Maple Leafs Give Clear Indication of Plans for Easton Cowan at Practice Wednesday

After a day of team-building activities on Tuesday during their annual Muskoka trip, the Leafs returned to the ice on Wednesday morning, holding an open practice for fans.

As the Leafs jumped into line rushes, fans saw Auston Matthews skate with Matthew Knies and Max Domi, as he has done the past few practices. Bobby McMann lined up with John Tavares and William Nylander, while the three newcomers in Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli skated together on the third line.

Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz and Easton Cowan remained together after a very successful pre-season which gave a clear indication of the Leafs' plans for Cowan to begin the season.

The Leafs haven't guaranteed anything to the 20-year-old, but they don't need to say he has made the opening night lineup, they have shown it with how they have used him in practices.

To his credit, the 2023 first-round pick isn't looking for handouts and is more than happy to do the grunt work and work his way up the lineup.

Cowan has seemingly leaped over veterans Nick Robertson, David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok for the final roster spot -- one or two of which likely won't be with the Leafs much longer.

To no fault of their own, Cowan just had a superior camp in comparison and has earned his opportunity to begin the season with the Leafs.

In addition to Cowan skating on the fourth line, the Leafs were also able to shuffle Simon Benoit back into his usual spot next to Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the third pair. Benoit had been dealing with an upper-body injury since the start of camp and previously skating in a red non-contact jersey.

The Leafs have just two pre-season games left, both against the Detroit Red Wings, so we likely won't see any final roster moves until Sunday at the earliest. How GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube sort out their extra forwards will certainly be something to keep an eye on.