less than a million and I will take it all day long. I would suspect 40-50 points if he plays in the top 6.

I was one of the biggest critics of the pick last year. He proved me wrong in so many ways. He has grow n a few inches and added some weight. Does he need to grow as a player absolutely but I think he will be motivated given that he knows of the opportunity in front of him!

 

[Budz]

I LOVE the kid, but he likely is NOT ready to play a full NHL season at a high level.

Those calling him a Marner replacement next year and writing him in on 2nd line - simply don’t know hockey.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Those calling him a Marner replacement next year and writing him in on 2nd line - simply don’t know hockey.

Of course he’s not a Equal Marner replacement but he’s going to get a shot to step up when Marner is traded in July.

 

[WTFMAN99]

The first game he wasn't as effective as normal, as he'd taken a puck off the foot. The final game, he put up three points, on night when the rest of his team was simply flat. He lead the Memorial Cup in scoring, after being the MVP of the OHL Playoffs.

He's not Connor Bedard though, making everyone else look silly... he's Easton Cowan, and his effort dragged his team back into the final game.

Does that make him NHL ready? Hard to say really, I don't think you know, until you play there. It's up to him to have a good summer, and show in camp, pre-season and maybe a few regular season games that he belongs. I don't think it's possible to say for certain, that he's a guy in the mix, or not.... there should be plenty of competition for spots... if he makes it, great, if not... back to the OHL, though he's a guy who isn't going to learn much more there... it likely won't hurt his development either... but he's a guy who should be in the AHL, if not ready for the NHL.

He was playing 1C in that first game too, winger for the other games where he can drive offense.

 

[Budz]

Of course he’s not a Equal Marner replacement but he’s going to get a shot to step up when Marner is traded in July.

A shot - sure.

Expecting a polished NHL er. Nope. He’s gonna face a BIG adjustment. He needs to grow and get man strong. He will also have to drastically adjust how he plays. That takes time and patience and hard lessons.

He might be my favourite prospect we’ve had in a looong time. I like his game, how he plays and the little bit of pit bull in there. Just don’t want to see our fans chew him up and spit him out.

 

[seanlinden]

The "9 game" thing to me shouldn't actually matter.

All it does is allow his ELC to roll over to the following year.

Personally, I'd take the approach of doing everything you can to keep him in the NHL lineup at least 50% of the time until the WJCs.

After that, make a decision whether he should go and be a 1st line player back in London, or wherever he falls in the Leafs lineup.

 

[DarkKnight]

The kid gave it all, too bad the Knights came out flat

3 cheers for the Oilers still a chance to bring the cup home. Zach Hyman the place where the offence goes to finish up.

Nothing more Leafy than ole "stone hands" nearing a playoff goal record.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Did everyone here watch the game? I did not see a player that's ready to step into the NHL out of training camp next season.

Yeah, he got blown up in several open ice hits, one of which setup the first goal, but it's a bit concerning at that size. The Knights will be a wagon again next year, another year taking on more responsibility, rounding out his game and adding size isn't the end of the world.