Easton Cowan agitates his way into Maple Leafs' good books at development camp
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Never mind that the Maple Leafs went off the board when they chose Easton Cowan in the first round of the 2023 National Hockey League draft last month.
The 18-year-old forward with the London Knights proved he belonged during the past several days at the Leafs’ development camp at the Ford Performance Centre. He was picked 28th by the Leafs in Nashville after few mock drafts had him going in the first round.
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Easton Cowan agitates his way into Maple Leafs' good books at development camp Back to video
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“Easton came in and had a really good week,” Leafs assistant general manager, player development, Hayley Wickenheiser said on Saturday following the scrimmage that brought the camp to an end.
“I like the way he plays the game, with a lot of passion and energy and agitating. Coming in, there’s a lot of attention (because he’s) your highest draft pick.”
Cowan played on a line with a couple of the Leafs’ higher-end prospects, Nicholas Moldenhauer and Ty Voit, and helped create more than a few offensive opportunities for Team White during the scrimmage.
Cowan will spend the summer training and skating in London with an eye toward dominating in the Ontario Hockey League next season. He had 53 points (20 goals and 33 assists) in 68 games in 2022-23, following that with 21 points in 20 playoff games.
What will Cowan, a native of Strathroy, take from the camp and back down the 401 as he prepares for his second full season in the OHL?
“Just the pro habits,” Cowan said. “Waking up early, getting to the rink, getting to bed early, fuelling your body, getting the right amount of sleep. I learned a lot with all the seminars (as well).”
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Team White, with two goals from 2022 seventh-rounder Brandon Lisowsky and goals by Mike Koster and Tyler Weiss, beat Team Blue 4-1 in the scrimmage. Fraser Minten, the Leafs’ second-round pick in 2022, scored for Team Blue.
HIRVONEN CONCUSSED
There was a collective gasp in the crowd during the third period of the scrimmage, for good reason.
Forward Roni Hirvonen, one of the better players in the Leafs’ prospect pool, was crushed by defenceman Nolan Dillingham with an open-ice hit at the blue line. Hirvonen didn’t move, initially, other than to feebly raise his right arm.
After lying on the ice and for several minutes and being attended to by the training staff, Hirvonen slowly made his way off the ice and to the dressing room.
“He’s OK,” Wickenheiser said. “He has a concussion and he’ll need some time to recover, but he’s a tough person. And that was a very big hit. It was a clean hit, it was a good hit by Dillingham. Every single player in your career, you take a hit like that. It happens to everyone.
“You never want to see it in a game scenario like this. We all just held our breath a little bit. The fact that he was able to get up and get off the ice is a good sign, but I think he’ll be fine with some time.”
The 5-foot-9, 172-pound Hirvonen, a second-round pick by the Leafs in 2020, signed an entry-level deal with the club last year. In 57 games last season with HIFK Helsinki in Finland, Hirvonen had 15 goals and 13 assists.
Dillingham, 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, was in camp on a free-agent invite. He had 14 points and 65 penalty minutes last season with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League.
THE RUSSIAN FACTOR
The Leafs figure they have a couple of solid prospects in Russian goaltenders Artur Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa.
Neither disappointed in camp.
“Really impressed throughout the week,” Wickenheiser said. “Their foundational skill set, everyone is impressed.
“Akhtyamov certainly has separated himself and Peksa is right there as well. It’s exciting. We’ve got some good goalie depth. Those two really stood out as the top two.”
Akhtyamov was a fourth-round pick in 2020, Peksa a sixth-round pick in 2021. Each has signed an entry-level contract, and Wickenheiser said both will play in Russia again in 2023-24.
2023 PICKS
Other than Cowan, the Leafs had just two picks in the 2023 draft, snapping up forward Hudson Malinoski in the fifth round and defenceman Noah Chadwick in the sixth round.
Both skated into the good books with Leafs brass this week.
“We really liked both,” Wickenheiser said. “(Chadwick), as a big, lanky defenseman, he seems to want to make plays out there, he moves pretty good.
“There’s a lot of room to develop. He does very well in school and he has a lot of good questions, he’s keen about his own development.
“(Malinoski) has a swagger to him, he is a smooth, shifty forward, has a good knack around the net. I thought he held his own here.”
Among the free agents who attended camp, Wickenheiser said defenceman Albin Sundin stood out in a positive manner.
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