TORONTO -- Easton Cowan is certain about one thing heading into this season -- he knows Toronto will be his home.
What is uncertain is which uniform the 20-year-old forward will be wearing on the ice -- that of Toronto of the American Hockey League or the ultimate goal, the uniform of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
How he performs during training camp will decide his destination.
“I guess I know where I’ll be living this year," Cowan said, "but having the mindset of whether you are going to play in the NHL or AHL, you just have to have that mindset of getting better each and every day.”
There is nothing but opportunity for Cowan to earn a roster spot with the Maple Leafs out of training camp this fall; the next step is up to him.
“Time will tell,” Toronto assistant general manager, player development Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser said. “I guess that’s the question we are asking ourselves, but my money is on him that he will be fit enough and prepared enough. The experience to be able to step in and play, we will see very quickly when camp starts.”
The Maple Leafs have a huge void to fill with the departure of forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1, and another spot at left wing on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander, which was filled by a revolving cast of players last season.
Cowan certainly has the pedigree to earn him a chance to fill one of those roles; the 20-year-old led all scorers during the Ontario Hockey League playoffs with 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) in 17 games and helped lead London to the Memorial Cup championship in the team's second straight appearance in the finals. His performance earned him the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup most valuable player. In 2023-24, he won the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's most valuable player in the regular season.
“I’m just worried about myself,” Cowan said. “I have a chance to get a job, so that’s up to me to go out there and show what I can do and play my game.”
Cowan's skillset is not in question; it's more about showing the 6-foot, 185-pounder can play a more professional style of game, something he feels he improved upon last season.
“I got better as a player for sure,” he said. “This time last year, I wasn’t as good as I am now. Just being able to manage the puck better, I’ve learned that a lot this year. Just managing the puck better. I know I have the skill and compete to play, it’s just managing the puck, knowing when to make the risky play and when not to.”
“I felt really good with my game. Similar to last year, I felt when the games got bigger, I got better and those are the games I love to play in, when there’s a lot of people watching and there’s high stakes.”
He averaged 1.26 points per game in his four OHL seasons (220 points; 84 goals, 136 assists) in 175 games, and 1.6 points in the OHL playoffs (96 points; 32 goals, 64 assists) in 60 games.
Cowan had 69 points (29 goals, 40 assists) in 46 games last season, one year removed from tying for sixth in the OHL in scoring in 2023-24 with 96 points (34 goals, 62 assists) in 54 games.
As a result of a particularly busy past two seasons that saw him play 145 games (regular season and playoff combined), including 10 games over two appearances with Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, Cowan stayed off the ice at Maple Leafs development camp in July.
His focus this offseason is more geared toward adding weight and strength to withstand the rigors of NHL competition. He said his goal is to get to 190 pounds by training camp.
“He’s going to have a big few months here coming up," Wickenheiser said, "so just allow him to train off the ice, put on some of the weight he’s lost through the season and get some rest."
In the second half of the season with London, Wickenheiser said the Maple Leafs noticed an evolution in Cowan’s play, from being a highly skilled player at the junior level toward a style required to have success at the NHL level.
“I think he made a big jump this year,” Wickenheiser said. “The intangibles he brings, he plays with a lot of passion, a lot of drive but just (impressed) in terms of the way he played and conducted himself as a leader and an impact player, especially in the Memorial Cup. He produced, led the team and the habits he needs to play pro, we saw improve in the latter half of the year as well.”
“He has an NHL skillset. I do agree, it is puck management, what do you do with the puck at both bluelines? Not turning pucks over in soft areas of the ice. Being able to drive deep, take the puck to the net and then hound and hunt the puck which he does really well, but in junior he can turn it on and off when he wanted to. In the latter half of the season this year, we saw a real big improvement that way.”
Cowan tied for the lead in scoring at the Memorial Cup with teammate Denver Barkey with seven points (three goals, four assists) in five games. Wickenheiser said she believes the championship experience Cowan gained playing a key role for London will benefit him once he reaches the NHL.
“Winning is 90 percent mental because everyone is pretty equal physically," Wickenheiser said, "and so it’s the ability to grind day after day after day and to be able to have that performance on demand when it matters most. That’s a really hard thing to do. When you get over the hump, winning breds more winning. You’ve seen it with Florida.”
And it could be seen with Cowan in Toronto, in a Maple Leafs uniform.
