How Easton Cowan's 'character' is becoming a big plus for Maple Leafs
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There was a time when Easton Cowan might have deferred.
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During the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, when he was a Maple Leafs rookie, to be specific.
Instead, when Cowan and William Nylander on Tuesday night broke down the ice on a two-on-one against the Columbus Blue Jackets while the Leafs were shorthanded, Cowan didn’t blink.
He fired the puck past goaltender Jet Greaves for Toronto’s fourth goal in what evolved into a 6-2 romp.
“Last year, there’s a good chance I’m forcing it to him,” Cowan said with a smile on Thursday morning ahead of the Leafs’ home game against the New York Rangers. “When you’re getting games, getting to play, you start to feel your reads better, and I felt like the goalie was cheating on Willie. The D gave me some room, so I just found my spot and I picked it.”
How has Cowan impressed the coaching staff?
An uptick in confidence — not that the 21-year-old Cowan has lacked belief in himself since he was drafted in the first round, 28th overall, by the Leafs in 2023 — has helped drive him in the initial stages of 2026-27.
Cowan was at it again on Thursday night, opening the scoring at 1:36 of the first period in the Leafs’ 5-4 victory against the Rangers at Scotiabank Arena. After taking a heads-up pass from Jake McCabe, Cowan burst in and beat Rangers goalie Dylan Garand on the glove side.
For Cowan, that’s five goals, along with six assists, for 11 points in 12 games. Last season, Cowan didn’t score his fifth goal until his 31st game, on Jan. 6 versus Florida.
“I’m just trying to play my game,” Cowan said. “It’s good to get in the flow. We know we’re a good team in here. Three (wins) in a row feels nice.”
Cowan has surpassed what the coaching staff anticipated coming out of training camp.
“The hardest thing for a young player is to be able to do that on Monday night and Tuesday night and Thursday night and Saturday night,” Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. “There have been a couple of dips, but let’s be honest, he has been very consistent.
“Before I told him what my expectations were (in off-season conversations) he told me what his expectations were for himself. I thought that was really important. He had a better picture than I did. He knew what he could do more than I did and he has done that. That’s an important distinction.”
Cowan’s surge has resulted in a spot on the top line with captain Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, but he’s doing more without a great increase in ice time. Heading into Thursday, he was averaging 14 minutes 59 seconds a game, just 16 more seconds than the 14:43 he averaged in 66 games last season.
There’s more authority in Cowan’s game, especially in the areas of grunt work along the boards, and another birthday checked off the calendar can’t be underestimated. There’s greater physical strength on his side now.
“My mindset is that I can still grow, but being bigger and stronger definitely helps,” Cowan said.
The Leafs are among the oldest teams in the NHL. Cowan, along with rookie Gavin McKenna, has been providing a sense of the club’s future, no matter how long teammates such as Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares are in the picture.
What does Lettieri think of his former Marlies teammate?
What Cowan has been doing hasn’t been a revelation to recently recalled Leafs forward Vinni Lettieri, some five months after the two helped the Toronto Marlies win the Calder Cup.
Despite spending the majority of last season with the Leafs, Cowan went back to the Marlies with open arms and played a large role in the Cup run.
“I’ve been around long enough to see guys that are young come down later on, and it’s always a little bit harder of a pill to swallow because you’re used to the NHL lifestyle for so long and you don’t want to necessarily have to come down after,” Lettieri said. “It just goes to show the maturity and the character of him.
“He’s just a joy to be around every day, and he did nothing but help us out. It was great having him. And he has been outstanding now.”
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