Leafs 2023 NHL Draft pick Easton Cowan grew up a fan of Mitch Marner

Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan appears to be a big fan of Mitch Marner.

Born in Strathroy, Ontario, it comes as little surprise that Cowan grew up a Leafs fan. As it turns out, the 18-year-old, who happens to play for the London Knights just as Marner did, is a huge supporter of the 26-year-old.

Less than 24 hours after the Leafs selected Cowan with the 28th overall pick, Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star posted a photo he received from Cowan’s family, which shows a much younger version of himself watching Marner from the front row.

Yes, Easton Cowan is a Mitch Marner fan … @Marner93 … (Thanks to the family for the photo) … #Leafs pic.twitter.com/meZBXkJDf4

— Kevin McGran (@kevin_mcgran) June 29, 2023

As it turns out, Marner and Cowan have plenty of similarities aside from just playing with the Knights. Like Cowan, Marner too grew up a Leafs fan. The two also have similar playing styles, as they are deemed more as playmakers than goal-scorers. Both are also relatively undersized, as Marner stands at 6 feet, 181 pounds, while Cowan is 5-foot-11, 170 pounds.

“Obviously he’s a great player. He actually Facetimed me after I got drafted,” Cowan said shortly after being drafted. “That was pretty cool. He always competes all over the ice. He’s a great player, and he’s a great guy obviously. You kind of look up to that.”

Despite being a Marner fan, however, Cowan admitted shortly after being drafted yesterday that his favourite player growing up was Nazem Kadri. Kadri spent parts of 10 seasons with the Leafs from 2010 to 2019.

While Cowan was undoubtedly thrilled to be drafted by his favourite NHL team, the pick came as a surprise to many others. After scoring 20 goals and 53 points in 68 games with the Knights this season, many had Cowan projected much lower on their draft lists, including The Hockey News, which had him slotted at 89th overall.

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