Easton Cowan
This one would be a tough pill to swallow, but Easton Cowan, the Leafs unanimous No. 1 prospect in the organization, could be one of their best trade assets heading into the trade deadline. After all, Cowan’s overall development of his game has grown exponentially during the past couple of seasons in juniors.
Last season, the 19-year-old winger put together his best season ever with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League. Cowan registered 34 goals and 62 assists for 96 points in just 54 games played. More impressively, he added another 10 goals and 34 total points during the Knights’ successful playoff run to help lead them to the OHL Championship title. In fact, they even came one game short of capturing the Memorial Cup as well.
This season, Cowan just keeps getting better and better as he unofficially broke Doug Gilmour’s OHL record of registering a point in 56 straight games during the regular season, albeit the streak has taken place across two seasons. With a trajectory heading towards a similar path as current Leafs superstar Mitch Marner, Cowan’s ultimate ceiling could be limitless.
The Leafs will have to judge how important a new addition will be in winning this year, vs having Cowan on an entry-level deal for the next thee seasons after this.