Easton Cowan is back in his old stomping grounds.
Not even 24 hours after the Toronto Maple Leafs broke for the Olympic break, Cowan was in London, Ontario, at the Canada Life Place watching his former team, the London Knights, face the Kitchener Rangers.
Former Knight — and teammate to Cowan for a couple of seasons — Sam O’Reilly had two goals, including the game-winner, as the Rangers defeated the Knights on Wednesday night in overtime.
Advertisement
London currently sits fifth in the OHL’s Western Conference with 61 points.
Cowan spent parts of four seasons with the Knights, from 2022 to 2025. While with the club, London won back-to-back OHL Championships, plus a Memorial Cup last spring, in which Cowan was the MVP.
He was tied with London teammate Denver Barkey for the tournament lead in points, with seven in five games. Not only that, but Cowan also holds the Knights’ record for most playoff points, scoring 96 points in 60 postseason games.
The 20-year-old is currently in his first NHL season with the Maple Leafs. It’s gone just as you’d expect it would for a rookie; Cowan’s gone through a lot of ups and downs.
Advertisement
The forward has played on every line and has spent time on both of the Maple Leafs’ power play units throughout this season. Thus far, Cowan has tallied seven goals and 17 points in 43 games, while averaging 13:31 in ice time over that stretch.
Recently, however, the rookie has been a healthy scratch for Toronto, as head coach Craig Berube opts for other players in the lineup. He’s been on the outside looking in since William Nylander returned to the lineup three games ago.
‘He’s Lost A Bit Of His Swagger’: Where The Maple Leafs Are With Easton Cowan’s Game
Advertisement
“As we talked about, he needed a little bit of a reset. I think the break will do him well. Nothing changes there,” said Berube on Tuesday ahead of Toronto’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
“There are young guys in the league who don’t play all the time. There are times they do, but there are times when they don’t, and they have little breaks here and there. They benefit from it.”
The Maple Leafs will be off for a few weeks before getting into practices again and playing in their first game post-Olympic break on Feb. 25 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
We’ll see if Cowan, who’s eligible to be sent to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, will get into some games there before the Maple Leafs reconvene later this month.
