A third-round pick (No. 68) of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2011 NHL Draft, Cousins began to make his mark in the NHL during the 2015-16 season, when he centered the Flyers' third line down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.

The native of Belleville, Ontario, had 11 points (six goals) and plus-5 rating in 36 regular-season games before making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut and averaging 10:59 of ice time per game in six postseason games.

A gritty forward, Cousins played 11 games for the Flyers in 2014-15, making his NHL debut March 17, 2015, against the Vancouver Canucks. He got an assist for his first NHL point Feb. 7, 2016, and scored his first NHL goal four days later against the Buffalo Sabres.

Cousins played his junior hockey for Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, where he had 102 goals and 291 points in 264 games. He also represented Canada at the 2011 World Under-18 Championship, where he had four goals and eight points in seven games.

Cousins played 38 games for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League in 2015-16 before being called up to the Flyers. He still finished third on Lehigh Valley with 38 points (12 goals) and led the team with a plus-13 rating.