The Leafs selected Easton Cowan 28th overall in this past draft using the pick they got from Washington in the Rasmus Sandin trade. The pick was originally Boston's 1st rounder, which they sent to Washington in the Dmitri Orlov trade. There was talk of the Leafs trading the pick to move down and add more picks to their draft board, but Treliving and the Leafs' staff decided to stand pat and select Cowan, the London Knights standout, at 28th overall
Cowan wasn't overly impressive in his first development camp, but it would appear as though he has trained very hard this summer and has looked very good through 2 games so far at the Traverse City prospects tournament. Cowan has played in all situations for the Leafs in the tourney so far and has done everything asked of him and then some.
The two most notable things from Cowan during his first two games are how he is always moving and hounding the puck and his playmaking abilities. Here, he strips a defenseman of the puck before breaking in for a scoring chance on the penalty kill.
Here, he not only slows up at the blueline on entry, but finds Ryan Tverberg across the ice for an easy entry before cutting to the middle, taking a pass from Tverberg and one-touching it to Roni Hirvonen for a beautiful scoring chance.
Not only have his playmaking skills been on display through two games, but his ability to protect the puck and exit the defensive zone has been noticeable. In the clip below, Cowan protects the puck multiple times in his own zone before setting up Mikko Kokkonen for a rebound goal.
In 68 games with London last season, the 18-year-old scored 20 goals and registered 53 points. He then exploded onto the scene in the playoffs, racking up 21 points in 20 playoff games. He should be a big part of London's success this season and could find himself representing Team Canada at the World Junior Championship Tournament in December.
