After a couple of weekend games in Montreal, Jason Bukala shares his takeaways on the performance of eight Maple Leafs prospects.
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By Jason Bukala
September 16, 2024, 12:54 PM
After a summer of training, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens rookies came together for a pair of games over the weekend at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Leafs escaped with 4-3 and 5-4 victories to earn the two-game sweep. As expected, both teams played with an abundance of energy in an effort to impress upper management and earn an invite to main camps later this week.
My colleague Eric Engels has provided his takeaways from the Montreal perspective, here are my observations from the Toronto Maple Leafs side:
Toronto's overall collection of prospects
Toronto isn’t an organization flush with prospect depth. They are working at restocking the cupboards and drafting/developing players who fit the mould of how Brad Treliving and his staff want to build the structure of the team.
The group competed to the best of its ability and won both games on the weekend, but they were generally outplayed by a much deeper Montreal Canadiens team that, especially on Sunday, controlled most of the offensive-zone time and puck possession. Toronto's skill players did what they do best on the power play and capitalized on a few lucky bounces along the way, while the defence and goaltending provided just enough detail in their zone and some timely saves.
Easton Cowan
Along with Fraser Minten, Cowan was the most visible forward for the Leafs. He’s expected to compete for a job on the NHL roster, so it was imperative for Cowan to hit the ground running and impact these prospect games in Montreal.
Cowan was deployed in all situations on the weekend, contributed two goals, one assist, and was around the play every shift. He’s clearly stronger and even more explosive than a year ago. His open-ice pace led to chances in transition and his small-area quickness ended with puck possession ahead of his opponents when he darted to loose pucks.
I would like to have seen a bit more physical push back at times to create more space for himself or win a half wall battle in the defensive zone, but he was impressive overall and appears ready to challenge for a slot on left wing with the Leafs.
Fraser Minten
Minten suffered a lower-body injury in the second period Sunday. He went into the boards feet first after being pushed off balance by Montreal defender David Reinbacher.
Before the injury, Minten — who played alongside Cowan — was noticeable almost every shift. He was strong in the faceoff circle, battled to extend plays along the wall, and was physically involved. A lot of what Minten does goes unnoticed. He subtly contributes to creating open space for his linemates and goes to the net to set screens and create a distraction. He will likely need time in the AHL to further develop, but he, too, looked bigger and stronger this weekend.
