#LeafsForever select Easton Cowan 28th overall. I ranked him 109th overall. Cowan is a small forward who played most of his D-1 in the GOJHL and then scored well under a point per game in the OHL in his draft year. Players with this profile rarely get selected in the 1st round.
#LeafsForever select Easton Cowan 28th overall. I ranked him 109th overall.
Cowan is a small forward who played most of his D-1 in the GOJHL and then scored well under a point per game in the OHL in his draft year. Players with this profile rarely get selected in the 1st round. pic.twitter.com/ezYZmmPGqQ
— Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey) June 29, 2023
27 comments
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Fire Wes Clarke if this kid doesn’t pan out.
Yikes lol
I wonder what they see in this kid.
He probably puts up 100+ points in junior next year and make all of us look stupid saying it’s a reach.
Tough time to be a Leafs fan
Then again I’m pretending I know anything about this kid. I just feel like he would of been available if we traded down.
Keep in mind this is also one of the best drafts in recent memory too, there were a lot of extremely high quality players still available. What a waste
The thing with risers is you never know how far they will rise on draft day. Personally I like the fact we took a player today. Kid projects to be a gamer and that’s what we need.
this guy also had bedard going second. so take this with a giant truck load of salt
just feels like this isnt the kind of player you pick when you only have 3 picks in the draft, 2 of which arent until round 5/6. Hope they seen this kid making great strides and think he’s much better then he’s ranked.
Man I feel bad for this guy, imagine just getting drafted and seeing all this negativity on social media.
Another poster commented once that Leaf fans are quickly going to find out what bad GMing looks like with Dubas gone.
So far we have seen David Kampf get overpaid and what looks like a Frederick Gauthier pick.
Nice to see Treliving starting his tenure off with a bang. Dogshit pick to go with the rest of the dogshit decisions he’ll make this summer.
I wonder if they tried to trade for a 2&3 round pick where they could still draft him. Seems like that would’ve been the better route
Why not trade back and get more draft capital? You’re likely to still get the guy and make more picks.
had 21 points in the playoffs as a rookie in the OHL. apparently a good skater.
He also just turned 18.
**Some quotes I found in Easton Cowan scouting reports:**
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*”If you’re looking for a player who could be a steal of the 2023 NHL Draft, look no further than* *Easton Cowan* *of the London Knights. Despite being undersized, he has a complete hockey toolkit that should allow him to excel.*
*Cowan plays a nonstop two-way game that makes him one of the most notable players every shift. He has a visceral understanding of the sport that allows him to either find the right place to set up his teammates to score or to shut down his opponent’s opportunities. He also isn’t afraid of playing a tough game despite his size, as he will battle in the corners to dig out a puck.*
*Throughout the Knights’ run to the 2023 OHL Western Conference Final, Cowen flashed his playmaking abilities by posting nine goals and 21 points in 20 games played. This playoff was a bit of a coming-out party for him, as he showcased that he could produce points when his team needed it most as well as shut down opponents.*
*Now, when discussing an undersized player who is going to be selected at the NHL draft, it’s easy to draw connections to current players who beat the odds and act like that should be the expectation. So, expect to hear names like Brayden Point thrown around alongside Cowan.”*
***- Eugene Helfrick | The Hockey Writers***
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*”There was a transformation in Cowan’s game through the season from a hard working, tenacious and secondary player to a player that not only drove his line, but his team. It was most evident when he led his team to a Western Conference Championship… Cowan is a terrific skater with a great separation gear that allows him to challenge defenders one-on-one. When chasing dump-ins, he regularly beats defenders to those pucks. It helps that he has a non-stop work ethic as well.”*
***- Dominic Tiano | The OHL Writers***
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*”Cowan is a high-energy playmaker who plays with significant grit; with added polish and muscle, he projects as an intense depth creator in the NHL.”*
***-*** ***Sebastian High | Dobber Prospects***
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*”Cowan is an excellent two-way forward that has elite vision, passing and hockey IQ. He has a great motor that allows him to be engaged in every play throughout his shifts. Since the Knights acquired Ryan Winterton from the Hamilton Bulldogs, Cowan has been the glue that holds that line of Cowan-Winterton-Barkey together. He is willing to dig pucks out of the corners and uses his great vision and passing to set up scoring chances.”*
***- Ben Jordan | Smaht Scouting***
This guy is getting torched for his rankings fwiw. Take this with a grain of salt.
Oh no, the guy that didn’t have Bedard ranked #1 OA didn’t like our pick.
Getting Hyman vibes from this kid
Going to file this under who the hell knows .
He’s an Ontario boy. He’s probably grown up watching the Leafs. Kid was sitting in the nose bleed section and obviously was not expecting to get called today.
This kid is probably legit having childhood dreams coming true right now. I’m happy for him and I’m going to be rooting for him.
Given that our scouting team hasn’t changed and we have done well picking Knies, Sandin and Minten in a similar range I don’t get the doom and gloom.
It’s possible they tried to trade back and just couldn’t get the right offer so just made the pick. I’m sure if we’d had a 2nd/3rd they might have thought about taking him later.
Lol are you guys gonna be ok? So much negativity over a frigin 28th pick. Relax.
Let’s give Cowan the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, time and time again players have been scouted off the board and been steals. Many don’t, some do, we’ll see with this kid.
I like his work ethic and willingness to play in the gritty areas and play hard physically, that and finding his scoring touch during a deep playoff run is exactly what we have wanted. Someone who makes plays in big games and makes life hard on the other team. I hope he can become a solid 2nd or 3rd line winger similar to Hyman / Connor Brown / Bunting who can play with an edge and intensity while cresting plays for our other forwards to capitalize on.
Why not trade down for someone like this? They must really love something.
Now do players who scored over a point per game in a deep playoff run, while being one of the youngest draft eligible players. Not saying Cowan is McJesus, but you can choose to frame draft picks in whatever light you want
This guy also had someone ranked #8 that’s still undrafted. So maybe we can acknowledge that there’s a difference between projections and what teams actually see in players. It’s unfair to write off the kid after being a leaf for 2 hours.