Easton Cowan on making the Maple Leafs in training camp: 'Up to me'
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Now that his prolific major junior career with the London Knights has come to an end, the player regarded as the top Maple Leafs prospect will have a Toronto address this fall.
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Will the 20-year-old have a sparking space at Scotiabank Arena to play for the Leafs or will he be making the drive to Coca-Cola Coliseum to suit up for the Toronto Marlies?
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The opportunity for Cowan to crack the Leafs roster once training camp opens in September will be a good one.
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'I have the chance to get a job, and that's up to me to go out there and show what I can do and play my game,' Cowan said at the Leafs development camp on Thursday at the Ford Performance Centre. 'Still a couple months away, so I'm going take every day to keep getting better. I'm just worried about myself.'
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After leading the Knights to the Memorial Cup title, culminating with a win against the Medicine Hat Tigers in Rimouski on June 1, Cowan, along with a few other players, is not on the ice this week.
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Frankly, Cowan would have nothing to prove to Leafs brass in the three days the prospects are skating, and Cowan said he will be back on the ice next week in London to continue off-season training.
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The Leafs' first-round pick in 2023, Cowan couldn't have had a better end to his Knights tenure. After Cowan was named the most valuable player in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs as the Knights won the OHL championship in 2024, this year he led the OHL in playoff scoring as the Knights won the title again, and then was named Memorial Cup MVP.
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Little wonder there is optimism regarding what the forward can add to the Leafs.
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'I felt really good with my game,' Cowan said of this past season. 'Similar to last year, I felt when the games got bigger, I got better. Those are the games I love to play, when there's a lot of people watching, and there's high stakes.'
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