Sheldon Keefe blown away by Leafs rookie, says that he'll be sticking around for awhile

In last night's pre-season game against Ottawa, Cowan registered a goal, an assist, one hit, one block and was fifth among Leaf forwards in ice time. He also had a pair of breakaways, one penalty shot and looked like the most dangerous player on the ice at just 18 years of age. Cowan is a speedster and puck hound, both of which he displayed consistently during his 16:29 of game action. Following the game, not only did he receive some high praise from teammates like Mitch Marner, but head coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that Cowan's performance made it very difficult not to overplay him.

On what Cowan had shown during his first pre-season game as a Leaf, Keefe had this to say:

"More of what he showed us in Traverse City and what he showed early in camp, but I thought he put an exclamation point on it tonight, he was outstanding. On the bench, I tried to talk myself out of playing him to be honest, because I've got Matthews and I've got Kampf and I've got Holmberg, all these guys that are older guys that are here and they need to get their minutes. It was hard not to [play Cowan]. Every time he went out there he's making something happen. I got sick of talking myself out of it and just started playing him more in the third (period) and he was great."

When asked whether or not he'd keep him in training camp longer to get a better look, Keefe did not hesitate to respond and actually appeared surprised by the question:

Last year, we saw the Leafs keep 2022 2nd round pick Fraser Minten in camp a lot longer than many had expected. This year, it looks as though Cowan will be in a similar position, likely sticking around straight through until the final round of cuts, which is certainly exciting.

If Cowan can keep this up, it will only be a matter of time until people begin talking about whether or not he's done enough to deserve a 9-game look in the regular season.