The Toronto Maple Leafs have many young prospects who are having a good season this year. As the NHL trade deadline approaches, some of these prospects could be trade bait, so I thought I would look at how their seasons are going.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman in his 32 Thoughts segment, are more interested in trading away their 2024 first-round pick than top prospects such as Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan, or Fraser Minten.
Regardless, the Leafs are in a win-now situation and anyone outside of the core-four is potential trade bait.
In this article, I'm going to be looking at how the 2023-24 season is going for five of the Leafs prospects. I will focus on Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, Ryan Tverberg, Topi Niemela, and Brandon Lisowsky.
Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects
Easton Cowan - C/RW
Easton Cowan is the Leafs first-round pick from the 2023 NHL draft. He is 18 years old, 5'11", and 185 lbs. Through 37 games this season,
Cowan has already surpassed all his stats from last season. He has 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points. Last season, he finished with 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in 68 games.
Cowan is on pace to finish this season with 34 goals and 64 assists for 98 points in 55 games. This is Cowan's third season with the London Knights in the OHL.
He will be eligible to play there next season but might make the jump to the AHL and develop with the Toronto Marlies. (All stats from eliteprospects.com)