Gavin McKenna<\/a>\u2019s) leads Toronto in points (three), plus\/minus (plus-2), and game-winners (one).<\/p>\nBut farm boys rise with the sun.<\/p>\n
The buzzing Cowan was the most noticeable Leaf on the sheet in Wednesday\u2019s 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Islanders, helping set up linemate Colton Scissons\u2019 opening goal with a dog-on-bone forecheck, then knocking in the game-winner by driving net-front and converting a rebound off Ilya Sorokin\u2019s pad.<\/p>\n
Moreover, he and fellow third-liners Scissons and Nick Paul checked New York\u2019s top line, led by Bo Horvat, and helped kill all four Leafs penalties.<\/p>\n
What a difference a year makes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cowan\u2019s conviction in Season 2 is palpable. Those extra hours chasing a Calder Cup and reacquainting the former London Knight with a winning environment worked wonders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did a lot. I mean, anytime you\u2019re playing pro in the playoffs helps a lot. So, a lot of confidence heading into this year, and just want to keep it going,\u201d Cowan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur line was clicking. As soon as you get all four lines going, I mean, it\u2019s fun to play. Everyone\u2019s laughing, having fun, which is good. And we\u2019re all working hard. So, great team win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cowan points to a tattoo of a series of Roman numerals tattooed on the inside of his left forearm. They represent June 1, 2025, the date his Knights captured the Memorial Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Winning matters to the kid.<\/p>\n
So, when Cowan was done sipping from the Calder, the pesky winger dedicated his summer to the details, becoming more proficient at puck battles, swifter at plucking rims off walls, and packing on muscle to make sure he\u2019s as strong as possible at his ideal weight of 190 pounds.<\/p>\n
Jim Hiller had heard tales of Cowan\u2019s great confidence and relentless motor. But what caught the new Leafs coach\u2019s eye was the second-youngest Leaf\u2019s determination. How early he shows up to the rink to stretch, eat properly, and grind away in the gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMentally, he really wants it,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cThere\u2019s some players in the league that I think he could trend towards. I\u2019m not going to tell you who they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s early, and I just kind of have that in my mind. I don\u2019t know where he\u2019s going to go. He\u2019s an exciting young player.\u201d<\/p>\n
OK, we\u2019ll name one: Brandon Hagel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a high bar, to be sure, but the forwards are of similar build and temperament. And Cowan is taking meaningful steps as a two-way menace that can complement top-six players and check hard with the role players.<\/p>\n
Hiller crowned Cowan the most noticeable skater after one day of camp and has already bumped him up to John Tavares and William Nylander\u2019s line for stretches in both games this season.<\/p>\n
The difference from his rookie season?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s night and day,\u201d raves goalie Anthony Stolarz. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s playing with a lot of confidence, and the defensive aspect of his game is improved as well. He\u2019s getting some PK time out there, and I think that\u2019s just the maturity and just growing as a player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing for him was going down to the American League and getting a taste of that playoff action and being able to play his game and dominate. He carried that confidence into the summer, and he’s playing a huge role on this team so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Sissons: \u201cHe was feeling it tonight. Just a dynamic player. He has the puck on his stick a lot and makes a lot of good plays. So, really blessed to be playing with him right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hiller envisions Cowan\u2013Paul\u2013Scissons as something more than a traditional checking unit, as a trio that can also make plays and prolong cycles and chip in on offence, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose three players can score goals,\u201d Hiller noted. \u201cEaston can really be the straw that stirs the drink from an offensive perspective and keep the other team\u2019s best line honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bring it on. The Cowboy is riding on a high, and he\u2019s finding momentum not just from his past but from his current teammates and a coach who seems to have a defined role in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just this room. I mean, the vibes are great. Everyone\u2019s positive and welcoming me and Gav, too, as a young guy. Everyone\u2019s been great to us,\u201d Cowan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome young juice and some veterans, it goes a long way. So, it’s been good, and we just want to keep it going, keep having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just how much fun can this guy, who has already won at junior and the AHL, have?<\/p>\n
\u201cSky\u2019s the limit with that kid,\u201d Sissons said. \u201cHe\u2019s got all the potential in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Matthew Schaefer, 2026\u2019s unanimous Calder champ, is now wearing an \u2018A\u2019 for the Islanders. He only turned 19 this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t take that decision lightly, but he earned it,\u201d coach Peter DeBoer told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a privilege to coach a player like that. You know, he\u2019s even better live and in person than he is on tape, and I watched a lot of tape of him last year while we were scouting for the Canadian Olympic team. But to actually stand behind the bench those last four games last year with him out there, he\u2019s a real difference-making player. There\u2019s very few of them in the world, and he\u2019s one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeBoer revealed that Schaefer was \u201creally close\u201d to making that silver-medal squad as an 18-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in our discussions right up until the last day. And, in hindsight, if we turned back the clock, (Josh) Morrissey got hurt the first game, he probably could have helped us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stolarz (.963) was superb in his season debut and first real game action in 175 days, many of which were spent rehabbing.<\/p>\n
Remember, Toronto traded away two of its top three goalies over the off-season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a vote of confidence to me,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look at the turnover, and they want to keep me around. And for me, it\u2019s exciting. I want to be here. I want to play here. And you want to win hockey games.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Newly anointed Islanders captain Horvat watched the overhauled Maple Leafs play Montreal Tuesday. His take: \u201cA lot of high-end skill. Their transition game is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Leafs did not honour Matias Maccelli, who was not tendered a qualifying offer following 2025-26, with a Jumbotron acknowledgment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maccelli settled for a pay cut in free agency, signing a one-year, $2.25-million deal with the Isles. He\u2019s starting the season on New York\u2019s second line and first power-play unit, but Mathew Barzal is injured.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the bar for return-game pomp is rising?<\/p>\n
Tough night territorially for the second line. While McKenna looked more relaxed and made sharp passes \u2014 plenty of crisp, cross-seam pucks as the PP2 facilitator \u2014 his line, with Nylander and Tavares, was outshot 10-1 and out-attempted 19-3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 It is late June. Easton Cowan has just finished hoisting the Calder Cup over his head…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-916202","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\/916202","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=916202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}