Cowan solidified Canada’s 4-2 win over Sweden on Saturday, securing the team’s fourth goal with under two minutes to play in regulation.
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan continues to turn heads in pre-tournament action at the World Junior tournament in Ottawa.
With under two minutes remaining in the third period of Canada’s 4-2 victory over Sweden on Saturday, Cowan delivered the dagger.
Positioned five feet from the hash marks, he capitalized on a clean face-off win by Calum Ritchie. With a fake that sent a Swedish defender off balance, Cowan fired a shot glove-side past the goaltender, doubling Canada’s lead and sealing the win.
This goal marked Cowan’s fourth in just two pre-tournament games, following his hat-trick performance against Switzerland in Canada’s opener. The 19-year-old forward is among the 25 players selected to represent Team Canada when the tournament officially begins on Boxing Day.
Speaking with TSN’s Mark Masters on Friday, Cowan revealed he’d received several encouraging texts from Leafs players ahead of the tournament, including one from captain Auston Matthews.
Matthews, who made his NHL debut in Ottawa, Ontario, where the tournament is being held, with a four-goal performance, offered Cowan simple advice: to score goals.
It’s safe to say, he’s doing just that.
“Not much, he just said good luck, score some goals. Obviously, he's had a lot of goals in that rink in his debut there. I was chirping him about that,” Cowan said. "He just said do your thing, play your game, and good things will come.”
His strong showing in the pre-tournament games builds on an impressive season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights, where he has 28 points (15G, 13A) in 20 games with the club. More notably, Cowan is riding a current 56-game point streak stemming back to last season, starting on November 25, 2023.
It marks the first-round pick’s second go-around with Canada at the World Juniors after competing in the tournament last season, recording just one goal and an assist in five games before being eliminated in the knockout stages (quarterfinal) to Czechia.
But he’s a different player from a calendar year ago and Canada will need his skillset to overcome the disappointment from last year’s tournament in Sweden.
The Mount Brydges, Ontario native made a push at Maple Leafs’ training camp, determined to make the roster following pre-season action. However, this did not come to fruition for the promising forward as he was sent back to the Knights by the Maple Leafs on October 7 – considering the age restrictions and ineligibility to play in the AHL with the Marlies.
"Obviously, it sucked. You want to make the team, but it's the right thing for my development,” said Cowan.
Though not sporting a letter for Canada this winter, Cowan will be, without a doubt, a leader for the team throughout the tournament with a determination to go further.
Canada opens the World Juniors against Finland at 7:30 p.m. on December 26 at Canadian Tire Centre.
