Leafs cut top prospect Cowan from opening night roster
If Easton Cowan is going to make the Toronto Maple Leafs roster out of training camp, he’ll have to wait until next season.
Today, the Leafs announced that they’d sent Cowan back to the OHL’s London Knights, meaning he won’t be seeing time in the NHL anytime soon.
The NHL might’ve just been a step too fast for the 19-year-old, who was selected by Toronto.
“Yeah, it’s been hard. I’ve been trying to justify these first couple games, and it got to me a bit. So I’m just looking to build off my first couple games here, and like I said, just play a bit more free and balance those two things,” Cowan told reporters earlier in the preseason.
With the Leafs making the Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz signings official today, it seemed like the writing was on the wall for Cowan to get sent back to junior.
Unfortunately for Cowan, there might not be much more for him to accomplish at the OHL level, having already won nearly everything at that level.
Cowan, the OHL’s recipient of both the regular season and playoff MVPs last season after putting up 96 points in 54 games with the Knights, should be one of the top players in the country once again. The Knights fell 4-3 to the Saginaw Spirit in the Memorial Cup final last season, so if there’s any motivation for Cowan, it might be to try to flip that result this upcoming season.
Cowan is also eligible for the 2025 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa this December and January. This past year, he scored one goal and one assist in five games, helping Canada finish fifth.
The Leafs visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night for their season opener.
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