C Easton Cowan - London Knights, OHL (2023, 28th, TOR)

[TheBeastCoast]

Nobody is ignoring what he's doing, you are the one ignoring what others have said in other posts and me in the one you are quoting: his production is not outstanding, very few players picked before him are having bad years, top of the draft is in the NHL already and guys picked next to him are performing at basically identical pace. The gap between 3 of them is 0,06 PPG. And in this context you are trying to prove Cowan stands out in a major way.

I mean that is a wild statement to say his production is not outstanding lmao like it is just factually incorrect. You can think he hasn't pushed up from where he was drafted without saying completely baseless things to justify it lol my opinion is he is having a great post draft season and it is far to early to do a redraft in general...it means nothing.

 

[Kuz]

Yeah there is a lot of guys having good years around him, but Cowan is having a great year. Might not have a lot of seperation pointwise with the guys drafted close to him, but there is always guys struggling aswell which Cowan might have gone before today.

Guys like Wood (15), Honzek (16), Barlow (18), Sale (20) and Stramel (21) looks to be scoring less than last year while guys behind him like Gulyayev (Solid season in the KHL) might have passed him in a redraft, but most likely Cowan would have gone a little earlier in a redraft today as he have significantly improved his production from last year.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I mean that is a wild statement to say his production is not outstanding lmao like it is just factually incorrect.

I don't know, maybe this gets lost in translation or something, but it isn't outstanding as in it doesn't stand out, at all, from his peers drafted around the same spot. That's just a fact, as factually correct as a fact can be. If you wanna see someone who stands out look at Gabe Perrault, drafted a mere 5 spots higher.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I don't know, maybe this gets lost in translation or something, but it isn't outstanding as in it doesn't stand out, at all, from his peers drafted around the same spot. That's just a fact, as factually correct as a fact can be. If you wanna see someone who stands out look at Gabe Perrault, drafted a mere 5 spots higher.

You want to tell me what more he could do to have outstanding production? Tough crowd if 66 points in 37 games doesn’t do it lol

 

[TimeZone]

The trend continuing to vastly overestimate a CHL point production against extremely weak competition is still alive and well on Hfboards I see. Not even the fact that all 3 kids picked 26-28 produce at basically same pace deters you from talking about him (them then?) significantly moving up in the redraft. Big numbers go brrrrr.

it looks to me as if most posters are being perfectly reasonable with their expectations, shockingly you and a select few others seem more interested in focusing on the outliers.

He was also tremendous at camp with the Leafs against Professionals, nearly cracked the roster as an 18 year but if you're one of the individuals who puts more stock into 5 games on a poorly coached mess of a Canadian team in December in which all but a handful of players looked even remotely decent then I suppose that says just about all that needs to be said.

 

[SoundAndFury]

You want to tell me what more he could do to have outstanding production? Tough crowd if 66 points in 37 games doesn’t do it lol

Literally told you in the post you are quoting. Perrault is 2nd in PPG in the whole of NCAA at age 18, for example. As others mentioned, Cristall, Rehkopf or Heidt having seasons that they are is noteworthy from 2nd round prospects. Cowan, meanwhile, happens to be producing at exactly (more or less) the same pace as these 2nd round prospects. And we are supposed to be in awe of that?

it looks to me as if most posters are being perfectly reasonable with their expectations, shockingly you and a select few others seem more interested in focusing on the outliers.

You do realize this discussion was set off by a poster calling him a top-10 prospect, penciled in to replace Tavares, right?

And yes, most posters do have a perfectly reasonable opinion: Cowen is developing well and reinforced his position as a 1st round prospect in his draft year. What outliers are we focussing on?

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Literally told you in the post you are quoting. Perrault is 2nd in PPG in the whole of NCAA at age 18, for example. As others mentioned, Cristall, Rehkopf or Heidt having seasons that they are is noteworthy from 2nd round prospects. Cowan, meanwhile, happens to be producing at exactly (more or less) the same pace as these 2nd round prospects. And we are supposed to be in awe of that?


You do realize this discussion was set off by a poster calling him a top-10 prospect, penciled in to replace Tavares, right?

And yes, most posters do have a perfectly reasonable opinion: Cowen is developing well and reinforced his position as a 1st round prospect in his draft year. What outliers are we focussing on?

I don’t really have an issue with your general opinion that Cowan belongs in with a group of other prospects that are performing well…but I do disagree with you saying his production isn’t outstanding lol all of those other prospects you mentioned are having great years as is Cowan. A lot of developmental time to go for all of them but I really fail to see what else Cowan could be doing this season. Like he doesn’t play in the NCAA so how he would or wouldn’t do there is kind of irrelevant.

 

[Metroid]

it looks to me as if most posters are being perfectly reasonable with their expectations, shockingly you and a select few others seem more interested in focusing on the outliers.

He was also tremendous at camp with the Leafs against Professionals, nearly cracked the roster as an 18 year but if you're one of the individuals who puts more stock into 5 games on a poorly coached mess of a Canadian team in December in which all but a handful of players looked even remotely decent then I suppose that says just about all that needs to be said.

Poster writes things like "big numbers go brrrrrr"
You surprised?

 

[4thline]

The trend continuing to vastly overestimate a CHL point production against extremely weak competition is still alive and well on Hfboards I see. Not even the fact that all 3 kids picked 26-28 produce at basically same pace deters you from talking about him (them then?) significantly moving up in the redraft. Big numbers go brrrrr.

It's funny. At it's core you make a valid point about Musty/Ritchie/Cowan all producing like they are, and that it should raise questions to anyone really paying attention. I have a post about it here.

But where an arrogant dipshit would derail the discussion and dismiss their production out of hand ("Big numbers go Brr"), a smarter person would take a step back, and notice that it's not just Musty/Ritchie/Cowan in that band- Dvorsky (10th overall) is right there too, and that other highly regarded prospects like:
Barlow (18th overall)
Sale (20th overall 7 in 7 at WJC)
Mesar (2022 26th ovr, a year older, 9 in 5 at WJC),
Haltunnen (36th overall, 6 in 7 at WJC)

are not as dominant, and not producing at the same level in the same league. Such observations should lead to more questions, not outright dismissal of Musty/Ritchie/Cowan.

 

[Legion34]

Hard to say he's improved his draft slot by that much when so many of that draft class is having an exceptional D+1. Rekhopf, Ritchie, Gulyayev, Nadeau, Brindley, etc.

Cowan's upside is similar to Mercer's - a complimentary 50-60 top 6 winger. He has a higher floor than most of the other guys, but i'd personally take most of those aforementioned names over Cowan.

I’m not disagreeing with your assessment.
But to be clear you think there will be 25 players ahead of a 50-60 pt player in that draft? I’m confused

 

[SoundAndFury]

Poster writes things like "big numbers go brrrrrr"
You surprised?

Using internet memes on the internet. Shocking indeed, I suppose I just lost my permit to visit Boomerville ever again.

It's funny. At it's core you make a valid point about Musty/Ritchie/Cowan all producing like they are, and that it should raise questions to anyone really paying attention. I have a post about it here.

But where an arrogant dipshit would derail the discussion and dismiss their production out of hand ("Big numbers go Brr"), a smarter person would take a step back, and notice that it's not just Musty/Ritchie/Cowan in that band- Dvorsky (10th overall) is right there too, and that other highly regarded prospects like:
Barlow (18th overall)
Sale (20th overall 7 in 7 at WJC)
Mesar (2022 26th ovr, a year older, 9 in 5 at WJC),
Haltunnen (36th overall, 6 in 7 at WJC)

are not as dominant, and not producing at the same level in the same league. Such observations should lead to more questions, not outright dismissal of Musty/Ritchie/Cowan.

You guys are really taking that "go brrr" stuff badly, aren't you?

Smarter person would have noticed, that this has been talked about. Other highly regarded prospects go as deep as Heidt drafted #64 performing at more or less same pace (1.75 vs 1.78 PPG). Yes, some players drafted way later are overachieving and some drafted higher are underachieving to various degrees.

Some are not as dominant and some drafted much later are as or even more dominant (Brindley, for example). And yes, there is absolutely a lot of nuance involved in this. Just because you want to expand the sample size that should be covered doesn't really explain what point you are trying to make.

 

[weems]

One thing that also seperates Cowan's season to some of the names mentioned is his penalty killing ability.

He leads the OHL in short handed scoring with 5 goals, 6 assists

Cowan 11 SH points
Musty 0 SH points
Ritchie 1 SH points
Dvorsky 1 SH points
Rehkopf 0 SH points


Leading the OHL in Pts/G while also leading in total short handed points scored is pretty impressive.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Leading the OHL in Pts/G while also leading in total short handed points scored is pretty impressive.

Yes, that's what got him (and not Cristall, for example) the spot on Team Canada to begin with and that should absolutely be taken into account. That's, however, the very same sequence of events that led many people to think his offense wouldn't really translate to the NHL level.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The trend continuing to vastly overestimate a 2 week tournament during the Holidays is still alive and well on Hfboards I see.

Team Canada as a whole was a complete dumpster fire, real tough to judge anyone on that team.

I am not overestimating it. I am estimating it. I am responding to claims that he’s drastically improved his stock. You can’t say he has without accounting for one of the two major environments of this season to judge this player. And you can’t account for that by saying it doesn’t matter. All of it matters. It’s a matter of how much weight everything gets.

 

[PAZ]

I’m not disagreeing with your assessment.
But to be clear you think there will be 25 players ahead of a 50-60 pt player in that draft? I’m confused

There's no guarantee Cowan is a 50-60 point player.

But do I think there are 25 players in the draft that will end up with a better career than Cowan? I do.

 

[TimeZone]

I am not overestimating it. I am estimating it. I am responding to claims that he’s drastically improved his stock. You can’t say he has without accounting for one of the two major environments of this season to judge this player. And you can’t account for that by saying it doesn’t matter. All of it matters. It’s a matter of how much weight everything gets.

He has certainly improved his stock, and that started at the beginning of the year with a tremendous camp in which he also cracked the Leafs roster as an 18 year old late first round pick.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He has certainly improved his stock, and that started at the beginning of the year with a tremendous camp in which he also cracked the Leafs roster as an 18 year old late first round pick.

Almost cracking a team with no organizational forward depth is not particularly relevant, even if true. Cracking that team earned Fraser Minten the captaincy for the Juniors, and we see how that decision went. I don't think Poitras stock is a whole lot better either because he made the Bruins. He also actually had some decent NHL games, unlike Cowan or Minten.

I don't think you can seriously suggest Cowan would belong in the NHL either, whether he did some nice things in NHL camp or not. Players just drafted only play in the NHL if they are like top 5 picks or in very rare circumstances where there was a clear error made by every other team that is apparent right away.

Cowan is a dime-a-dozen first round pick that has some ability to keep up with NHL players at age 18, yet obviously is not ready for all that comes with the demands of the NHL just yet.

I am sympathetic to the argument over his junior production this year. Thats a real legit argument in his favor. The "he almost made the NHL team" one is bogus. You and I have no real knowledge whether he almost made the NHL team. Neither do the majority of beat reporters. If we are supposed to regard decisions of authority figures, we need to verify with certainty that they are accurate. Given there has been no credible verification from the team that he almost made the team, it deserves very negligible weight into the season he's having.

 

[TimeZone]

Almost cracking a team with no organizational forward depth is not particularly relevant, even if true. Cracking that team earned Fraser Minten the captaincy for the Juniors, and we see how that decision went. I don't think Poitras stock is a whole lot better either because he made the Bruins. He also actually had some decent NHL games, unlike Cowan or Minten.

I don't think you can seriously suggest Cowan would belong in the NHL either, whether he did some nice things in NHL camp or not. Players just drafted only play in the NHL if they are like top 5 picks or in very rare circumstances where there was a clear error made by every other team that is apparent right away.

Cowan is a dime-a-dozen first round pick that has some ability to keep up with NHL players at age 18, yet obviously is not ready for all that comes with the demands of the NHL just yet.

I am sympathetic to the argument over his junior production this year. Thats a real legit argument in his favor. The "he almost made the NHL team" one is bogus. You and I have no real knowledge whether he almost made the NHL team. Neither do the majority of beat reporters. If we are supposed to regard decisions of authority figures, we need to verify with certainty that they are accurate. Given there has been no credible verification from the team that he almost made the team, it deserves very negligible weight into the season he's having.

This Is just a flat out idiotic thing to say, to attempt to dismiss a strong camp playing against NHL level competition and place more emphasis on a 5 game tournament against teenagers is really some deluded, ass backwards logic.

His leap in production suggests that there is some untapped offensive potential there, we aren't discussing a kid who made a slight leap this season, we're talking about a defensively sound 2-way forward who has over doubled his offensive pace from last season in his D+1 season, to act as if his stock hasn't risen since Draft year is simply mind boggling to me, particularly as there are several guys picked ahead of him(and a few around him as well) having pretty mediocre seasons thus far relative to their draft positions.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to put together that he was close to cracking an NHL Roster, they kept him up with the team into mid October to practice with the squad to reward his extremely impressive training camp as a rookie.

You're correct that it is usually only very high first round picks who crack NHL lineups in their D+1 -- which just adds to how much Cowan impressed Leafs management as a 28th overall very late first round draft pick.

The Poitras comment may actually be the most absurd of all -- You don't believe the late second round draft pick who statistically and historically speaking in that spot has a 30% or so chance of cracking 100 games in an NHL lineup throughout his career after playing nearly half of that as a teenager has raised his stock? Then maybe the prospect board is the wrong place for you.

 

[Lavar Ball]

Lol people think this kid would go top 10 in a redraft?

 

[WTFMAN99]

No, it’s not rich at all.

Leaf fans have notoriously pumped up Robertson and Knies to be among the best prospects in the league, and they aren’t. They are guys. No more. We’ve seen that proven out.

Trying to make Cowan into some burgeoning superstar is more of the same and people like you seem to not learn your lesson. Leafs aren’t the only team out there. Have some respect for other teams and players before suggesting Cowan is one of the best prospects leaguewide.

My reputation? Well, I don’t post in that section anymore and haven’t for like 5 years. I do so by choice. I don’t have anything against those that do. If they don’t like me (not sure your claim is even accurate), that’s too bad for them. Unlike you, I don’t care what strangers on the internet think of me. You seem to care deeply about your HF cred.

Likewise, I remember people shitting on Nylander and Marner

"Mantha is better than Nylander"
"Marner is small"
"Charles Hudon is better than Connor Brown"

I don't think anyone has said that Knies is more than a projectable top 6 / 3rd wheel on a scoring line type of player. He's in his rookie and is far from a complete product right now but all the signs are there. He's one of our top prospects / young players and likely not available in trade.

Robertson is doing well in limited minutes / limited PP time but probably a middle 6 tweener type, he's lost time to injuries. I would like to see him with a different coach other than Keefe.

In terms of Cowan...well, he's doing well really. I have no idea what his ceiling is and no one else on this board really does either.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Likewise, I remember people shitting on Nylander and Marner

"Mantha is better than Nylander"
"Marner is small"
"Charles Hudon is better than Connor Brown"

I don't think anyone has said that Knies is more than a projectable top 6 / 3rd wheel on a scoring line type of player. He's in his rookie and is far from a complete product right now but all the signs are there. He's one of our top prospects / young players and likely not available in trade.

Robertson is doing well in limited minutes / limited PP time but probably a middle 6 tweener type, he's lost time to injuries. I would like to see him with a different coach other than Keefe.

In terms of Cowan...well, he's doing well really. I have no idea what his ceiling is and no one else on this board really does either.

You don’t see the difference between two top 10 picks expected to be stars compared to two second round picks?

In the second round you are hoping to get anyone playing NHL games. At 28 you shouldn’t be expecting a superstar either. If you get an NHL regular at 28, that’s a good outcome.

Cowan is a good prospect. No one is saying otherwise. The discussion is whether he deserves to be considered one of the best prospects in the league or from his draft.

 

[57special]

Lol people think this kid would go top 10 in a redraft?

Yes, just below Heidt and Cristall.

 

[WTFMAN99]

You don’t see the difference between two top 10 picks expected to be stars compared to two second round picks?

In the second round you are hoping to get anyone playing NHL games. At 28 you shouldn’t be expecting a superstar either. If you get an NHL regular at 28, that’s a good outcome.

Cowan is a good prospect. No one is saying otherwise. The discussion is whether he deserves to be considered one of the best prospects in the league or from his draft.

There are differences in expectations but hasn't really changed that generally, it is easier to dump on Leafs prospects. Yea there is hype but it's a massive fan base, just the reality of it.

The Leafs fans at the time were vindicated in their belief in Marner and Nylander and oddly enough, a 6th round pick in Connor Brown, a lot of people just thought he was gonna be an NHL guy...although injuries seemed to have derailed him.

Most level headed fans are now excited on guys like Grebyonkin, Knies, Cowan, Hildeby and Chadwick but have no real idea where it ends up. The roster needs the low cost contributions of these guys though.

I'm certainly not pencilling Cowan into my 1st line LW slot 2 years down the line but I think he's gonna be a player in the NHL, I don't know the ceiling. Maybe they hit the jackpot on 1 of them similar to Minnesota on Kaprizov? You never know, 28 definitely doesn't produce a lot of stars but could it happen? Sure.

I would say that it's best not to get hung up on all of the individual posters in this thread, there are a lot of good Leaf fans that follow prospects and can keep a level head about it. Some are super fans and excited and want to think they have the next Brayden Point coming.

Debating it now is kind of pointless, you never know how a player will translate to the next level.

It's best for the league though if we keep getting good young talent.

 

[Judas Tavares]

You don’t see the difference between two top 10 picks expected to be stars compared to two second round picks?

In the second round you are hoping to get anyone playing NHL games. At 28 you shouldn’t be expecting a superstar either. If you get an NHL regular at 28, that’s a good outcome.

Cowan is a good prospect. No one is saying otherwise. The discussion is whether he deserves to be considered one of the best prospects in the league or from his draft.

One person said that and then its getting blown up like that's common Leaf fan sentiment. He's not a top 10 prospect, no clue where he should be ranked, but he is progressing well. Nothing wrong or outlandish with that.

Here is how it typically goes.

Leaf fan: Prospect looks good. Numbers are great. Is likely/potentially rising up the rankings. Awesome.

Non-Leaf fan: No, no, no. Shut up! Silly Leaf fans overrating their prospects. This guy is a dime a dozen prospect. Shut up.

Leaf fan: All I said was....

Non-Leaf fan: No, he's not as good as insert previous #1 overall pick here and you won't get McDavid in trade for him.

Ok now I'm just being an asshole but like.... I'm really not that far off.... This will happen with the next Leafs top prospect as well.

 

[TimeZone]

Lol people think this kid would go top 10 in a redraft?

If by people you mean a single person in this entire thread, then yes.