The Toronto Maple Leafs made waves when they drafted London Knights forward Easton Cowan with their First Round selection at the 2023 NHL Draft. Fans and what seemed like the entire hockey world, were shocked at the bold pick made by the Maple Leafs new front office.
After a year where Cowan scored 34 goals (62 assists) and 96 points as well as capturing the Red Tilson Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) most outstanding player award, OHL playoff MVP (Gretzky 99 Award) and an OHL championship, he changed many people's minds (eliteprospects.com).
Cowan quickly became a prospect recognized around the league and especially amongst Leafs nation, being named the club's top prospect unanimously, a title he still holds today. However, his playstyle and frame has made some question his NHL readiness.
Is Cowan NHL ready?
Currently, the young forward is listed at 5'11 and 185lbs, which is not 'small' but is definitely slightly below the NHL average size which tends to hover around 6'0-6'1 and 200lbs, give or take. This alone would give some team's pause as usually, when a player is undersized they either tend to struggle out of the gate, have such elite skills that they can overcome it, or have a style of play that allows them to look past this.
Some examples of players who are smaller than average that have been able to overcome their size; Mitch Marner, Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat, Logan Stankoven, Bobby Brink, Conor Garland, Trevor Moore, and Lane Hutson. It is a good mix of players who have elite skills like with Caufield and DeBrincat who are lethal goal scorers. Marner, Stankoven, and Hutson who are players with high end sense and Garland, Moore, and Brink who have definitely found some struggles to produce at times.
A common theme is high end play driving ability and/or some tenacity to their game, which allows them to fight through the physicality and get into good scoring areas, despite their smaller size. Leafs fans should remember Moore specifically, who was able to body check 6'9 Zdeno Chara in the playoffs.
Thankfully, Cowan does possess some combination of this tenacity, using his relentless motor to wear down opposing players and propel him around the ice. He also has some great on-ice vision, which should help him to drive play in the future. However, given his size and with the logjam within the Leafs forward group, it may be best for his development to have him spend some time in the minors.
If he was sent to the Leafs AHL-affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, he would likely be playing top-line minutes with key power play and penalty kill time. This could do wonders for his development, allowing him to continue to marinate away from the bright lights of Scotiabank Arena and adapt himself to the professional game.
At this stage, Cowan has a lot of pressure on him and for good reason, he is an excellent player who will be an incredibly important piece of the Maple Leafs future.