London Knights head coach Dale Hunter believes Easton Cowan has a shot to make the Toronto Maple Leafs out of training camp.
Hunter, currently heading Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spoke with Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning of The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday about Cowan’s final season in junior.
The 20-year-old scored 39 points (13 goals and 26 assists) in 17 OHL playoffs games before going on to win the Memorial Cup with the Knights in early June. Along with finally capturing junior hockey’s biggest prize, Cowan also had the most points in the tournament and was named Memorial Cup MVP.
It was the perfect way for the young forward to cap off a memorable junior career ahead of turning pro this fall. Hunter coached Cowan for all four years of his tenure in the OHL and believes he’s ready to make the Maple Leafs out of training camp.
“He's going to push to make the team and play well for the Leafs,” Hunter told Ennis and Gunning. “Every organization needs young guys pushing to make the team, and it’ll make the Leafs better. I’m betting he's going to make it, so that's a good thing for the Leafs.”
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One challenge Cowan had in training camp last year before being returned to the Knights was eliminating the junior habits in his game. The forward didn’t skate at Toronto’s development camp earlier in July, but he, too, believes his game has grown a lot since last summer.
“This time last year, I wasn’t as good as I am now,” Cowan said. “Just being able to manage the puck better, I’ve learned that a lot this year, and obviously with the Knights organization, they helped me out a lot.
“I felt when games got bigger, I got better. Those are the games I love to play in, when there’s a lot of people watching and there’s high stakes.”
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That, though, is only one of the challenges that come with reaching the next level. In junior, players are smaller and still developing, whereas in the NHL and AHL, skaters are much stronger and aren’t afraid to be physical with you in any instance.
“It's the best league in the world. And again, they got to be physically ready for it because there's big guys in the National Hockey League and physically they have to be ready for it,” Hunter said. “It's 80-plus games, and it's a grind in there. You just got to be ready every night to perform, be more consistent, and that's what the National Hockey League guys are looking for.”
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Cowan returned to the ice the week following Maple Leafs' development camp and is training at a facility just outside of London, Ontario. He’ll spend time in both London and Toronto — working on adding weight and speed — before remaining in the city for Maple Leafs training camp in September.
“Time will tell. I guess that's the question that we all are asking ourselves,” said Maple Leafs assistant GM, Player Development, Hayley Wickenheiser, of Cowan making the NHL roster. “But my money's on him that he will be fit enough and prepared enough, the experience to be able to step in and play will be — we'll see probably very quickly when (training) camp starts.”
This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: Knights' Coach Dale Hunter Believes Easton Cowan Can Make Maple Leafs Out Of Training Camp
(Top photo of Cowan: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
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