Why Easton Cowan Is Perfect for Berube’s Maple Leafs

Given brand-new head coach Craig Berube‘s proclivity for tough-minded players, Easton Cowan should be a key figure for his team. Cowan is a bulldog. He plays with an in-your-face style and has high-end offensive talent. He could be ideally suited for the Maple Leafs’ 3rd line as quickly as next season.

Cowan has actually showcased his whole tool kit in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, leading his London Knights towards a Memorial Cup champion.

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Small But Powerful, Cowan Could Emerge as a Force

Cowan embodies the ideal workhorse for a Berube-coached group. The brand-new bench manager needs ruthless effort, whether it’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs or the 2nd half of a back-to-back mid-season video game. From what we’ve seen from Cowan so far, his video game must equate well to the NHL level. That reality can’t be lost on Maple Leafs General Manager (GM) Brad Treliving, who would be smart to secure this surprise ace up his sleeve.

Cowan is taking pleasure in a banner season for the OHL’s London Knights. Ironically, it’s the very same junior group Mitch Marner starred for before signing up with the Maple Leafs full-time in 2016. Also, like Marner, Cowan has actually produced almost a two-points-per-game rate for the Knights this year. Both skaters won the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s the majority of exceptional gamer and the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the OHL’s playoff MVP.

What Cowan does not have in physical stature, he more than offsets in drive, imagination, and surface. If there’s any reality to the sound that Marner’s time with the Maple Leafs may end, the company may take a look at Cowan as a replacement for Marner. The 2 gamers are strangely comparable in lots of aspects – other than for 2 truths. First, Cowan appears to have more fire in his stubborn belly. Second, he would dip into a far more affordable wage than Marner’s $10.903-million cap struck next season.

There’s a Chance Cowan Could Make the 2024-25 Maple Leafs Roster

Cowan’s entry-level agreement brings a cap hit of $904,667 for the next 3 seasons. When that ends, he will end up being an RFA. If he goes back to the OHL next season, that agreement would move. However, if Cowan made the group, the salary-cap area he would develop would be essential to Toronto’s intent to rebuild their blue line. While no one would anticipate Cowan to be an NHL all-star right off the bat, how enjoyable would it be to see him play along with leading gamers like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, or perhaps Marner himself?

There’s an opportunity fans may see Cowan’s prospective as early as next season. If he works out, he may likewise sign up with a list of Maple Leafs untouchables. That list consists of Matthews, Nylander, young winger Matthew Knies, goalie Joseph Woll, and Cowan. Cowan makes all sorts of sense as an affordable chauffeur of play and need to get an opportunity to get a long take a look at the NHL level next year. Yes, he needs to adjust to the increased physicality of the NHL level. However, provided what we’ve seen of Cowan so far, who will wager versus that possibility?

The bottom line is that the Maple Leafs did effectively preparing Cowan with the 28th general choice in the 2023 draft. He’s ideal for a Berube-coached group. Will he get an opportunity to reveal it next season?

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