Should Maple Leafs’ Easton Cowan play in the NHL in 2025-26?

Sep 12, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 12, 2025, 11:37 EDT

Should Maple Leafs’ Easton Cowan play in the NHL in 2025-26?

Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

To the surprise of nobody, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ pipeline is one of the NHL’s weakest.

They’re in win-now mode, and that means shipping out future talent to get immediate help. It hasn’t panned out exactly like the Leafs would have hoped in recent years, but at least they’ve tried, right?

They do have one top 50 prospect, though – 20-year-old forward Easton Cowan. After a couple of truly dominant seasons with the OHL’s London Knights, Cowan is ready for his first season of pro hockey. Where exactly he should play – Scotiabank Arena or Coca-Cola Coliseum – is up for debate, though.

Cowan has come a long way since the Leafs took him 28th overall in 2023. He was a bit undersized, his numbers didn’t jump off the page and he only had one year of major junior under his belt. But everything changed in 2023-24. He finished with 33 more points during the regular season, establishing himself as one of the most consistent scoring threats in the league. He also won both the OHL’s regular season and playoff MVP honors, won the league title and led the Memorial Cup in points.

Cowan’s numbers dwindled a bit during the 2024-25 regular season, but his impact didn’t. He put up a good fight for an NHL roster spot out of training camp before finishing with 69 points in 46 games. An 80-point season wasn’t out of the equation had he remained healthy for the full year. The highlight, at least offensively, was completing a historic 65-game regular-season point streak that lasted over parts of two seasons.

Cowan again came alive in the playoffs, besting his 34-point run from a year prior to finish with 39 points – once again securing the postseason scoring title. Tack on a Memorial Cup victory (plus the MVP title) and it was an outstanding way to close out an impressive three-season run in London.

His junior days are behind him. Now, it’s time for Cowan to live up to the hype against the pros. Many Leafs fans want Cowan in the opening night lineup. And that’s fair – he’s the shiny new toy in a pipeline with little going for it, especially offensively. By all accounts, Cowan should factor into Toronto’s top-six in the long run. But throwing him to the wolves immediately? Cowan is going to need one heck of a camp to make that make sense.

During a Leafs’ rookie camp availability on Thursday, Cowan said he has added about seven pounds of muscle this summer, standing at 5-foot-11 (and a half, he said) and 190 pounds.

“This is the best I’ve ever felt coming into camp. I feel confident and just excited to get going,” Cowan said.

Cowan, a natural center, likely has a better path to the NHL on the wings. Given the way he plays – challenging everyone for pucks at all times – it makes sense. He’s no Auston Matthews or John Tavares, and I’m not sure playing him deeper in the lineup will benefit him much – there’s nothing more important to a young player’s development than ice time. Skating alongside Scott Laughton isn’t going to unlock Cowan’s true potential.

That’s why, beyond maybe a multi-game cameo to kick off the year, the Maple Leafs need to prioritize Cowan’s development with the Toronto Marlies. There, he can play some center, take on some extra responsibility and garner the confidence he needs to take the step up – just like Fraser Minten a year ago. Cowan could easily get 18-20 minutes a night with the Marlies while still learning alongside some hard-working veterans such as Travis Boyd and Logan Shaw.

The Leafs don’t have many young trade chips – Cowan is, by far, the most interesting option. Teams would love to add someone with his skillset to their roster if Toronto finds a more immediate need. But if not, Cowan has a bright future in Toronto. He still has a long way to go to establish himself as an upper-level player in Toronto, but he gives the team a bit more tenacity than, say, Mitch Marner did.

Cowan is a good skater with strong puck skills, and he’s smart, too. The real appeal, beyond that, is how energetic he is. He wants to win every single shift. You could see his frustration during the World Juniors when he wasn’t scoring. Cowan wants to win and has done a lot of it already in his young career. Anything short of that isn’t good enough. That’s why many Leafs fans have fallen in love with him – he brings a level of passion many criticize Toronto’s core for lacking over the past few years.

But, again, there’s no rush to get Cowan into the NHL right now. The top six wingers seem set with Matthew Knies, William Nylander, Max Domi and Matias Maccelli. Cowan could conceivably knock out Domi or Maccelli, but both are NHL veterans with their roster spots seemingly set in stone. Cowan might be able to play on the third line and knock Dakota Joshua down, but he’ll be in competition with Nick Robertson for that job.

Robertson, in particular, might be one of Cowan’s biggest short-term roadblocks. He’s been subject to trade rumors for a few years now, but recently signed a new deal. It’s still an easily tradeable contract. But it feels as if Toronto wanted to move on from Robertson, they would have by now. Robertson should have the inside track for ice time over Cowan, which would further push him down the depth chart.

In Cowan, we’re talking about a 20-year-old with zero games of pro experience. Cowan will say all the right things over the next week about wanting to play for the big club. But deep down, he has to know the right spot for him to maximize his ice time is just a single GO Train stop away.

Could Cowan play well enough to stick with the big club? Absolutely. With Marner gone, Cowan could give the team a play-driving forward who hits hard, battles harder, and clearly knows how to produce. But Toronto is in win-now mode, and giving significant ice time to a rookie fresh out of junior hockey just doesn’t seem wise. Cowan almost definitely will play a few NHL games this season, just like Minten did in 2023-24. But it should be in the single digits, unless Cowan just can’t be stopped with the Marlies or serious injuries arise.

And that’s totally fine. When talking about prospects, patience is absolutely key. There’s absolutely no reason to rush Cowan right now.

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Should Maple Leafs’ Easton Cowan play in the NHL in 2025-26?

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