The Maple Leafs May Have Found Easton Cowan’s Best Role

I've been watching Easton Cowan closely this season, partly because I think he’ll be an important player for the Toronto Maple Leafs and partly because young players are just interesting to watch. You never quite know when they'll make that little jump where the game starts to slow down for them.

Cowan seems to be finding something right now. It isn't necessarily about scoring a pile of goals. It's about figuring out what kind of player he can be for this Maple Leafs team. And I think the early answer might be a pretty good one.

Cowan Doesn't Have to Be the Star of His Line.

The line of Cowan, Nick Paul and Colton Sissons has quietly been one of the better things the Maple Leafs have going for them. Through the early part of the season, they've been up 25–10 in shot attempts, and they've handled some difficult matchups against the Islanders and Senators.

What I like about the combination is that everybody seems to have a job.

Cowan has been the puck carrier and playmaker. Paul and Sissons do a lot of the less glamorous work. They get to the net. They work the walls. They defend. They create space. That gives Cowan room to do what he does best without asking him to be everything for everybody.

That's an important distinction for a young player.

Sometimes we look at a prospect and immediately start asking whether he can become a 30-goal scorer or a point-per-game player. Maybe Cowan will become one of those things. I have no idea yet. But right now, I'm more interested in whether he's learning how to make a line work. And he is.

Maybe Staying Around 190 Pounds Is Exactly Right for Cowan.

Another little detail in the notes caught my attention. Cowan was asked about adding weight in the offseason, and he said he wanted to stay around 190 pounds because he wants to be stronger without losing his speed. That makes a lot of sense to me.

Young hockey players are often told to get bigger. Bigger sounds good. Stronger sounds good. But if getting bigger means losing the skating ability that made you a good prospect in the first place, you've solved one problem by creating another. Cowan seems to understand that.

His speed is part of what makes him useful. He can carry the puck, pressure defenders and make things happen. He doesn't need to become a different player just because he's getting older. He needs to become a stronger version of the player he already is.

And there's something else happening here that I think is easy to miss. He's playing with veterans who can handle some of the physical and defensive responsibility. That lets Cowan learn without carrying the entire burden.

What’s Next for Easton Cowan?

I'm almost ready to declare that Cowan has arrived. It's still early, and hockey has a funny way of changing a player's story over six months. But I like what I'm seeing. He's contributing to a line that controls the puck, he’s being trusted with difficult matchups, and he’s doing it without needing to dominate every shift. That's a pretty good education for a young player.

Maybe that's Cowan's real next step. Not becoming the Maple Leafs' next big star overnight, but learning how to be the kind of player coaches trust in different situations. If he can keep doing that, the points may take care of themselves.

And if you're looking for a sign that a young player is figuring things out, I'm not sure you need much more than that.