On Thursday afternoon, the Ontario Hockey League announced the winner of the Red Tilson Trophy Winner as the league's Most Outstading Player; and the Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan received the honours.
Easton Cowan becomes the first Toronto Maple Leafs player to win the award since Mitch Marner also took home the title back in 2015-16 and with the London Knights.
Drafted by the Leafs in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with the pick the team obtained from the Washington Capitals in exchange former first round pick Rasmus Sandin, many were surprised that he was selected so high when several mock drafts had Cowan slated as a late second rounder or even a third round pick.
Cowan immediately impressed which led to an extended look in Maple Leafs training camp which caused him to miss the start of the London Knights OHL season due to him still being with his NHL team.
Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Easton Cowan Is the OHL's Top Player
Eventually the Mount Brydges, Ontario native would return to his junior team and dominate the OHL finishing with 96-points in just 54 games finishing which was the second highest point per game average in the league behind Quentin Musty who was selected two picks ahead of him.
2024 #OHLAwards 🏆:
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 2, 2024
Turning heads with a @LondonKnights franchise record 36-game point streak as part of a 96-point season, @MapleLeafs first round #NHLDraft pick Easton Cowan is the 2023-24 recipient of the Red Tilson Trophy as the #OHL's Most Outstanding Player.
Cowan was selected to Team Canada for the World Junior U-20 Championships over Christmas and in limited action was able to record a pair of points. Despite being the second youngest player on the team he lived up to his reputation as a high energy skilled forward as he showed his non stop hustle and dog on the puck mentality.
With his London Knights, Cowan set a franchise record with points in 36 consecutive regular season games and then continued it into his first six games of the playoffs before he was finally held off the scoresheet.
The Knights are currently in the midst of the Western Conference OHL Finals against the Saginaw Spirit and are up 3-1 in the series. They have three opportunities to take down the series with the next game being on Friday and if they move to the OHL Finals they would play the winner of the Oshawa Generals and North Bay Battalion.
Right now the left wing position on the Maple Leafs heading into next season is wide open with just Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson expected to be back.
With everything that Cowan has done throughout his first year in the organization you can count on him coming into his next training camp ready to grab a hold of a roster spot.