Cowan prepared to fight for spot on Maple Leafs: 'I have a chance to get a job'
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When one London Knight alum leaves the lineup, another is ready to step in.
Star forward Mitch Marner departed the Toronto Maple Leafs this week, 10 years after being drafted fourth overall from London, in a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, landing an eight-year, $96 million contract in the process.
Forward Easton Cowan, who is skating in his third development camp with the Maple Leafs after an illustrious final OHL season with the Knights, said Thursday he is happy for Marner as he prepares to try to become the next Knights alum to crack the Maple Leafs.
“(Marner’s friendship) meant a lot to me,” said Cowan, the Maple Leafs’ first-round pick in 2023. “Happy for him. Opportunities will open up for other players.”
Cowan knows he has a big opportunity to earn a spot with the Maple Leafs in the fall.
“I have the chance to get a job, and that’s up to me to go out there and show what I can do and play my game,” Cowan said. “Still a couple months away, so I’m going take every day to keep getting better. I’m just worried about myself.”
Cowan is coming off a season where he led the Knights to the franchise’s first Memorial Cup title since 2016, when Marner was still with the team, as well as a second straight OHL championship.
He led the OHL playoffs with 39 points in 17 games. At the Memorial Cup, he tied teammate Denver Barkey with three goals and seven points for the tournament lead in scoring and took home the Stafford Smythe Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP.
Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Hayley Wickenheiser said on Thursday that the next step for Cowan is continuing to work on the pro habits that are key to earning an NHL job next year.
“He has an NHL skill set,” Wickenheiser said. “It’s puck management. What you do with the puck at both blue lines and not turning pucks over in soft areas of the ice, being able to drive deep, take the puck to the net, hound and hunt the puck, which he does really well.
“Over the latter half of his season this year, we saw a really big improvement that way.”
Regardless of whether he lands with the Maple Leafs or the AHL’s Marlies to start the 2025-26 campaign, Cowan will be in Toronto next season.
The Strathroy, Ont., native said he feels good about his game after how last season went for him in London and as he readies for the spotlight in Toronto, he believes he thrives when the pressure rises.
“I felt really good with my game,” Cowan said. “Similar to last year, I felt when the games got bigger, I got better. Those are the games I love to play, when there’s a lot of people watching, and there’s high stakes.”