Cowan helps Canada establish ‘chip-on-shoulder’ mindset at World Junior camp

Team Canada lost in heartbreaking fashion in the quarter-finals at last year's World Juniors in Sweden. 

"It's in the back of my mind," said London Knights forward Easton Cowan. "Same with the Memorial Cup loss. I hate losing and I love to win. Just having that in the back of my mind when I'm working out pushes me a bit harder every day." 

Canada came back from 2-0 down against Czechia only to see a shot by Jakub Stancl deflect in off defenceman Oliver Bonk with 11.7 seconds left. 

"It sucked a lot," Cowan said, "but we're going to build off of it and use it as a chip on your shoulder for this year." 

Cowan is one of 42 players in Windsor, Ont. this week for Hockey Canada's summer camp for those in the mix for a spot at the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa. 

"I just want to show some leadership," the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect said. "I can be a leader this year and be someone the younger guys can ask [questions] and look up to a bit. I'm just really excited to get back here and put on that Team Canada jersey. Whether it's a practice jersey or a game jersey, it's still an unreal feeling."

Cowan helped set up Team Red's opening goal in a 4-3 win over Team White in an intra-squad scrimmage on Tuesday night. Cowan also started the sequence that led to a power-play goal later in the game. 

Even in the practice sessions, Cowan's presence is felt. 

"He was out there with detail and with jump and really a leader on the ice and around the room," observed Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada's senior vice-president, high performance and hockey operations. "That's the type of attitude we need. If I'm Easton Cowan, I'm thinking about the Toronto Maple Leafs and I want to play in the National Hockey League, but he's here showing up, playing hard, leading, and showing what it's going to take. I think that's important."

After completing an impressive run at Leafs development camp in early July, Cowan made it clear his goal was to make the NHL this fall. The 19-year-old from Mount Brydges, Ont. has seemed like a man on a mission for some time now.  

"That guy shows up every night," said Saginaw Spirit defenceman Zayne Parekh, who picked up a pair of assists in Tuesday's scrimmage. "He's one the most consistent players in the OHL. Being able to play against him every night kind of challenges me to be the best version of myself."

After being named the Ontario Hockey League's most outstanding player and MVP of the playoffs, it feels like Cowan has little left to prove at the junior level. 

"Insanely impressive season," agreed Bonk, who plays with Cowan in London. "Insanely skilled player and just shocked by how good his season was. I knew he was a great player, but that was something else."

"He's one of the hardest-working kids I've ever seen," said Knights centre Denver Barkey, who was a final cut at Hockey Canada's selection camp last December. "He deserves everything he gets, so we'll see what happens in Toronto with him."  

Canada had just one returning player, Saginaw centre Owen Beck, last year. There are five returnees at this summer camp: Cowan, Bonk, Kitchener Rangers winger Carson Rehkopf, University of Minnesota winger Matthew Wood and Moose Jaw Warriors centre Brayden Yager.

"The experience those guys got last year, the chip that they have on their shoulder, I think is a competitive advantage for us," said Salmond.

Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk made the team last year, but missed the World Juniors after sustaining a wrist fracture in a pre-tournament game. He's also being designated as a returnee. 

The returnees will play again on Wednesday night against Sweden at the WFCU Centre before going home. Hockey Canada has a good read on those guys and will use the rest of the camp, including games against Finland and the United States on Friday and Saturday in Plymouth, Michigan, to drill down on other candidates. 

Macklin Celebrini, who led Canada in scoring last year before being picked first overall by the San Jose Sharks, is not attending the summer camp. 

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The mere fact this camp is taking place is a positive development for Hockey Canada. Last year, there were only virtual meetings in the summer due to budget constraints. 

"It puts us way further ahead," said Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt, who is the management group lead for Canada's under-20 team "This will lay the foundation going forward."

Hockey Canada was last in Plymouth for the World Junior Summer Showcase in 2019, which helped set the table for a gold medal win at the 2020 event in Czechia. 

"We were chasing it a little bit more last year than we are now," said Anholt. "We're way ahead and that's just the way it is."

It may be the middle of summer, but it's been hammered home to players that this is a business trip. 

"It's July and August, but it's business and we're in the business of winning," said Salmond. "Last year we weren't able to get that done. With a number of returning players, some of our staff, there's certainly a different feel. Being able to come here and play meaningful games in the summer, I just think the attitude is different. I watched the game in Plymouth with the U.S. and the Swedes, and I thought that looked like summer hockey and I don't think we're here to play summer hockey."

Around 5,000 fans are expected to attend Wednesday's game against Sweden. 

"That's a great message to our players," said Salmond. "This team means a lot to Canadians. It means a lot to Hockey Canada. And so, to play a game in Canada and get that feeling right away I think is important as well."

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Ottawa 67’s head coach Dave Cameron is back for a third tour of duty as Canada's bench boss at the World Juniors.

The 2011 event in Buffalo ended in disaster for Cameron's Canada after Russia stormed back from 3-0 down in the third period of the gold-medal game. Cameron earned a measure of redemption by guiding Canada to the top of the podium at the 2022 event, which was played in the summer in Edmonton. 

"Dave has experience," Salmond stressed. "Dave knows what it takes to win."

"He's been there before," echoed Anholt. "He knows what it takes and that's a real important part of it." 

Cameron's World Junior journey actually started in the nation's capital in 2009 when he served as an assistant coach on the staff of Pat Quinn. Canada won gold that year after Jordan Eberle famously scored late in the third period to tie the semifinal against Russia. 

"To be able to do it all these years later in the same environment [is amazing]," Cameron said. "If anything, the hype's probably built, so really looking forward to it."  

Cameron has seen it all at the World Juniors, which will help as Canada looks to regroup following last year's fifth-place finish. 

"The games are going to come down to two or three plays," the 66-year-old said. "Whoever can make those plays is usually the team that wins."

Cameron, who served as Ottawa Senators head coach from 2014 to 2016, lamented the fact that Team White iced the puck in the final minute of the third period on Tuesday, which led to Team Red's winning goal off a faceoff play. 

"Those are the things we'll push forward with in the next couple days and drive home," Cameron said. "We're looking for guys who can stay with the game and be very comfortable with close games."

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Rehkopf certainly seemed comfortable on Tuesday night and ended up scoring the game-winning goal. 

"It was really good for a summer game," the 19-year-old from Barrie, Ont. said. "It didn't really feel like summer."

"He can rip the pill," observed linemate Berkly Catton, who was the eighth overall pick in June's NHL draft. "Probably had 10 or 12 shots on net and put one in there at the end."

Rehkopf and Catton, a pair of Seattle Kraken prospects, played on Team Red's top line with Wood. 

"Two big boys," noted Catton, who piled up 116 points with the Spokane Chiefs last season. "I like speed through the middle and then can kick it out to them and they make plays. They win battles all over the ice and get me the puck. I thought it was a good combination and lots of chemistry."

Catton also picked up a power-play goal on Tuesday night. 

"He's elite," Rehkopf raved. "His vision reminds me a lot of Jack Hughes. The way he carries the puck, it's pretty easy to play with him. As a guy who looks to shoot the puck, he can find you all over the ice. It's a treat for sure."

"I like the way he's played away from the puck," Cameron said. "I like the way he's handled the puck and has been really tenacious on the forecheck." 

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Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman Sawyer Mynio scored a goal and added a primary assist in Tuesday's game. Not too shabby for a guy who didn't expect to be here. 

"I was a little shocked," the Vancouver Canucks prospect admitted when asked about the invite from Hockey Canada. "But I think I earned it. Last year I had a really good year."

Mynio picked up 53 points in 63 games in the Western Hockey League and got into one American Hockey League game with the Abbotsford Canucks at the end of the year. 

Mynio set up University of Maine product Bradley Nadeau for Team Red's opening goal. He then beat Brandon Wheat Kings goalie Carson Bjarnason from distance in the second period. 

"I didn't see much," the 19-year-old from Kamloops, B.C. said. "I just shot it through the screen. I didn't even see the goalie, so I thought was a good sign to throw it to the net. He didn't see it either and it found its way."

It's the type of play the coaching staff is looking for. 

"We want to be a team that gets pucks to the net and his goal was just that," Cameron said. "It was a pass back to the point and he just got it to the net. We had a screen in front, and he got rewarded." 

Cameron was quick to point out that Mynio, who was paired with Parekh, was impressive beyond the offence. 

"I liked his game overall," the coach said. "I liked his game, you know, not just the fact he had two points, but from the fact it was pretty well rounded."

Mynio calls his high hockey IQ his best asset. 

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Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom, who was picked fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in June, will not take the ice at this camp. 

"He'll be around with all the meetings," Anholt said. "He'll get his workouts in so he's not going to miss out on anything in that regard. He'll go back to Columbus once he's been here for a few days. It's a good chance for our coaches to at least see the whites of his eyes. We can get to know him, and he can understand the importance of the camp – albeit not on the ice."

Lindstrom missed most of the second half of last season due to a back injury. 

"It was a disc herniation," he told TSN in June. "That's really it. Those things take a long time to heal. It kind of effected the nerve in my leg and gave me a little sciatica. It was nothing too crazy. It's just a matter of time. Like, nerve stuff takes a while to heal, but I'm feeling great now. I'm on the ice three to five times a week now. I'm in the gym basically every day training and I train hard. It's healing up nicely."

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Luca Pinelli missed Tuesday's game after sustaining a leg contusion in the camp's first practice. The Ottawa 67s forward was back on the ice on Wednesday. 

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Team Red lines in Tuesday's game: 

17 Rehkopf - 16 Catton - 23 Wood
19 Nadeau - 20 Ritchie - 13 Cowan
15 Howe - 14 Yager - 24 Gauthier
21 Spence - 25 Cataford - 22 Martone

6 Molendyk - 7 Yakemchuk
27 Chadwick - 5 Bonk
3 Mynio - 4 Parekh

1 Ratzlaff
31 George

Team White lines in Tuesday's game: 

16 Cristall - 15 Heidt - 11 Barlow
14 Iginla - 12 Barkey - 20 Sennecke
21 Romani - 29 Beaudoin - 10 Collard
18 Luchanko - 19 Wetsch

27 Price - 8 Gibson
3 Burns - 6 Sotheran
5 Dickinson - 24 MacKinnon
2 Morin

1 Ravensbergen
31 Bjarnason