The Maple Leafs opened up rookie camp with a practice at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday.
Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan added seven pounds of muscle during the summer.
“It’s going to go a long way,” the 20-year-old winger said. “It’s going to help a lot.”
Cowan, who is now up to 190 pounds, also believes he added some height.
“Five-foot-11 and a half,” he said with a smile. “I thought I got a bit taller, maybe not.”
The Leafs website is rounding up with Cowan listed at 6-foot.
Cowan displayed his new size and strength at Thursday’s first practice of Leafs rookie camp.
“It was noticeable to me that he put on a little bit of weight,” said Toronto Marlies coach John Gruden, who is overseeing the camp.
Cowan skated on the top line beside Jacob Quillan and Borya Valis.
“Looks like he got faster this year,” observed Quillan.
“I feel great out there,” Cowan beamed. “I’m definitely stronger, bigger and faster — it’s the best I’ve ever felt coming into camp.”
Cowan is facing an uphill battle as he aims to muscle his way onto the Leafs roster at training camp, which begins next week. There isn’t exactly an open spot for the 2023 first-round pick.
Forwards Mitch Marner (Vegas Golden Knights), Pontus Holmberg (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Max Pacioretty (unsigned) left Toronto during the summer, but the Leafs also added Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Michael Pezzetta up front. And Nick Robertson, who finished seventh on the team in goals last year, signed a new one-year pact.
Cowan, who is eligible to start the season with the Marlies in the American Hockey League and does not require waivers to be sent down, will need to clearly outperform more experienced players to earn a spot with a team that is aiming to contend for the Stanley Cup.
Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube kept a close eye on things at Thursday’s practice. Cowan understands exactly what he needs to show them to prove he’s ready for the NHL.
“Just got to be a worker, got to be a hound, get pucks in, get pucks out, play simple,” he said. “Me and the Leafs organization know that if I do that, my offence will take over. So just focus on defence first and the offence will come.”
Cowan points out that he showed an ability to do just that while leading the London Knights to a Memorial Cup title last season.
“I learned to have a better management of the game, when to get pucks in, when to get them out, when to make that risky play,” Cowan noted. “It’s been good that way and just looking to bring that here into camp.”
Berube will often praise players for being predictable and Gruden stressed the need for consistency from Cowan.
“He’s just got to understand whenever his number’s called, he just has to do his job,” Gruden said. “The rest of his skill that he has — because he has a lot of it, he’s a very smart player, a competitive player — will take care of itself. For him to be able to follow a game plan for 60 minutes, with consistency, is going to be very important.”
Cowan refined his game while training in the London, Ont. area this summer alongside Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, Utah Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse and Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. He arrived back in Toronto about three weeks ago to start working out alongside Leafs players.
The looming challenge may seem daunting, but Cowan is nonplussed. He is heavier on the ice and lighter off it.
“My mind’s pretty free right now,” the native of Mount Brydges, Ont. said. “I got no worries. I know I’ll be playing somewhere in Toronto this year.”
In fact, Cowan already figured out his living arrangements for the coming year. He is renting a place from his good friend and former Leafs prospect Fraser Minten, who was traded to the Boston Bruins last season.
“Obviously I want to play in the NHL,” Cowan said. “But I just got to have a good mindset and keep it free.”
‘I got no worries’: Stronger Cowan feeling confident ahead of Leafs camp Easton Cowan believes he is a different player than the one that showed up at Leafs rookie camp last season, claiming, ‘this is the best I’ve ever felt coming into camp.’ Cowan added more strength and size in the summer, which has been noticeable to Marlies head coach John Gruden, who is overseeing the camp.
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There will be another practice on Friday before the players board a bus to head to Montreal for the Prospects Showdown. Toronto’s youngsters will take on the Ottawa Senators young guns on Saturday at the Bell Centre before playing the Montreal Canadiens prospects on Sunday.
Toronto’s top defence pairing this weekend will be 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford and 2023 sixth-rounder Noah Chadwick.
“We’re going to complement each other really well,” predicted Danford, who captained the Oshawa Generals to the Ontario Hockey League championship series last season. “Our games mesh really well. We’re both guys that don’t cheat for offence or anything … We’re both hard defenders, you know, box outs, all those things. I’m looking forward to playing these games this weekend and shutting down the other team’s top lines.”
Danford missed the Prospect Showdown games in Montreal last year after sustaining a concussion during a rookie camp scrimmage.
“I learned from it,” the 19-year-old from Belleville, Ont. said. “There’s guys that, you know, that’s their job is to finish checks and play hard. I just have to be aware of those type of players.”
Danford is feeling more comfortable this year in part because he now knows all the staff and most of the players. He also benefitted from spending about a month of the offseason in Toronto training with Leafs defencemen Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly.
What did Danford notice?
“It’s the little things,” he said. “We’ll be doing really simple drills, retrievals in the D-zone, stuff like that, and I think it’s just the little things that they do. They’re always acting like it’s in a game. They always have their head up and they’re scanning. There’s no forecheckers, but they’re acting like there’s forecheckers, those kinds of things. They’re always skating as fast as they can.”
Danford, who attended Hockey Canada’s camp for World Junior hopefuls earlier in the summer, is looking to take a big step this season.
“It’s a big year for me,” he said. “It’s my last year of junior and everything. So, yeah, I just want to go back and work on every aspect of the game. Offensively, this year, you know, I want to get some more offensive touches, not because I’m going to be an offensive guy at the next level, just to get better with the puck.”
“He understands what his role is,” Gruden said. “He’s fine with being really good defensively and getting pucks stopped, moving pucks quick to the forwards, jumping up in the play when it’s time and the space is there for him. He does a good job. He understands what his role is. He doesn’t really get too caught up in if he’s on the first or second power play or how many points he has. I think his worth is gonna be how he plays physically and how he moves the puck quickly.”
Leafs prospect Danford benefits from summer skates with Rielly, Tanev Ben Danford has been to a few development camps already which has helped his comfort level as he begins another. One thing that also aided him was the time he spent in the summer skating with Morgan Rielly and Chris Tanev. ‘I’ve been looking up to them for years now,’ revealed Danford, who did what he could to soak in the experience from the veteran Leafs.
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Quillan is the only player at the camp with NHL experience. The Quinnipiac University product logged five minutes and 21 seconds against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 25.
“Just kind of made me realize what I’m pushing towards,” Quillan said. “It showed me how good those guys are in the NHL and showed that I have a lot of work to do. Yeah, it’s good to get a taste of that.”
Leafs Jacob Quillan is making his NHL debut tonight – his family moved from Nova Scotia to Ottawa 5 years ago & he had dinner at home last night with his parents.
The 22yr old spends his offseason’s training at Carleton & said he watched his 1st NHL game at the CTC (#Sens vs… pic.twitter.com/KJiFquto26
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) January 25, 2025
Quillan kept his stick from his NHL debut. He also has his sweater from that game.
“I got it hung up in my closet,” the 23-year-old said. “When I open it and just look in there it’s nice. Nice having the last name on that logo.”
Quillan is determined to get back to the big stage this season.
“I believe I can,” he said. “I mean, I put the work in every day so I’m confident in myself and my abilities.”
Gruden labels Quillan the most improved player with the Marlies last season.
“He called me the other day and said, ‘Hope I don’t see you down here this year,’” Quillan shared with a smile. “So that was nice. He’s taught me a lot and I’m looking forward to working with him again.”
What does Quillan need to improve to avoid spending too much time with Gruden this season?
“All around,” he said. “My defensive game. I want to work on scoring, playmaking, just everything. Just having a focus on playing well defensively and not giving up any chances and playing a sound game.”
Leafs Ice Chips: Nylander puts in extra work as rookie camp kicks off Maple Leafs rookie camp is officially underway as the young players prepare for weekend games against the Canadiens and Senators prospects. TSN’s Mark Masters has more on how the practice went and what he saw from a few Leafs players who took the opportunity to get some extra work in as well.
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Lines at Leafs rookie camp practice:
Valis – Quillan – Cowan
Barbolini – Haymes – Kressler
McCue – Holinka – Pharand
Kirwin – Hopkins – Sim
Hlacar – Tverberg – Nansi
Chadwick – Danford
Conrad – Prokop
Mayes – Parsons
Smith – Fellinger / Sharpe
Akhtyamov
Peksa