Maybe the surprise of the first-round in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs used their first-round pick to take London Knights’ forward Easton Cowan 28th overall. There was very little questioning his overall skill level — he has a natural ability when he has the puck to open up the ice for himself and others, but his size and lack of OHL experience were two of the major question marks.
Still, Cowan made noise in his draft year and with a team like the London Knights who have a history of developing first-round NHL talent, it seemed like the Maple Leafs were on to something that others might not have noticed.
Cowan bolstered that argument from day one of camp as one of the Maple Leafs’ final cuts to kick of the season and his return to the OHL came with an offensive explosion that few expected from the 18-year-old.
Easton Cowan Has Excelled This Season
In London, he’s played just 49 games for the Knights with 29 goals and 79 points so far. He’s averaging 1.61 points per game and if he played the entire season — which he missed some games while representing Canada at the World Junior Championship in late December — he would be on pace for almost 110 points. That’s a major jump form his 53 points last season.
He’s still on pace for 96 points this season and will surely go on a run in the playoffs when the Knights kick off their first round of the OHL postseason in the coming weeks.
As it stands, Cowan sits 10th in the OHL in scoring with every player above him on the list having played at least 50 games so far — five more than Cowan. Most, however are in the 54 to 57-game range, showing just how impressive his season has been thus far.
Easton Cowan’s Record Point Streak
What makes his season even more notable is his that he’s currently on a 27-game point streak, which is a London Knights record. That’s pretty impressive considering who’s come through this organization — including Corey Perry, John Tavares, Patrick Kane among others.
The previous record was held by former NHLer and Knights forward Sergei Kostitsyn who had a point in 25-straight games during his tenure.
During the 27-game streak, Cowan has potted 20 goals and 51 points with 16 multi-point games and eight games in which he had three or more points.
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Jason Bukala, who was once the director of amateur scouting for the Florida Panthers, spoke on Cowan with Sportsnet’s JD Bunkis and noted, “[Cowan]’d definitely be a top-10 pick in this draft cycle. He’s a top-six pick for me.”
Bukala went on to say, “Cowan is going to score more than Knies is going to score and he’s going to be Knies-like in the hard areas. He’s going to be tenacious, in the fights along the wall… He’s kind of like a modern day version of Darcy Tucker.”
Considering what he’s done this season, it’s hard not to think that he’s going to get a nine-game look for the Maple Leafs to kick off the 2024-25 season.