Leafs Prospect Easton Cowan Receives Huge Opportunity for Thursday's Meeting with Canadiens

On the heels of arguably his worst showing during training camp so far, Easton Cowan hopes to get his game back on track on Thursday night when the Leafs welcome their longest standing rival to Scotiabank Arena, with the Canadiens in town.

Cowan played 14:35 TOI against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, finishing the night as a -1 and was mostly invisible during the loss. However, on Thursday, the London Knights standout mentioned that he believes that he's playing alongside Mitch Marner and Max Domi on the team's top line for tonight's pre-season matchup.

Cowan added plenty of size and strength this summer and appeared to be an early favourite to earn a roster spot with the Leafs on opening night, but a slow start to his training camp has led to some questions about whether or not the Leafs would be better served to return him to his junior club for one more year of dominance with the Knights.

The Leafs are clearly trying to give Cowan a chance to play with some excellent players to try to kick start his confidence a little bit, and it's probably not a bad idea at this stage of camp.

Tonight will mark the 3rd of 6 pre-season games for the Leafs, which means that a bevy of roster cuts are on the way as the team trims the roster down to a more manageable level. Cowan is still expected to survive at least one more roster cut, but a big showing on Thursday against the Habs could go a long way in allowing the rookie forward to prove that he's ready to take the next step in his young career and make the jump to the NHL as a 19-year-old.

The Cowan/Domi/Marner line will be a fun one to watch tonight as the trio of former London Knights have the skills to compliment one another nicely.