{"id":210938,"date":"2025-10-13T23:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/210938\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T23:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:08:09","slug":"easton-cowan-looking-like-fast-fit-on-maple-leafs-top-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/210938\/","title":{"rendered":"Easton Cowan looking like fast fit on Maple Leafs\u2019 top line"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 As Easton Cowan<\/a>\u2019s hair blew in the cold Scotiabank Arena air and the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>\u2019 in-house DJ cued up Big & Rich\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSave a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a nod to the farm kid\u2019s nickname \u2014 to soundtrack his rookie lap, the former London Knights star looked up in the stands to soak in the moment.<\/p>\n

Cowan spotted a row of his junior buddies wearing replicas of his old green-and-gold No. 7 sweater \u2014 backwards, so the lettering of his name stretched across their hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust big smiles on their faces. It meant a lot that they came all the way here,\u201d Cowan said, after realizing\u00a0his NHL dream<\/a>\u00a0in front of 20 to 30 friends and family members on Thanksgiving. \u201cDefinitely special. It was very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cool\u00a0is an apt adjective to describe Cowan\u2019s demeanour throughout this process, a third pro training camp that had him projected as a fourth-line starter, then bumped to the press box for the Leafs\u2019 first two games, then suddenly parachuted onto Auston Matthews<\/a> and Matthew Knies<\/a>\u2019s top line for a holiday debut.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Knies is the most recent Leafs prospect to arrive with Cowan-like hype and hopes. He recalls his own NHL debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly hard to describe, really. You\u2019re nervous, but you\u2019re excited. A lot of emotions going through your head. You just try to simplify everything,\u201d Knies said. \u201cTry to communicate and help each other out and to try to make the person next to you a little bit better and make sure that they\u2019re having a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mission accomplished, in that regard.<\/p>\n

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Livestream Hockey Night in Canada, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the Oilers, Flames, Canucks, out-of-market matchups, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Broadcast schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthews and Knies \u2014 who have previously shared shifts with Max Domi<\/a> and Matias Maccelli this month \u2014 submitted their best game of the season\u2019s with Cowan on their right flank. Matthews ripped a game-high and season-high eight shots; Knies had a goal and an assist in Monday\u2019s 3-2 loss to Detroit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was great,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cHe just carries himself with such a good confidence in himself and in the way that he can play and compete.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy guy to play with. He made smart plays with the puck. When plays were to be made, he made him. And when the simple play was there to just get the puck deep or whatnot, he made it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowan hounded pucks, flashed a couple turbo boosts. He didn\u2019t shy from contact, nor a few between-the-legs passes. Best of all: He buttered a five-foot saucer that set Matthews up for the captain\u2019s best scoring chance yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played phenomenal,\u201d Knies added. \u201cHe\u2019s gonna be a heckuva player. I\u2019m excited to keep playing with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat pass to Matty for that breakaway, that\u2019s pretty elite. And I think he did a tremendous job in every zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unflustered by all the uncertainty or the tough assignment, the youngest Maple Leaf wrangled the moment with a cowboy\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n

He blocked a hard point shot in his first shift, threw a team-high three hits, and helped the Leafs outshoot the Red Wings 12-1 when he was on the ice.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old already has coach Craig Berube\u2019s trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cowan\u2019s ice time (14:05) was only bested by the Leafs four forwards with power-play time, and Berube threw the 20-year-old over the boards in the final minute with the goalie pulled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I felt good. I wasn\u2019t really nervous at all. It was just another game,\u201d Cowan said, calmly. \u201cJust went out there, played free, and felt like I created a lot tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

To think: Four autumns ago, Cowan was grinding away with the Komoka Kings. Now he\u2019s skating on the top line of his favourite boyhood team. And earning a chance to do it all again tomorrow against Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy,\u201d Cowan said. \u201cYou know, about five years ago I was playing Junior B. So, just shows, if you stick with it and work hard, good things will come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Through the season\u2019s first 120 minutes, Berube saw too many one-and-done shifts from John Tavares and William Nylander<\/a>, so he dropped playmaker Matias Maccelli on their second line in hopes of more sustained O-zone pressure.<\/p>\n

In their first trial together, the trio outshot the Red Wings 5-4 at even strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coach made public his desire to see more from Nylander postgame.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2025 Rocket Richard Trophy runner-up has mustered just three shots through three games, despite averaging nearly 20 minutes a night and receiving bump-up shifts with Matthews.<\/p>\n

Berube says Nylander needs to attack more, shoot more, and drive to the inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more out of him,\u201d Berube said. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly what it is, to be honest with you. I\u2019ll have a conversation with him, see where he\u2019s at and what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chris Tanev crushed Lucas Raymond into the boards in the second period, and the Red Wings\u2019 2024-25 left the game with an upper-body injury. He did not return to the game.<\/p>\n

Huge blow for Detroit. Raymond has played all 82 games in three of his four seasons in the show.<\/p>\n

Todd McLellan had no update postgame. Raymond will require further evaluation in Detroit.<\/p>\n

Since Lou Lamoriello joined the organization 10 years ago, the Maple Leafs have strictly adhered to a team rule: Wear your helmet during warmups.<\/p>\n

Only once can we a recall a Leaf letting his locks fly in the past decade. Acquired in a deadline deal from the Kings in 2020, Kyle Clifford \u2014 unaware of his new club\u2019s policy \u2014 went no bucky for his Toronto debut. Matthews, smiling, called it \u201ca power move.\u201d Clifford wore head protection the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Well, the Leafs may be relaxing their dress code.<\/p>\n

Not only did Cowan take his rookie lap helmet-free but veterans Nylander and Domi both doffed their caps for the full warmup.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Leafs are closely monitoring the workload of Anthony Stolarz, their only goalie of record this season.<\/p>\n

The No. 1 will catch his breath Tuesday, when Cayden Primeau will presumably make his Leafs debut, and get a full day off Wednesday before Thursday\u2019s date with the Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s really calm in there, just watching him in practice,\u201d Stolarz said. \u201cSo, excited for him. He\u2019s a helluva goalie and someone who\u2019s gonna help our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Promising news for Steven Lorentz, who posted two assists in Game 1 but suffered an upper-body injury Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fourth-liner skated on his own Monday and is a possibility to play Tuesday versus Nashville. A durable hitter, Lorentz set a career high in games played last season (80).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 As Easton Cowan\u2019s hair blew in the cold Scotiabank Arena air and the Toronto Maple Leafs\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-210938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}