All eyes are on Easton Cowan as he heads to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ rookie tournament in Montreal this weekend. The prospect will play professional hockey for the first time this season. His performance this weekend and at the Leafs’ upcoming training camp will determine if he plays in the NHL with the Leafs or in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.
If Cowan doesn’t make the Leafs roster, however, it won’t be because of his size. Toronto’s first-round pick (28th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft has brought his weight up to 190 pounds and stands at almost six feet tall.
Cowan spent his summer working out in London and recently joined the Leafs at their practice facility over the last three weeks, and his teammates have noticed.
Easton Cowan Headlines Maple Leafs Roster For Prospects Showdown in Montreal, Schedule Of GamesThe Toronto Maple Leafs rookie roster is set to take on the rookies of the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators at the 2025 Prospect Showdown this weekend at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
“He’s maybe not the tallest guy but I feel like he’s a pit bull,” Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford said. “When he has the puck he’s low on the ice and hard to knock off”.
Cowan is coming off yet another successful season with the London Knights, helping the team win the 2025 Memorial Cup, where he was named tournament MVP.
Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden, who is leading the prospects to Montreal for rookie games against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, is impressed with how Cowan has found time to add strength after a long junior season including the 2025 World Juniors.
“You gotta understand like he was with Team Canada, their development camp all those times playing at the Memorial Cup two years in a row, winning it. It's a lot on a young man,” Gruden said.
The path for Cowan to the NHL will be tough, and he will need to show he can keep up with the defensive demands of hockey’s highest level.
“I just gotta be a worker, gotta be a hound, get pucks in, get pucks out, play simple because me and the Leafs organization know that if I do that my offense will take over. So just focus on defense first and the offense will come,” Cowan said.
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