Analyzing Easton Cowan's Performance at the 2024 World Juniors

Game Analysis

Shooting

Easton Cowan's sole goal of the World Juniors may have been an empty netter vs Germany, but that doesn't mean he didn't bring offensive value to Canada's lineup when needed.

One area where Cowan benefited Canada offensively was his ability to create chances off of stretch feeds from his temmates.

A few examples show Cowan getting shot attempts from gaining the puck and either gaining in through transition or finishing off deep passes for good opportunities for potential goals.

Cowan had a few other good looks on offense, showing some good scoring looks, as well as some creativity with the puck.

Playmaking

Cowan had plenty of strong scoring chances throughout the tournament, but I think it was his playmaking ability that stood out more at the World Juniors, more specifically his ability to create chances for his teammates, creating stretch passes and finding open players in scoring opportunities.

Against Czechia alone I found nearly a dozen examples of Cowan either finding or creating offensive options largely with his own doing. It shows that Cowan has the vision and IQ to be a strong setup option for a team,

Against Germany, Cowan largely filled his passing duties more in the opposing end. According to tracked data by SportContract, Cowan successfully completed 42/51 attempted passes against Czechia and Germany alone.

On the defensive end, Cowan wasn't a noticeably physical player, but what stands out in his game, and what likely helped in his score, is that when he's attempting defensive work, it's largely strategical as opposed to using his body.

Cowan has shown the ability to dig for pucks, pokecheck & even stick to players in 1v1. Unshockingly, as he is on the offensive end, Cowan is a tenacious player in the defensive zone as well, even if his results don't result in highlight-reel bodychecks.

Final Thoughts

In my first analysis of Fraser Minten's game at the WJC, I highlighted some critical aspects of his game that I thought could be worth looking at for improvement in the future. Watching Cowan's game footage, it's hard to come up with anything negative besides what you see on the scoresheet, and even then what I viewed seems to almost make up for the lack of points, perhaps little consolation to anyone not a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

The stats alone don't reveal what Cowan did at the World Juniors.

Just viewing the point totals would lead to immediate questions, but don't reflect what Cowan did at the tournament, and what he can do as well, although the fact he didn't connect is a bit of a difficult pill in the end knowing that Canada flamed out in the Quarter Finals. The shooting numbers indicate Cowan could have found ways to bury those chances eventually, but in an elimination tournament, you don't get the time to refine the shots that aren't going in.

Cowan is eligible for the next World Juniors, and has a good shot at being present for the second straight year if he's not in the NHL, likely once again filling a role in Canada's top-nine, with what the Canadians will hope brings a better result.

This tournament showed that Cowan, despite not making an impact on the scoresheet, was more than capable of hagning with the best players of his peer group. Although finishing is going to be essential to not just Cowan, but to the rest of the Canadians next tournament.

What will be interesting is if Cowan plays at Center for Canada, or if potential fellow returnees in Brayden Yager, Nate Danielson, Carson Rehkopf & perhaps even Macklin Celebrini take spots alongside possible newcomers in Calum Ritchie, Berkly Catton & Cayden Lindstrom.

Logic makes it probable that the smaller Cowan will probably fit a winger role once more for the Canadians if he gets a redemption chance for next season, and given his hard-working style of play, an ability Toronto Maple Leafs fans are slowly becoming more accustomed to, it'll be hard to root against it happening.