While Easton Cowan, the Maple Leafs’ 2023 first round draft pick, has yet to play in an NHL regular-season game, the 19-year-old right winger has been lighting up the score sheet with the OHL’s London Knights, continuing the high bar he set for himself last season. And for those who forget, that season saw him win the league MVP while leading the Knights to an OHL Championship and nearly to a Memorial Cup win as well, losing in the finals to the Saginaw Spirit.
The 2023–24 season was a true coming-out party for Cowan as he racked up an insane 62 assists and 96 points in 54 games. While he isn’t quite at that output just yet this season, his nine goals and 16 points through 12 games do have him on pace to get roughly 72 points in 2024–25, assuming he once again misses 14 games to play in this year’s World Junior Championship. If not, that total could be even higher.
The point streak lives on
This writer was lucky enough to see Cowan battle it out live against the North Bay Battalion on Friday, and despite going goalless in the match-up, Cowan supplied his teammates with two assists in the team’s eventual 6–2 victory, both of which came while on the penalty kill. Those assists also helped Cowan continue a streak he has been on since Nov. 24 of last season, that being that he has scored a point in each of his last 47 regular-season games. Quite the tear if you ask me.
Unfortunately, the OHL and CHL don’t recognize this record since the streak has been across multiple seasons, meaning if he wants to catch the current OHL all-time point streak leader Doug Gilmour (55 games) or the CHL leader Mario Lemieux (61 games), he will have to do it all within the 2024–25 season. Luckily for Cowan, he has 12 games down on that journey. And given that his streak began nearly a year ago, maybe he can channel even more of that energy that helped him start the streak in the first place.
Too good for junior?
Cowan seemingly has nothing more to prove at the OHL level, apart from a Memorial Cup victory. With his ludicrous numbers, it seems like the Leafs could use him right about now to give them an extra offensive bump and potentially cement themselves as a true Stanley Cup contender. Unfortunately for Cowan, he simply did not show the Leafs enough in the preseason to warrant an NHL roster spot over guys like Nicholas Robertson, Max Pacioretty or Pontus Holmberg.
Putting Cowan on the 2024–25 NHL roster also would have likely stunted the budding star’s growth, taking him from being a crucial component on the Knights, to potentially a regular healthy scratch candidate on a Leafs team looking to win it all.
The AHL would have been a solid landing spot for Cowan where he could grab a good portion of ice time while also getting to play against grown men and truly test his abilities before solidifying himself as an NHL-calibre talent. But, the AHL has a questionable rule that forbids CHL players below the age of 20 from playing in the league. For players in any other league around the world, this rule does not apply, making it all the more baffling.
So for now, Cowan will continue to light it up in the OHL, and although it may not be ideal for his growth in the here and now, it isn’t the worst spot for him to be. Cowan has shown—especially through his tremendous streak since last November—that he can be the very best in OHL or even the entire CHL. He has an OHL MVP under his belt and was the top scorer at the 2024 Memorial Cup. If he can add a Memorial Cup win and potentially even a World Juniors win where he is a vital contributor to that existing resume, that could give him the confidence boost he needs to make a true statement in the Leafs’ training camp next season.
Luckily for Cowan, he will also be 20 by the time the next training camp rolls around, so even if he doesn’t quite make the NHL roster, he could still be sent to the Marlies where coaches and fans alike can truly get a grasp on what he could do at the NHL level. For now, though, Cowan will surely continue building on his point streak with the Knights, potentially showing just how much he deserves to make it to the big show.
