Cowan shows off added strength as Leafs open rookie camp

Easton Cowan is stronger and, apparently, an inch taller as he begins his quest to make the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

"I'd say I'm like 5'11 and a half now," the London Knights forward stated with smile. "I'd like to say 6-foot but I can't yet. Maybe with shoes on."

Toronto's first-round pick in the 2023 draft (28th overall) is certainly a big presence on the ice at Leafs rookie camp, which opened on Wednesday with a practice at the Ford Performance Centre. 

"He just looks like more of a man," observed Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden, who is overseeing the camp for a second straight year. "He's stronger. He's got that little bit more of a pop."

Cowan happily reports that he added two to three pounds of muscle this summer. He's currently weighing in at 180 pounds. 

"As a winger, you get into a lot of puck battles along the boards, and those are crucial in any type of game," he said. "Getting those pucks out and being a bit stronger, that will help a lot."

Rookie camp offers Cowan and 25 other Leafs prospects a chance to show off the gains made during summer training while building momentum ahead of main training camp, which opens next week. General manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube kept close tabs on the proceedings on Wednesday. 

"I'm just going to take it day by day," Cowan stressed. "Show my skills, show my compete ethic and just have fun out there."

Rookie camp concludes with a pair of games at the Bell Centre against Montreal Canadiens prospects over the weekend. 

Cowan dominated the Ontario Hockey League last season with 96 points in 54 games en route to winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player. He then racked up 34 points in 18 post-season games to lead the Knights to an OHL title. The 19-year-old from Mount Brydges, Ont. received the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP. 

It feels like he's done all there is to do at the junior level, but if he doesn't crack the Leafs lineup, Cowan will be back in London.  

And Cowan is facing an uphill battle to earn a spot with the Leafs, who signed winger Nick Robertson this week while inviting veteran winger Max Pacioretty to camp on a pro tryout. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports that Pacioretty is expected to sign a deal with Toronto before the season. 

"I'm just going to give it my all, play my game, do my thing," Cowan said. "Just have fun out there, be a happy kid. I'll trust what they think they should do with me and just trust the process like I've always been doing."

Cowan is drawing inspiration from rookie camp linemate and roommate Fraser Minten, who unexpectedly made the Leafs last season. Minten, who was Toronto's second round pick (38th overall) in 2022, got into four NHL games before being sent back to the Western Hockey League. 

"He just had a really good mindset," Cowan recalled. "Just the positive mindset ... He's always happy and he's never getting mad at himself out there. Obviously, he's competitive, but he's got really good body language that helps him a lot as a young guy."

Cowan's mindset this summer was moulded by how his remarkable draft-plus-one season came to an end. The Knights lost a heartbreaker in the Memorial Cup final with the host Saginaw Spirit scoring the winning goal in the final minute of the third period. Cowan remained on the ice to watch the Spirit celebrate. 

"He used that every single day," said Trevor Williamson, who is the director of strength and conditioning at Elite Performance and Injury Centre (EPIC) where Cowan worked out in the offseason. "It was kind of like an ongoing [comment] throughout the summer where he would just be like, 'Little inches every single day are going to make the difference.' He used that for fuel."

Williamson, who has had a front-row seat to Cowan's success courtesy his role as the Knights head strength and conditioning coach, is predicting big things for his client this year.

"He's going to be phenomenal," Williamson said. "This might have been his best off-season yet. He worked so hard. He's gotten way stronger, and his speed, his power, everything's gone up. He's crushing it. He knows what it means to be a pro."

Williamson highlighted that Cowan spent plenty of time with EPIC's physiotherapists to focus on injury prevention while fine tuning his recovery routine.

"He's in the gym for, I don't know, maybe 40 minutes before he works out, and he stays after," Williamson added.

Is he ready for the NHL? 

"It's so hard to kind of guess where he's going to end up," Williamson acknowledges. "But just the size that he's put on, like, he's definitely capable. His maturity is there. His thought process is there. His attitude is 100 per cent there and his work ethic is going to be with the top guys on the team no matter where he ends up. I think he definitely could [play in the NHL]. He's ready."

During the Leafs summer development camp in early July, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, the team's assistant general manager, player development, declared that Cowan is "very close" to being ready for the NHL. And Cowan wasn't shy about saying his goal is to make the team. 

But it's not easy for a teenager to crack the lineup of a contending club. 

"The NHL is a tough league," Cowan said on Wednesday. "I'm just excited for the challenge."