Forward Easton Cowan will make or break the Toronto Maple Leafs 2025-26 season.
I know that you probably should put all your eggs in the basket of a 20-year-old prospect, but when that player is coming off an OHL MVP and Memorial Cup championship over the past two seasons, I think it's fair. Easton Cowan is the team's most touted prospect since Nick Robertson and has a legitimate chance at not only making the roster, but competing for a Calder Trophy.
As we all know, the Leafs lost Mitch Marner this offseason, who is arguably the best right-winger in hockey. Say what you want about his playoff success, but Marner is legitimally one of the best players in hockey and his loss is bigger than we may think. Fortunately, the Leafs have another former London Knight in their prospect pool in Cowan, who may be able to fill his void.
He's obviously not going to jump into the NHL and score 100 points like Marner did last year, but if you compare both Marner and Cowan's junior stats, the Leafs may have found their next star right-winger.
Cowan can be a huge difference maker for Leafs 2025-26 season
In his last year of junior, Marner scored 16 goals and 44 points in 18 playoff games on route to an OHL Championship, while Cowan just finished his playoff run with 13 goals and 39 points in 17 playoff games. Those statistics are both pretty insane and Leafs fans everywhere should be getting super excited about the potential of Cowan.
As I mentioned before, Cowan and Marner are not perfect comparables and Cowan's ceiling probably won't reach Marner's, but I do think he can be a "B-plus" or "A-minus" version of Marner, which is still All-Star worthy. When Marner jumped into the NHL, he scored 19 goals and registered 61 points in his rookie season, which seems like a decent bar for Cowan, if he's paired in the top-six.
If Cowan is summoned to the third-line, his stats will be affected, but if he's able to fill the right-wing void beside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, that could be one of the most fun lines in hockey. Cowan can obviously score but his assist numbers have always been better, so in a perfect world, Cowan can be the playmaker, Matthews is the sniper and Knies is the puck retriever/player in front of the net.
That combination, in my opinion, is a perfect first line and Cowan would have no issue keeping up with Matthews' speed and hockey IQ, as that's one of Cowan's biggest assets. I don't want to put too much pressure on the rookie but there isn't a better position in hockey to suceed than to play alongside Matthews and Knies.
Not only will Cowan's skillset be a huge boost to the Leafs Stanley Cup chances but his contract makes him even more valuable. If the team can have a first-line player on an entry level contract, that opens up the door to add more depth down the stretch and they can maximize their salary cap, which is a huge advantage.
Training camp can't come soon enough, as I can't wait to see what Cowan looks like beside Matthews and Knies.