What ever happen to Jared Cowen.

[ManBearPig613]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has insights into what happened with Jared Cowen. He was such a highly touted prospect, drafted 9th overall by the Senators. A big, strong, stay-at-home defenseman, and Ottawa seemed really high on him at the time. To his credit, he was playing some pretty good hockey while he was with Ottawa.

But after just five years in the NHL, he was out of the league entirely by age 25. What’s surprising is that, unlike many players in his position who might grind it out in the AHL for a second chance or head over to play in Europe, it seems like Cowen left hockey completely.

Adding to the mystery, there was some drama after he was traded to the Maple Leafs. He didn’t play for them and reportedly refused an AHL assignment, calling it “a joke of a process.” That incident makes me wonder if attitude played a role in how things turned out. Did he overestimate his value in the league and fail to adapt when teams no longer saw him as a desirable asset?

Does anyone know if this was primarily due to injuries, mindset, or something else entirely? I’d love to hear any perspectives or stories about his career and why it ended so suddenly. I wonder what is he doing now, some 9-5 jobs somewhere?

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[LevelingSolo]

Lots and lots of injury problems IIR

 

[ManBearPig613]

He was invited to Avalanche PTO after the Maple Leafs fiasco but got released...I guess he was healthy enough but lack of the desire to toil around in AHL or Europe afterward.

 

[LuckyPierre]

"I think Jared wants to be more than he is. I think he thinks he can be an offensive player, when really he can bring a little bit of offense, but we want him to be the big, strong, defensive player that uses his stick, uses his body and helps us win just based on doing that." - Bryan Murray

When asked to respond to management's concerns, Cowen had this to say. “I don’t hear it because I don’t pay attention to that stuff because it doesn’t really matter.”

So to answer your question, Cowen's principle issue was mindset.

He saw himself as the second coming of Zdeno Chara. He would have had more lasting success in the league if he was more coachable, and accepted that he could have a Hall Gill type of role.

Sure, his mobility was limited after encountering hip issues. But at no point was he willing to give up on his hope of being the next Larry Robinson. His alleged medicinal marijuana enjoyment also didn't help things, and if true was impacting his decision making on the ice, as well as his approach to media and management.

Also of note, Pierre Dorion, who at the time under Bryan Murray was responsible for all RFA contract negotiations, offered Cowen an eight, yes eight year deal worth $28 million... which Cowen turned down. Talk about lucky.

 

[TeamRenzo]

"I think Jared wants to be more than he is. I think he thinks he can be an offensive player, when really he can bring a little bit of offense, but we want him to be the big, strong, defensive player that uses his stick, uses his body and helps us win just based on doing that." - Bryan Murray

When asked to respond to management's concerns, Cowen had this to say. “I don’t hear it because I don’t pay attention to that stuff because it doesn’t really matter.”

So to answer your question, Cowen's principle issue was mindset.

He saw himself as the second coming of Zdeno Chara. He would have had more lasting success in the league if he was more coachable, and accepted that he could have a Hall Gill type of role.

Sure, his mobility was limited after encountering hip issues. But at no point was he willing to give up on his hope of being Larry Robinson reincarnated. His alleged medicinal marijuana enjoyment also didn't help things, and if true was impacting his decision making on the ice, as well as his approach to media and management.

Also of note, Pierre Dorion, who at the time under Bryan Murray was responsible for all RFA contract negotiations, offered Cowen an eight, yes eight year deal worth $28 million... which Cowen turned down. Talk about lucky.

We dodged a huge bullet by him not signing that contract however at the time I thought he was going to be the next Chara.

Reading that quote makes me miss Bryan Murray...legend!

 

[NyQuil]

"I think Jared wants to be more than he is. I think he thinks he can be an offensive player, when really he can bring a little bit of offense, but we want him to be the big, strong, defensive player that uses his stick, uses his body and helps us win just based on doing that." - Bryan Murray

When asked to respond to management's concerns, Cowen had this to say. “I don’t hear it because I don’t pay attention to that stuff because it doesn’t really matter.”

So to answer your question, Cowen's principle issue was mindset.

He saw himself as the second coming of Zdeno Chara. He would have had more lasting success in the league if he was more coachable, and accepted that he could have a Hall Gill type of role.

Sure, his mobility was limited after encountering hip issues. But at no point was he willing to give up on his hope of being Larry Robinson reincarnated. His alleged medicinal marijuana enjoyment also didn't help things, and if true was impacting his decision making on the ice, as well as his approach to media and management.

Also of note, Pierre Dorion, who at the time under Bryan Murray was responsible for all RFA contract negotiations, offered Cowen an eight, yes eight year deal worth $28 million... which Cowen turned down. Talk about lucky.

Beat me to it, well said.

He was an all-rounder back in the WHL with Spokane, putting up 78 points in 117 GP in his final two seasons, and I think he expected that to continue.

He did not have the toolset for that kind of play in the big leagues, and his injury troubles only compounded his issues.

Ottawa has had a bit of trouble with the transition of a few defencemen from Juniors to the big leagues. Jared Cowen and Cody Ceci are good examples of two guys who I think were worse off than when they started by the time they left the team.

Ceci managed to turn things around elsewhere, but we tried to turn him into a shutdown guy and threw him out in those kinds of situations and his overall confidence and mental game suffered.

Cowen never really used his size effectively (much like another Senator, Patrick Wiercioch), so when you're a big body who is slow and not overly physical, not overly offensive, and yet you have an expectation of prime minutes and prime situations, there's a big disconnect.

My brother has a penchant for off-the-board jerseys, and has a Cowen along with a Sillinger. (weird)

 

[NyQuil]

The memory that comes to mind for me for Jared Cowen is this OT goal.

It's funny because Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen are both the deepest Ottawa players in the zone. Karlsson from the offensive corner to Cowen in front of the net.

How's that for positional play, LOL.



He was also one of the combatants in the famous line brawl against Montreal where Ottawa won all 5 of the fights enroute to a 6-1 victory in the playoffs.

 

[ESH]

I recall seeing atleast a few Sens posters on here calling Jared Cowen one of the worst players in the league

 

[NyQuil]

I recall seeing atleast a few Sens posters on here calling Jared Cowen one of the worst players in the league

He really fell off a cliff and his play just tanked.

 

[MS]

My memory of Cowan is that he actually had a really solid rookie season in 11-12 at age 20 but then suffered a serious hip injury the following year and his play and mobility never recovered.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

My memory of Cowan is that he actually had a really solid rookie season in 11-12 at age 20 but then suffered a serious hip injury the following year and his play and mobility never recovered.

That's exactly correct.

He had a stretch of games when Karlsson was injured where he looked incredible.

Cowen never had the work ethic needed to really persevere through adversity, and the hip injury was a huge obstacle that he could never overcome.

If you put Dan Girardi's drive in Jared Cowen, he'd probably be at the tail end of a decade of top 4 play. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[dahrougem2]

As soon as this guy had hip surgery, he looked like he was literally skating in mud on the ice. He was horrible after the surgery. Any mobility he once had was completely gone.