Saturday turned out to be a very good night for the Leafs organization as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the vaunted Colorado Avalanche on the back of Tyler Bertuzzi's birthday hat-trick. However on the flip side, some of their more touted prospects etched their names in the record books with solid performances outside of the NHL as well.
Easton Cowan has had a fantastic draft+1 season after being selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He scored 20 goals and 53 points in 68 games last year for the London Knights and has shattered those numbers this year with 29 goals and 77 points in just 44 games thus far. He is currently 11th in OHL scoring but he has also played anywhere between 9-12 games less than everyone ahead of him.
Last night, the extremely talented forward scored yet another goal, and with that tally, he set a London Knights franchise record with a 26-game point streak. Within that stretch of 26 games, Cowan has scored 20 goals and added 29 assists and has formed great chemistry with fellow draftee Denver Barkey, who is currently 4th in OHL scoring with 82 points.
Vyacheslav Peksa also etched his name in the record books after making 49 saves in last night's shootout victory for the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL. The 49 stops from Peksa set a franchise record and on top of all that, he clinched the victory with a pad save in the shootout.
After spending the last few years in the Russian junior circuit with Bars Kazan of the VHL and Irbis Kazan of the MHL - where he sported fantastic numbers - Peksa made the jump this year to professional hockey with the Growlers. He is currently 5-6-1 with a 3.50 G.A.A. and a .898 SV% but the sky is the limit for the 21-year-old netminder who is looking like a late draft gem after being selected in the 6th round back in 2021. It's worth mentioning that numbers like this are not uncommon for young goalies developing their game at the pro level and that these numbers, by no means, dictate what type of a goaltender he'll become as a pro. The tools are very much all there with this kid.
