It Isn't Easton Cowan's Points That Matter Most

I really like what’s happening with Easton Cowan. It’s easy to look at three points in two games and start wondering how many points the young player might pile up this season. That’s fun, and Cowan certainly looks like he has taken another step. But the more interesting story might be that the Maple Leafs don’t need him to become a 70-point star to become an important player.

In fact, Cowan might be exactly the kind of player John Chayka and Jim Hiller want around.

Cowan might play middle-six minutes for most of the season.

Cowan is playing on the third line with Nick Paul and Colton Sissons, and that line has some real work to do. It’s not just about putting the puck in the net. They’ll face tough matchups, chase pucks, win battles, and try to make life miserable for the other team. And Cowan is pretty good at that last part.

The kid has what I call a “dog-on-a-bone” mentality. Once he gets interested in a puck, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in giving it back. But his game is more than just working hard. Cowan has some real hockey smarts.

He can make those little passes that don’t always make the highlight reel. A slip pass through traffic. A saucer over a stick. A quick feed into a space that doesn’t seem to be there until the puck arrives. That’s play-driving.

Cowan doesn’t have to be in a scoring role to be effective.

And perhaps that’s where the bigger story is with Cowan. He doesn’t necessarily have to be on the power play or playing 20 minutes a night to influence a hockey game. He can help a third line spend more time in the offensive zone, recover pucks, create chances and force a coach to think, “Maybe I should put this kid somewhere else.”

We already saw a bit of that in the season opener when Cowan got some second-line shifts in place of Gavin McKenna. That’s how players move up a lineup. They don’t demand the promotion. They make it difficult for the coach not to notice them.

The 40-point mark looks reachable if Cowan stays healthy and gets the minutes. But the more important number might be how often the Leafs finish a shift with the puck because Easton Cowan went and got it.

He could be a pretty useful player to have come playoff time.