Easton Cowan's on the Steep Part of His Learning Curve
There’s a reason “rookie mistakes” is a phrase that never goes out of use. Easton Cowan added another two examples to the file on Wednesday night. First, he took an ill-timed offensive-zone penalty. Second, his turnover in overtime ended the game and sent the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Those moments linger because they’re visible, decisive, and costly. They also tend to crowd out everything else if you let them.
Mistakes and All, Cowan Is in the Right Place on the Maple Leafs Roster.
The more important question is whether Cowan belongs where he is. The answer to that, increasingly, looks like yes. For a first-year player, Cowan’s game already has a lot of grown-up elements to it. With the puck, he’s calm. It doesn’t die on his stick, and it rarely ends up going the other way in a panic. He sees lanes early, makes plays at speed, and distributes the puck with intent rather than hope. That alone puts him ahead of the usual rookie curve.
What’s easy to miss is how willing he is to do the more complex, less glamorous work. Cowan doesn’t avoid the corners, and he doesn’t cheat for offence. He wins his share of battles and doesn’t float when the puck moves away from him. For a young forward, that’s often the difference between surviving in the NHL and being sent back to learn the same lesson somewhere else.
Cowan’s Analytics Show Well in His Rookie Season.
The underlying numbers support the eye test. At five-on-five, Cowan has been on the ice for 60 percent of Toronto’s goals, over half of the high-danger chances, and just over 50 percent of expected goals. That doesn’t happen by accident. It suggests that even when he makes mistakes — and he will — the team is generally better off with him out there than without him.
Defensively, he already understands something that takes some players years to learn: skating hard without the puck matters just as much as skating with it. His routes back are direct, his effort is consistent, and he doesn’t disengage after a missed chance. That’s a habit that usually sticks.
As Cowan Grows, His Game Will Expand.
As Cowan fills out physically, his game should expand rather than change. The comparison to Matthew Knies makes sense in terms of progression, not style. Knies is a power forward; Cowan is a playmaker. But the path — early responsibility, visible mistakes, steady trust — feels familiar.
Down the road, the idea of Cowan and Knies on a line together isn’t fanciful. One retrieves, one distributes. One leans, one reads. That’s how complementary players grow into something more.
The mistakes will keep coming. That’s unavoidable. What matters is that Cowan is already playing well enough for them to be worth living with. That’s usually a good sign of what comes next.
[I’d like to thank Stan Smith for his insights that have shown up in this post.]