C Easton Cowan - London Knights, OHL (2023, 28th, TOR)

[genk]

Top 10 in redraft. Easily.

 

[AuraSphere]

Top 10 in redraft. Easily.

Comon man...

Bedard
Carlsson
Fantilli
Smith
Michkov
Benson
ASP
Leonard
Reinbacher
Willander
Simashev
Perreault

the above at the very least go above him

he'd probably go in the 15-20 range though

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Comon man...

Bedard
Carlsson
Fantilli
Smith
Michkov
Benson
ASP
Leonard
Reinbacher
Willander
Simashev
Perreault

the above at the very least go above him

he'd probably go in the 15-20 range though

It's looking like one helluva good draft so far. Still have to wait and see how many become solid NHL players but there is a lot to like out of this draft just a year later.

 

[genk]

Comon man...

Bedard YES
Carlsson YES
Fantilli YES
Smith YES
Michkov YES
Benson YES
ASP ARGUABLY
Leonard YES
Reinbacher NO
Willander NO
Simashev NO
Perreault ARGUABLY

the above at the very least go above him

he'd probably go in the 15-20 range though

I disagree with a few of these. Cowan’s season, beyond his 2nd in league PPG and historic point streak of 42 games, has been nothing short of incredible. He’s an all-situation gamer and is destroying the competition in the *finals* of the OHL playoffs. He is literally leading his team in one of the most one-sided OHL postseasons in history.

ASP and Perrault had good scoring seasons but weren’t relied on and deployed like Cowan.

People generally have no idea how good Cowan’s D+1 has been. He’s making the Leafs next year, no question. I bet he outscores Benson, too.

 

[wetcoast]

Comon man...

Bedard
Carlsson
Fantilli
Smith
Michkov
Benson
ASP
Leonard
Reinbacher
Willander
Simashev
Perreault

the above at the very least go above him

he'd probably go in the 15-20 range though

What you say is probably true but he is still a great value pick where he went but so too are the 2 Avs picks late in round 1.

But this is still about projection the actual redraft will look different in 3-5 years.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

 

[Vasilevskiy]

I disagree with a few of these. Cowan’s season, beyond his 2nd in league PPG and historic point streak of 42 games, has been nothing short of incredible. He’s an all-situation gamer and is destroying the competition in the *finals* of the OHL playoffs. He is literally leading his team in one of the most one-sided OHL postseasons in history.

ASP and Perrault had good scoring seasons but weren’t relied on and deployed like Cowan.

People generally have no idea how good Cowan’s D+1 has been. He’s making the Leafs next year, no question. I bet he outscores Benson, too.

Outscoring Benson. You are funny. This is one hot take to save.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Outscoring Benson. You are funny. This is one hot take to save.

Benson had 30 points not 30 goals for what it is worth. Cowan potentially outscoring Benson's 18 year old season is not in any way a hot take lol

 

[TopC0rner]

Every time I watch him, I'm always impressed by his motor and his forecheck, which create multiple scoring chances each game.

 

[Fogelhund]

Another four points tonight, headed into OT. So that's 12 points in 3 OHL Finals games.

 

[Dead Coyote]

People generally have no idea how good Cowan’s D+1 has been. He’s making the Leafs next year, no question. I bet he outscores Benson, too.

I wasn't planning on commenting on this, but Cowan likely has a long way to go before he can play against NHL defenseman. His game relies a lot on zone entries that just won't work as often in the NHL, and he's been much less effective in tight checking games where he doesn't get the space he needs. We've seen it in Saginaw and Oshawa. He needs to put on a lot of strength or he's going to get stapled to the boards, refused zone entry, fall over, etc. I think it would be detrimental to his development to rush him into the Leafs org, there's no reason to do so. He would still be an effective PKer and he could certainly still have some good moments, but he would benefit a lot more from at least 10 games in the AHL before being brought up. He needs to improve his release, endurance, and strength primarily. The rest will come. But you shouldn't be expecting him to come in and make a huge difference for the Leafs in his first year, because he won't.

Benson is a similar player, yes, but his game is also a lot different and he has a higher IQ, better motor (not talking about skating) and the facet of his game primarily focuses on doing the smart thing and on playmaking. He's a pro at what you need to do to succeed at the NHL level as the type of player h is. And I would still say it was detrimental (or at least not ideal) to put him in the NHL immediately instead of letting him stew in the AHL. He has some things to work on too, but his game is much easier to translate to the NHL than Cowan's. And that's not a knock on Cowan, because I think Cowan probably has a higher upside playing on the Leafs, but he does need to adapt his game more than Benson did.

 

[ChazzMichaelMichaels]

I wasn't planning on commenting on this, but Cowan likely has a long way to go before he can play against NHL defenseman. His game relies a lot on zone entries that just won't work as often in the NHL, and he's been much less effective in tight checking games where he doesn't get the space he needs. We've seen it in Saginaw and Oshawa. He needs to put on a lot of strength or he's going to get stapled to the boards, refused zone entry, fall over, etc. I think it would be detrimental to his development to rush him into the Leafs org, there's no reason to do so. He would still be an effective PKer and he could certainly still have some good moments, but he would benefit a lot more from at least 10 games in the AHL before being brought up. He needs to improve his release, endurance, and strength primarily. The rest will come. But you shouldn't be expecting him to come in and make a huge difference for the Leafs in his first year, because he won't.

Benson is a similar player, yes, but his game is also a lot different and he has a higher IQ, better motor (not talking about skating) and the facet of his game primarily focuses on doing the smart thing and on playmaking. He's a pro at what you need to do to succeed at the NHL level as the type of player h is. And I would still say it was detrimental (or at least not ideal) to put him in the NHL immediately instead of letting him stew in the AHL. He has some things to work on too, but his game is much easier to translate to the NHL than Cowan's. And that's not a knock on Cowan, because I think Cowan probably has a higher upside playing on the Leafs, but he does need to adapt his game more than Benson did.

Interesting take. I think Cowan is going to need some time as well, I think it's likely he makes the team out of camp and then is brought back down to play the WJC and another Mem Cup run.

Having said that, I think one of Cowan's best attributes is his motor and I think his game has a very good chance at translating to the NHL based on his motor and ability to play up and down the line-up and the effectiveness of his forechecking. You note the Saginaw and Oshawa series which is a bit surprising, he's been dominant in every aspect in those 2 series? His ability to make small passes and bumps and play in small spaces will be a strength of his.

I think his skating is really underrated as well, his ability to create separation as well as his small space agility is very strong, I'm not sure if the hunched posture makes him appear to not be as good of a skater to casual watchers but it's definitely a huge strength of his. During his impressive pre-season camp with the Leafs in which he was the story of camp along side Minten, his skating was a huge factor against AHL and NHL players, often making them miss and creating space for himself and continuously making plays downhill with his agility and playmaking at high tempos. His skating during the OHL playoffs has stuck out so much, the other teams really can't get any kind of handle on him.

 

[Peasy]

I wasn't planning on commenting on this, but Cowan likely has a long way to go before he can play against NHL defenseman. His game relies a lot on zone entries that just won't work as often in the NHL, and he's been much less effective in tight checking games where he doesn't get the space he needs. We've seen it in Saginaw and Oshawa. He needs to put on a lot of strength or he's going to get stapled to the boards, refused zone entry, fall over, etc. I think it would be detrimental to his development to rush him into the Leafs org, there's no reason to do so. He would still be an effective PKer and he could certainly still have some good moments, but he would benefit a lot more from at least 10 games in the AHL before being brought up. He needs to improve his release, endurance, and strength primarily. The rest will come. But you shouldn't be expecting him to come in and make a huge difference for the Leafs in his first year, because he won't.

Benson is a similar player, yes, but his game is also a lot different and he has a higher IQ, better motor (not talking about skating) and the facet of his game primarily focuses on doing the smart thing and on playmaking. He's a pro at what you need to do to succeed at the NHL level as the type of player h is. And I would still say it was detrimental (or at least not ideal) to put him in the NHL immediately instead of letting him stew in the AHL. He has some things to work on too, but his game is much easier to translate to the NHL than Cowan's. And that's not a knock on Cowan, because I think Cowan probably has a higher upside playing on the Leafs, but he does need to adapt his game more than Benson did.

He has 11 points in 3 games against Oshawa lol. Did you mean a different team? Also had 11 in 6 against Saginaw.

 

[Fogelhund]

Another four points tonight, headed into OT. So that's 12 points in 3 OHL Finals games.

Noting they took an assist away from him, so that's 11 points in 3 games.

 

[dj Mahoney]

He looks like a solid bottom 6 player . Top 10 in a redraft,,,,,lol

 

[Future]

He looks like a solid bottom 6 player . Top 10 in a redraft,,,,,lol

How often do solid bottom 6 potential players win OHL MVP (and likely playoff MVP) in the same year? Especially as an 18 year old?

 

[dj Mahoney]

How often do solid bottom 6 potential players win OHL MVP (and likely playoff MVP) in the same year? Especially as an 18 year old?

All the time jr is jr, Anthony Romani not even drafted yet . Give it some time and we shall see. He wasn't anything to write home about for Canada at Christmas . Dale Hunter plays his top players ton's of minutes which inflates stats.

 

[Dead Coyote]

He has 11 points in 3 games against Oshawa lol. Did you mean a different team? Also had 11 in 6 against Saginaw.

No, I did not. He was obviously fantastic in the two blowout games against Oshawa in London, and by no means has he been bad. I didn't say that. I said he has been less effective in tight checking games. Now, it's less so a thing in the Oshawa series, but even during the last game he wasn't as effective as he could or should be because of the tight checking. I wouldn't say he was invisible during the first two periods in Oshawa, but he was much less dangerous. The whole line of Barkey, Julian, and Cowan was. He was still great defensively, he was still perfectly fine on the forecheck, and he did still create chances, but his primary points and chances all came on the PP. And that game wasn't particularly tight checking, it was just more tight checking than the previous games. During the 3rd period a huge part of our comeback was zone entries by Cowan where he would take the puck behind the net and then skate it all the way into the Oshawa zone by getting around a player with stickhandling and then passing it off at the halfboards.

I do not think that is a play that is going to translate well for him at the NHL level, and it's a huge part of his game. He loves to skate the puck in, and he can do it at the OHL level. When players try and stand in front of his entry and stop him from skating past them, he has a hard time motoring through because he is just not as strong as he needs to be. We saw that repeatedly in Saginaw, especially in the games they lost, and we also saw that during the game in Oshawa. Beyond just the play where he got stapled to the boards and dumped to the ice, it's one of his go to plays, and unless he either grows another couple of inches or puts on some strength, or improves his agility (which is already pretty good) he's going to be stopped by NHL level defenseman when he tries it with the Leafs.

He was obviously still effective in both series. I mean, he's our highest scoring player and the highest scoring player in the playoffs. In that particular game against Oshawa, I don't think he was particularly impressive, but he did play well. It's just that pretty much all of his points came from Haltunnen just shooting the puck insanely well, and most of them came on the PP where he is going to look the best offensively because of his skillset. He definitely has a good motor, and his skating is good, I just think he needs to improve it a bit to be as effective at the NHL level as he is in junior, or he's going to have to change his game pretty significantly. He needs to improve his speed enough that he can easily blow past NHL defenseman in order to keep his game the same. He could certainly do that though.

I think he's a fantastic prospect, but the way he is now I don't see him coming into the NHL immediately and putting up 30 points, nor do I see him putting up 7 in 10 in his last 10 games like Benson did. If he was two inches taller, and had the strength to match, I would have no concerns abut his game translating at all, except maybe some minor skating issues. But...he's not. He needs to learn how to capitalize on his strengths and how to play as a smaller player in the NHL. NHL, and AHL, defenseman are a much different breed than OHL players. I think he has a very good chance of adapting his game and how he plays to succeed in the NHL, but he still needs to actually do that. He can't just waltz into training camp and try and stickhandle through 4 guys. It doesn't quite work as well in the NHL, and his stickhandling is by no means elite.

Interesting take. I think Cowan is going to need some time as well, I think it's likely he makes the team out of camp and then is brought back down to play the WJC and another Mem Cup run.

Having said that, I think one of Cowan's best attributes is his motor and I think his game has a very good chance at translating to the NHL based on his motor and ability to play up and down the line-up and the effectiveness of his forechecking. You note the Saginaw and Oshawa series which is a bit surprising, he's been dominant in every aspect in those 2 series? His ability to make small passes and bumps and play in small spaces will be a strength of his.

I think his skating is really underrated as well, his ability to create separation as well as his small space agility is very strong, I'm not sure if the hunched posture makes him appear to not be as good of a skater to casual watchers but it's definitely a huge strength of his. During his impressive pre-season camp with the Leafs in which he was the story of camp along side Minten, his skating was a huge factor against AHL and NHL players, often making them miss and creating space for himself and continuously making plays downhill with his agility and playmaking at high tempos. His skating during the OHL playoffs has stuck out so much, the other teams really can't get any kind of handle on him.

I wouldn't be super surprised if he makes the team out of camp, and I wouldn't be unhappy if he got a 9 game look with the Leafs. Returning him to the WJC and the Knights for the Mem Cup (if they make it) would be great for the Knights, but I would much rather have him play in the AHL for most of the season than sit and watch. I don't think his game will evolve much more at the OHL level.

His agility is pretty good and he does have good playmaking ability for sure. I'm glad to hear that he was able to do well at the Leafs camp. His skating is definitely good enough for the NHL, and I didn't mean to imply that he could never have an NHL career. I think his floor is a good PKer and 4th liner who can have good chemistry at times and play somewhat up and down the line up if needed.

Personally, I think he has potential to be much better than that, and I would be disappointed if that's all he turned out to be. What I was referring to with needing to work on his game was if he wants to be a top 6 player. If he wants to put up more than 40 pts a season, he's going to need to improve in some aspects or change the way he plays the game.

I also don't really agree that he's been dominant, but my definition of dominant is that they can completely take over the game and force their will on their opponents. Crosby, Mackinnon, Tavares, Kadri, Drouin, McDavid, whoever, those are guys who I think dominated and could take over the game at any time in Junior and just score goals or create huge chances out of nowhere. Cowan is a really solid player but I don't think he's been like that in really any of the games against Saginaw or Oshawa. He's definitely had plays like that, but they've been somewhat infrequent, that by no means, means he's bad, that's just my definition of dominant.

He is a solid prospect with a very bright future ahead of him. He has a great combination of skills that could make him very good at the NHL level and if he improves those skills? He could be the next Kucherov or MSL and be an elite, excellent player.

He could also very easily turn into a guy like Frolik, Grabner, Mikheyev, etc. Good bottom 6 players, speedy guys, skill guys, good PKer, etc. Honestly that wouldn't even be the worst thing to happen, but like I said previously, I would still be disappointed if he never reached his potential.

I'm just saying maybe Leafs fans shouldn't have those kinds of expectations from him before he plays against men, he has a long ways to go still.

EDIT: Didn't realize he couldn't play in AHL next year. I would definitely prefer he come back to London for another year than stick it out in the NHL in that case.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

He looks like a solid bottom 6 player . Top 10 in a redraft,,,,,lol

Profile pic is apt.

No, I did not. He was obviously fantastic in the two blowout games against Oshawa in London, and by no means has he been bad. I didn't say that. I said he has been less effective in tight checking games. Now, it's less so a thing in the Oshawa series, but even during the last game he wasn't as effective as he could or should be because of the tight checking. I wouldn't say he was invisible during the first two periods in Oshawa, but he was much less dangerous. The whole line of Barkey, Julian, and Cowan was. He was still great defensively, he was still perfectly fine on the forecheck, and he did still create chances, but his primary points and chances all came on the PP. And that game wasn't particularly tight checking, it was just more tight checking than the previous games. During the 3rd period a huge part of our comeback was zone entries by Cowan where he would take the puck behind the net and then skate it all the way into the Oshawa zone by getting around a player with stickhandling and then passing it off at the halfboards.

I do not think that is a play that is going to translate well for him at the NHL level, and it's a huge part of his game. He loves to skate the puck in, and he can do it at the OHL level. When players try and stand in front of his entry and stop him from skating past them, he has a hard time motoring through because he is just not as strong as he needs to be. We saw that repeatedly in Saginaw, especially in the games they lost, and we also saw that during the game in Oshawa. Beyond just the play where he got stapled to the boards and dumped to the ice, it's one of his go to plays, and unless he either grows another couple of inches or puts on some strength, or improves his agility (which is already pretty good) he's going to be stopped by NHL level defenseman when he tries it with the Leafs.

He was obviously still effective in both series. I mean, he's our highest scoring player and the highest scoring player in the playoffs. In that particular game against Oshawa, I don't think he was particularly impressive, but he did play well. It's just that pretty much all of his points came from Haltunnen just shooting the puck insanely well, and most of them came on the PP where he is going to look the best offensively because of his skillset. He definitely has a good motor, and his skating is good, I just think he needs to improve it a bit to be as effective at the NHL level as he is in junior, or he's going to have to change his game pretty significantly. He needs to improve his speed enough that he can easily blow past NHL defenseman in order to keep his game the same. He could certainly do that though.

I think he's a fantastic prospect, but the way he is now I don't see him coming into the NHL immediately and putting up 30 points, nor do I see him putting up 7 in 10 in his last 10 games like Benson did. If he was two inches taller, and had the strength to match, I would have no concerns abut his game translating at all, except maybe some minor skating issues. But...he's not. He needs to learn how to capitalize on his strengths and how to play as a smaller player in the NHL. NHL, and AHL, defenseman are a much different breed than OHL players. I think he has a very good chance of adapting his game and how he plays to succeed in the NHL, but he still needs to actually do that. He can't just waltz into training camp and try and stickhandle through 4 guys. It doesn't quite work as well in the NHL, and his stickhandling is by no means elite.


I wouldn't be super surprised if he makes the team out of camp, and I wouldn't be unhappy if he got a 9 game look with the Leafs. Returning him to the WJC and the Knights for the Mem Cup (if they make it) would be great for the Knights, but I would much rather have him play in the AHL for most of the season than sit and watch. I don't think his game will evolve much more at the OHL level.

His agility is pretty good and he does have good playmaking ability for sure. I'm glad to hear that he was able to do well at the Leafs camp. His skating is definitely good enough for the NHL, and I didn't mean to imply that he could never have an NHL career. I think his floor is a good PKer and 4th liner who can have good chemistry at times and play somewhat up and down the line up if needed.

Personally, I think he has potential to be much better than that, and I would be disappointed if that's all he turned out to be. What I was referring to with needing to work on his game was if he wants to be a top 6 player. If he wants to put up more than 40 pts a season, he's going to need to improve in some aspects or change the way he plays the game.

I also don't really agree that he's been dominant, but my definition of dominant is that they can completely take over the game and force their will on their opponents. Crosby, Mackinnon, Tavares, Kadri, Drouin, McDavid, whoever, those are guys who I think dominated and could take over the game at any time in Junior and just score goals or create huge chances out of nowhere. Cowan is a really solid player but I don't think he's been like that in really any of the games against Saginaw or Oshawa. He's definitely had plays like that, but they've been somewhat infrequent, that by no means, means he's bad, that's just my definition of dominant.

He is a solid prospect with a very bright future ahead of him. He has a great combination of skills that could make him very good at the NHL level and if he improves those skills? He could be the next Kucherov or MSL and be an elite, excellent player.

He could also very easily turn into a guy like Frolik, Grabner, Mikheyev, etc. Good bottom 6 players, speedy guys, skill guys, good PKer, etc. Honestly that wouldn't even be the worst thing to happen, but like I said previously, I would still be disappointed if he never reached his potential.

I'm just saying maybe Leafs fans shouldn't have those kinds of expectations from him before he plays against men, he has a long ways to go still.

That was a lot of typing for the 1 or 2 Leaf fans that have demonstrated over the top expectations here.

 

[Peasy]

No, I did not. He was obviously fantastic in the two blowout games against Oshawa in London, and by no means has he been bad. I didn't say that. I said he has been less effective in tight checking games. Now, it's less so a thing in the Oshawa series, but even during the last game he wasn't as effective as he could or should be because of the tight checking. I wouldn't say he was invisible during the first two periods in Oshawa, but he was much less dangerous. The whole line of Barkey, Julian, and Cowan was. He was still great defensively, he was still perfectly fine on the forecheck, and he did still create chances, but his primary points and chances all came on the PP. And that game wasn't particularly tight checking, it was just more tight checking than the previous games. During the 3rd period a huge part of our comeback was zone entries by Cowan where he would take the puck behind the net and then skate it all the way into the Oshawa zone by getting around a player with stickhandling and then passing it off at the halfboards.

I do not think that is a play that is going to translate well for him at the NHL level, and it's a huge part of his game. He loves to skate the puck in, and he can do it at the OHL level. When players try and stand in front of his entry and stop him from skating past them, he has a hard time motoring through because he is just not as strong as he needs to be. We saw that repeatedly in Saginaw, especially in the games they lost, and we also saw that during the game in Oshawa. Beyond just the play where he got stapled to the boards and dumped to the ice, it's one of his go to plays, and unless he either grows another couple of inches or puts on some strength, or improves his agility (which is already pretty good) he's going to be stopped by NHL level defenseman when he tries it with the Leafs.

He was obviously still effective in both series. I mean, he's our highest scoring player and the highest scoring player in the playoffs. In that particular game against Oshawa, I don't think he was particularly impressive, but he did play well. It's just that pretty much all of his points came from Haltunnen just shooting the puck insanely well, and most of them came on the PP where he is going to look the best offensively because of his skillset. He definitely has a good motor, and his skating is good, I just think he needs to improve it a bit to be as effective at the NHL level as he is in junior, or he's going to have to change his game pretty significantly. He needs to improve his speed enough that he can easily blow past NHL defenseman in order to keep his game the same. He could certainly do that though.

I think he's a fantastic prospect, but the way he is now I don't see him coming into the NHL immediately and putting up 30 points, nor do I see him putting up 7 in 10 in his last 10 games like Benson did. If he was two inches taller, and had the strength to match, I would have no concerns abut his game translating at all, except maybe some minor skating issues. But...he's not. He needs to learn how to capitalize on his strengths and how to play as a smaller player in the NHL. NHL, and AHL, defenseman are a much different breed than OHL players. I think he has a very good chance of adapting his game and how he plays to succeed in the NHL, but he still needs to actually do that. He can't just waltz into training camp and try and stickhandle through 4 guys. It doesn't quite work as well in the NHL, and his stickhandling is by no means elite.


I wouldn't be super surprised if he makes the team out of camp, and I wouldn't be unhappy if he got a 9 game look with the Leafs. Returning him to the WJC and the Knights for the Mem Cup (if they make it) would be great for the Knights, but I would much rather have him play in the AHL for most of the season than sit and watch. I don't think his game will evolve much more at the OHL level.

His agility is pretty good and he does have good playmaking ability for sure. I'm glad to hear that he was able to do well at the Leafs camp. His skating is definitely good enough for the NHL, and I didn't mean to imply that he could never have an NHL career. I think his floor is a good PKer and 4th liner who can have good chemistry at times and play somewhat up and down the line up if needed.

Personally, I think he has potential to be much better than that, and I would be disappointed if that's all he turned out to be. What I was referring to with needing to work on his game was if he wants to be a top 6 player. If he wants to put up more than 40 pts a season, he's going to need to improve in some aspects or change the way he plays the game.

I also don't really agree that he's been dominant, but my definition of dominant is that they can completely take over the game and force their will on their opponents. Crosby, Mackinnon, Tavares, Kadri, Drouin, McDavid, whoever, those are guys who I think dominated and could take over the game at any time in Junior and just score goals or create huge chances out of nowhere. Cowan is a really solid player but I don't think he's been like that in really any of the games against Saginaw or Oshawa. He's definitely had plays like that, but they've been somewhat infrequent, that by no means, means he's bad, that's just my definition of dominant.

He is a solid prospect with a very bright future ahead of him. He has a great combination of skills that could make him very good at the NHL level and if he improves those skills? He could be the next Kucherov or MSL and be an elite, excellent player.

He could also very easily turn into a guy like Frolik, Grabner, Mikheyev, etc. Good bottom 6 players, speedy guys, skill guys, good PKer, etc. Honestly that wouldn't even be the worst thing to happen, but like I said previously, I would still be disappointed if he never reached his potential.

I'm just saying maybe Leafs fans shouldn't have those kinds of expectations from him before he plays against men, he has a long ways to go still.

EDIT: Didn't realize he couldn't play in AHL next year. I would definitely prefer he come back to London for another year than stick it out in the NHL in that case.

Yeah he can't do AHL next year. Thats mainly why I think he ends up in the NHL next year even though its not completely ideal. Also leafs will likely need cheap contracts if Marner doesn't get shipped out.

My stance on him has never changed since before the draft. Said that he has the potential to be a great complementary top 6 winger that can play both special teams. I still see that as his role in the NHL during his peak. This season has just strengthen my belief that he can hit that.

top 10 in a redraft top 10 in a redraft top 10 in a redraft . Yes thanks for the tip(s)

Bro you just love commenting in leaf threads dont you.

 

[Atomos2]

No, I did not. He was obviously fantastic in the two blowout games against Oshawa in London, and by no means has he been bad. I didn't say that. I said he has been less effective in tight checking games. Now, it's less so a thing in the Oshawa series, but even during the last game he wasn't as effective as he could or should be because of the tight checking. I wouldn't say he was invisible during the first two periods in Oshawa, but he was much less dangerous. The whole line of Barkey, Julian, and Cowan was. He was still great defensively, he was still perfectly fine on the forecheck, and he did still create chances, but his primary points and chances all came on the PP. And that game wasn't particularly tight checking, it was just more tight checking than the previous games. During the 3rd period a huge part of our comeback was zone entries by Cowan where he would take the puck behind the net and then skate it all the way into the Oshawa zone by getting around a player with stickhandling and then passing it off at the halfboards.

I do not think that is a play that is going to translate well for him at the NHL level, and it's a huge part of his game. He loves to skate the puck in, and he can do it at the OHL level. When players try and stand in front of his entry and stop him from skating past them, he has a hard time motoring through because he is just not as strong as he needs to be. We saw that repeatedly in Saginaw, especially in the games they lost, and we also saw that during the game in Oshawa. Beyond just the play where he got stapled to the boards and dumped to the ice, it's one of his go to plays, and unless he either grows another couple of inches or puts on some strength, or improves his agility (which is already pretty good) he's going to be stopped by NHL level defenseman when he tries it with the Leafs.

He was obviously still effective in both series. I mean, he's our highest scoring player and the highest scoring player in the playoffs. In that particular game against Oshawa, I don't think he was particularly impressive, but he did play well. It's just that pretty much all of his points came from Haltunnen just shooting the puck insanely well, and most of them came on the PP where he is going to look the best offensively because of his skillset. He definitely has a good motor, and his skating is good, I just think he needs to improve it a bit to be as effective at the NHL level as he is in junior, or he's going to have to change his game pretty significantly. He needs to improve his speed enough that he can easily blow past NHL defenseman in order to keep his game the same. He could certainly do that though.

I think he's a fantastic prospect, but the way he is now I don't see him coming into the NHL immediately and putting up 30 points, nor do I see him putting up 7 in 10 in his last 10 games like Benson did. If he was two inches taller, and had the strength to match, I would have no concerns abut his game translating at all, except maybe some minor skating issues. But...he's not. He needs to learn how to capitalize on his strengths and how to play as a smaller player in the NHL. NHL, and AHL, defenseman are a much different breed than OHL players. I think he has a very good chance of adapting his game and how he plays to succeed in the NHL, but he still needs to actually do that. He can't just waltz into training camp and try and stickhandle through 4 guys. It doesn't quite work as well in the NHL, and his stickhandling is by no means elite.


I wouldn't be super surprised if he makes the team out of camp, and I wouldn't be unhappy if he got a 9 game look with the Leafs. Returning him to the WJC and the Knights for the Mem Cup (if they make it) would be great for the Knights, but I would much rather have him play in the AHL for most of the season than sit and watch. I don't think his game will evolve much more at the OHL level.

His agility is pretty good and he does have good playmaking ability for sure. I'm glad to hear that he was able to do well at the Leafs camp. His skating is definitely good enough for the NHL, and I didn't mean to imply that he could never have an NHL career. I think his floor is a good PKer and 4th liner who can have good chemistry at times and play somewhat up and down the line up if needed.

Personally, I think he has potential to be much better than that, and I would be disappointed if that's all he turned out to be. What I was referring to with needing to work on his game was if he wants to be a top 6 player. If he wants to put up more than 40 pts a season, he's going to need to improve in some aspects or change the way he plays the game.

I also don't really agree that he's been dominant, but my definition of dominant is that they can completely take over the game and force their will on their opponents. Crosby, Mackinnon, Tavares, Kadri, Drouin, McDavid, whoever, those are guys who I think dominated and could take over the game at any time in Junior and just score goals or create huge chances out of nowhere. Cowan is a really solid player but I don't think he's been like that in really any of the games against Saginaw or Oshawa. He's definitely had plays like that, but they've been somewhat infrequent, that by no means, means he's bad, that's just my definition of dominant.

He is a solid prospect with a very bright future ahead of him. He has a great combination of skills that could make him very good at the NHL level and if he improves those skills? He could be the next Kucherov or MSL and be an elite, excellent player.

He could also very easily turn into a guy like Frolik, Grabner, Mikheyev, etc. Good bottom 6 players, speedy guys, skill guys, good PKer, etc. Honestly that wouldn't even be the worst thing to happen, but like I said previously, I would still be disappointed if he never reached his potential.

I'm just saying maybe Leafs fans shouldn't have those kinds of expectations from him before he plays against men, he has a long ways to go still.

EDIT: Didn't realize he couldn't play in AHL next year. I would definitely prefer he come back to London for another year than stick it out in the NHL in that case.

Kadri used to skate the puck end to end a ton in his junior days back in the day. I mean if its working there’s no sense in changing it now.

I do think he can adapt his game to the pro level though like he did in last year’s preseason. If he’s ready then he’s ready but if not, hopefully the Leafs can fill up the roster so he’s not forced in a position he isn’t ready for. We’ll see.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

 

[Dead Coyote]

Profile pic is apt.


That was a lot of typing for the 1 or 2 Leaf fans that have demonstrated over the top expectations here.

I mean, there were a lot of people in this thread saying at all points of the season that he was the best player in the OHL. People saying he was a top 10 prospect during the season, people saying he's a top 10 prospect now. People who say he's going to come in and replace Tavares next year. Guys saying he would go top 5 or is a better player than some of those drafted in the top 5/10. Don't even get me started on the Leafs fans I talk to constantly in this city.

There were a lot of uh, interesting player comparisons. Bedard, Point, Kyrou. And not just stylistically, but actual comparisons.

There were also a lot of people shitting on him and calling him nothing but a 3rd liner. There's exaggeration and vitriol on both sides.

I'm not here to shit on Cowan or the Leafs, I think he's a fantastic prospect. I hate the Leafs, but I'm extremely glad he got drafted by them and hoping that he has a fantastic career with them. The Leafs have been great to the Knights players as well, think they currently have the most or close to the most Knights players on their active roster., and they've drafted a ton over the years.

I'm just here to provide information from someone who has been a Knights fan for a very long time, been a prospects lover and shitty scout for a few years, and has watched pretty much every game the Knights have played for...a very long time, with some notable exceptions.

If that's not something you're interested in, that's no big deal. I'm just giving my opinion for the people who are interested in that.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Yeah he can't do AHL next year. Thats mainly why I think he ends up in the NHL next year even though its not completely ideal. Also leafs will likely need cheap contracts if Marner doesn't get shipped out.

My stance on him has never changed since before the draft. Said that he has the potential to be a great complementary top 6 winger that can play both special teams. I still see that as his role in the NHL during his peak. This season has just strengthen my belief that he can hit that.

Absolutely. I could definitely see that as a possibility, especially if he performs as well as he did in camp from what I've heard. I didn't watch those preseason games, so maybe he is ready to make it to the NHL full time and maybe he is just fast enough to keep playing the way he does in Jr.

I definitely think he could end up that way for sure. That would probably be his ceiling, though how effective you think he'll be in that role depends on how good you think his potential is and who his linemates are.

There's nothing wrong with that type of player, it's another thing I think the Leafs would be very happy with if he ends up there. I think the Leafs will be happy with him, and should be happy with him, even if he doesn't hit that potential. I think he'll look pretty good relative to his draft position even if he never makes that ceiling.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Kadri used to skate the puck end to end a ton in his junior days back in the day. I mean if its working there’s no sense in changing it now.

I do think he can adapt his game to the pro level though like he did in last year’s preseason. If he’s ready then he’s ready but if not, hopefully the Leafs can fill up the roster so he’s not forced in a position he isn’t ready for. We’ll see.

Kadri tried to do the same thing in the NHL and was better at doing it than Cowan is. I still remember the media and coaches doing interviews at the time and a lot of people saying that Kadri needed to just sit down and shut up and learn how to play defense at the time and that there was no way he was ever going to be able to stickhandle through 4 guys in the NHL. I think that's a big part of why he was traded, and I thought it was stupid at the time, because he was still creating chances left right and center. Granted, that's all hearsay, but at any rate he did very much adapt his game and went on to be much more successful than he was with Toronto. Cowan won't need to adapt his game defensively, but like Kadri I do think he'll need to adapt his game offensively to succeed, and if he does he could be great.