I debated ranking the Toronto Maple Leafs’ pool a few spots higher in this year’s countdown on depth, but after graduating Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson and Joseph Woll, and making just three picks in the 2023 draft (less than their allotted seven picks for the third straight year), their system has taken a hit.
Still, for what it lacks in premium talent, it does make up for in more depth than the other teams in this range. It’s also helped by a pair of goalies who look like they might be late-round finds.
2023 prospect pool rank:
No. 18 (change: -10)
1. Easton Cowan, C/LW, 18 (London Knights)
Cowan is a standout skater who buzzes around the ice, works and plays hard, and thrives on the penalty kill (one half of the best PK duo in the OHL with the Philadelphia Flyers’ Denver Barkey). He emerged as an important player for a strong Knights team (especially in the playoffs where London’s first line — Cowan, Barkey and Seattle Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton — was relentless) last year and has taken another big step forward as one of the better and more productive forwards in the OHL this year.
He plays a fast, clever, determined and consistent 200-foot game, hunting pucks, winning races and then making little skill plays when opportunities or openings in coverage present themselves. He takes or plays pucks into the middle, thrives in give-and-gos playing off of his linemate, supports play defensively, and can play in a haze/rush but has also shown the ability to use and elevate his linemates. He does a good job holding pucks around sticks at speed. He’s a heart-and-soul guy who I’m confident will take his career as far as it can go. He’ll regularly gain a step on junior defenders and while his effort can sometimes be ineffectively deployed (he’s got work to do on his routes and decisions on and off the puck), he’s an easy player to like and thrives on instinct more often than it burns him.
He does play with a hunch in his stride, which impacts his game (both positively and negatively). On one hand, he’s always engaged and on his toes because he never straightens up his stance and comes to a standstill, and he’s agile on his first cut/change of direction (less so on his second because of the commitment required). On the other, when he really commits to a position into contact or a reach-in, it can put him off-balance and push him around at his size.
I had a good chat with Knights assistant general manager Rob Simpson about Cowan recently. Here’s some of what he had to say about the player/his rise:
“If you looked at his point production with Denver in the playoffs, they’re right up there with some of the best names at 17 like Corey Perry, Max Domi, Bo Horvat, Robert Thomas. Like there were some really high-level names up there.”
“I think he needs to mature his game in the sense where now he’s making a lot of plays on the ice and at times he has to start to understand how that game’s going to translate to the professional ranks and hopefully the Toronto Maple Leafs. There’s times where you’re going to be able to make a play and there’s times where you’ve got to play it safe because the D are so much better and their sticks are so much better. That kind of comes naturally with giving them some freedom to make plays and make mistakes so that you can actually teach them and help them understand that some players can make that play and some can’t. That’s one thing that he’s working through now because he has so many puck touches in a game and you’re going to make good puck touches and you’re going to make some mistakes. So he just needs to keep learning how to read when the play is there and when it’s not.”
