Bigger, brawnier Easton Cowan ready to earn a job with the Maple Leafs

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The Easton Cowan who strode confidently into Team Town Sports in Whitby on Thursday was a far cry from the shy kid from a couple of Maple Leafs training camps ago.

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At 190 pounds — “he grew taller, too” adds agent Dave Maloney — to a full six feet, it’s just what Toronto management wants to see as Cowan enters this season with a strong chance to make the club.

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The right winger was in the London area all summer training at the Epic facility, four times a week on skates, and joined the growing number of early Leafs arrivals at the Ford Centre this week.

“It all went well, I put on weight and got better,” Cowan told the Sun before a meet and greet with the awe-struck Whitby Wildcats U12 ‘A’ level team. “I’ve been skating with the NHL guys who are all funneling back now. They’re all coming up to me to give congrats (for his London Knights winning the Memorial Cup) asking how my summer’s been. Little messages like that go a long way and I feel a little closer and comfortable around all of them.

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“I’m feeling good out there, excited for camp.”

Cowan, who was asked to skip the on-ice portion of the Leafs’ development camp in early July because he’d played so much hockey, has certainly paid his dues in junior. The first-round pick in 2023 from Mount Brydges went through two seasons that tested his mettle with the home-team Knights — a 36-game OHL points streak in 2023-24, league MVP, back-to-back Cup final appearances, with a title last June where he was the tournament MVP, capping 39 playoff points in 17 games. He’s been to two world junior championships for Canada as well.

Now he’ll be at a Leafs camp that’s without all-star Mitch Marner, which will mean at least one right side spot will be open.
While not putting excess pressure on Cowan, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving talked up the opportunity available to him earlier this week in an interview with The Athletic.

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“Management does a great job staying in touch with me throughout the year,” Cowan said. “I’ve heard from everyone. They’re all being positive, so I’m being positive. The coach (Craig Berube) is like the other management, staying in touch about little stuff to help a prospect make that jump easier.”

Plan B for Cowan, if the Leafs don’t see an advantage in keeping him around, not playing regularly, would be to start with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. He’d certainly see plenty of ice time there, a lot of special teams work and grow in a different way rather than be in the shadow of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and others.

But as Howie Meeker would say on Hockey Night in Canada: Stop it there and roll it back.

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“My mindset right now is to make the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Cowan insisted. “That’s my goal. We’re at an NHL camp and that’s where I’m at until further notice.

“This is definitely the most confident I’ve ever felt — faster, stronger, bigger. So that’s going to help me out a lot. I’ve put in the work this summer. Now, it’s just go out there and prove I can play.”

Cowan will never forget the feeling of lifting the Memorial Cup, a year after losing in the final and hopes that feeling carries him into camp on a high, too.

“I love to win, whether it’s a 3-on-3 game in the summer or a Memorial Cup,” he said. “You want to be the guy who goes out there and helps the team win. That mentality will help me a lot.”

COWAN TAKES PRIDE IN GIVING BACK

There were plenty of Auston Matthews No. 34 sweaters among the NHL jerseys on display at Team Town Sports in Whitby, but management put Easton Cowan’s rookie camp number 53 up for his visit on Thursday.

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Starting next week, Cowan hopes to earn it for real when the Leafs rookies get together for a couple of workouts before heading to Laval, Que., for the Prospects Showdown and play the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.

The main Leafs camp follows.

“We’ve talked as prospects already. You want to go in there and win,” Cowan said. “You don’t want to lose, especially to the Montreal Canadiens. We’re all good players, we were able to compete well last year.”

Cowan looked at his audience that included the U12 Whitby Wildcats on Thursday and couldn’t quite believe that just seven years ago, he was in their position, pen in hand, seeking NHL autographs.

“I just remember going to London Knights games, meeting some of their guys,” he recalled. “Or sitting at the glass at a Leafs game, watching the players you used to look up to. I think I had a signed (Dion) Phaneuf jersey. To be able to give back is something I want to do and I take pride in it.”

lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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