TORONTO — Lawson Crouse scrunched his face, nearly not sure if the participant skating in entrance of him was the identical one he’d seen earlier than.
This was, actually, the man who started figuring out and skating with among the greatest London-based gamers at 14 below the tutelage of coach Trevor Williamson. This was the previous growth challenge of the London Knights, dropped off at a health club to sink or swim amongst eventual execs.
“A wiry, skinny child,” Williamson recalled.
Again then, the child had vitality and talent for days. However he didn’t have dimension — or an understanding of easy methods to final in an expert setting. Might he ever dangle with the likes of Crouse, a heavy Utah Mammoth ahead born in close by Mount Brydges?
This previous summer season, Crouse bought his reply.
Easton Cowan appeared nothing just like the participant Crouse spent the previous couple of years observing. The 2023 Maple Leafs first-round draft choose had remodeled from a youngster to pro-ready within the course of. He banged our bodies within the corners and got here out with the puck. He withstood hits from all 6-foot-4, 214 kilos of Crouse, and nonetheless pulled off decisive passes.
“I used to be very impressed along with his work ethic this summer season. That stood out to me. He clearly placed on some energy and a few muscle within the health club. I feel clearly as a hockey participant, he’s very expert,” Crouse mentioned. “Anytime you place the work in like that …”
Crouse left the thought suspended in air. He was, in any case, recounting what he noticed in the summertime — earlier than Cowan’s spot on the Leafs was near a certain factor. He didn’t wish to jinx it.
It seems, he didn’t have to fret. Cowan turned the primary rookie to crack the Maple Leafs’ opening-night roster since Fraser Minten in 2023. Whereas he was a wholesome scratch for the Leafs’ first two video games, Craig Berube received’t hold him out any longer.
Cowan is ready to make his NHL debut on Monday. The Leafs head coach believes within the rookie sufficient to place him on to the Leafs’ high line. On Sunday, Cowan skated alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
It wasn’t speculated to be this manner. The Leafs started coaching camp with 5 traces price of forwards, all possessing prolonged NHL resumes. Cowan didn’t require waivers to play within the AHL. Why not simply let him develop for a full season with the Toronto Marlies, out of the highlight?
As a substitute, the once-wiry teen turned the largest shock of Leafs camp, and is now on the precipice of reaching his dream.
“It’s positively surreal,” Cowan informed The Athletic, “however I’ve by no means felt this prepared.”
You’d be arduous pressed to get Cowan to say it, however the fall of 2024 was dejecting.
By way of 2023-24, Cowan had performed essentially the most making an attempt and productive hockey of his profession: 54 OHL video games with an outlandish 96 factors, en path to an OHL MVP award. He performed 18 OHL playoff video games, scoring an equally outlandish 34 factors. 4 Memorial Cup video games, solely to come back inside one aim of the North America-wide championship. 5 video games for Canada in his debut World Juniors earlier than an premature exit.
He hoped his stat line mixed with the “farm-boy work ethic” Williamson marvelled over may assist him crack the Leafs.
However Cowan was nonetheless small by NHL requirements. Continued again tightness and a lingering shoulder harm, each brought on by a relentless junior schedule, meant he couldn’t deal with a full summer season of coaching. The Leafs wished him to get larger. Cowan skilled, however not at all times with intention.
“He was at all times making an attempt to get wholesome earlier than we might get into coaching,” Williamson mentioned.
Expectations in his 2024 Leafs coaching camp had been excessive, however he most likely relied too closely on his puck abilities. He performed to impress Leafs administration standing excessive above the Leafs follow rink. An additional dangle right here, a slick however dangerous move there. Cowan performed the sport he thought the Leafs wished to see.
“The toughest half shouldn’t be making an attempt to consider what administration and coaches are considering of you,” Leafs winger Bobby McMann, who was as soon as in Cowan’s sneakers, mentioned. “You wish to play your sport and never be noticeable simply to try to make a group. And particularly with him, there’s a giant highlight on him. Trusting your self is the toughest factor. However when you pour every part you may have into competing and the talents you carry, that’s one of the best ways to showcase your self. As a result of it’s genuine.”
Cowan performed a whole lot of that preseason, however by no means appeared prepared, bodily or mentally, for the NHL.
“That was a giant realization for him as a result of I feel he most likely thought, ‘Hey, (making the Leafs in 2024) is a 50-50 for me.’ And that’s sort of what all of us thought,” Williamson mentioned.
One other season within the OHL earlier than, possible, a full season within the AHL beckoned. Cowan had a lot to be taught.
After leaving Leafs camp, Cowan spent the primary hour of the drive west to London from Toronto locked inside his personal head. He was quiet. He felt the chip on his shoulder rising as soon as once more — because it had greater than a 12 months earlier when many questioned why he was a first-round NHL choose.
The second hour of the drive was completely different. These near him had been already in his ear, with the identical message: If he couldn’t put the teachings he realized into follow in London, Cowan may discover himself on the skin of the NHL wanting in come 2025.
A kind of voices was Knights assistant coach Rick Steadman, who relayed a narrative Cowan hadn’t heard.
Towards the tip of Joe Thornton’s NHL profession, the NHL legend would journey from his close by house in St. Thomas to the Knights’ rink all through the summer season. Thornton wanted the Knights’ tools as he continued to rehab his knees after ACL and MCL accidents. Throughout Thornton’s visits, Steadman would quiz him about his summer season days.
“He informed me he bought up, stretched, did his exercise, got here right here for rehab, skated, had lunch along with his youngsters, then after bought some extra cardio within the afternoon after which rehabbed some extra earlier than dinner,” Steadman mentioned.
As Steadman watched Thornton, he heard the veteran repeating one thing of a mantra.
“It’s a full-time job.”
“That is Joe Thornton, a Corridor of Famer, and he’s doing this a lot work. And also you guys are doing an hour’s price of labor and also you assume you’re going to make it?” Steadman informed Cowan and different Knights.
Steadman might see Cowan’s eyes slim.
“It provides an instance of what guys needed to attempt for,” Steadman mentioned.
A lightweight switched on for Cowan.
Taking part in within the NHL was not some far-fetched dream. Taking part in within the NHL was a career.
It was time to start out treating it like that.
“You’re combating to become profitable, you’re combating to play within the NHL,” Cowan mentioned of what he realized this 12 months, “so simply with the ability to assault each day with that mindset was key.”
The Leafs delivered a stern message: get your skilled routine so as. Cowan started serious about the variations between gamers like him and bonafide professionals.
Exercises for Knights veterans would start at 9:30 a.m. As a substitute of arriving simply earlier than that point as he had prior to now, Cowan turned the primary participant within the door of Canada Life Place. Every single day. He had let accidents fester in earlier seasons, however Cowan now took an hour earlier than his exercises to hit the chilly tub and get massages to optimize exercises.
“He wasn’t serious about hockey like a child anymore,” Steadman mentioned.
Cowan thought repeatedly about John Tavares. He started asking the Leafs ahead about his detailed routine and habits of self-care which have stored Tavares motoring alongside at 35. Cowan realized this was an all-year routine, not a when-I-feel-like-it routine.
“You’ll be able to’t take days off,” Cowan mentioned.
After practices, Cowan turned one of many final Knights to go away the rink. There have been at all times cool-down workouts to reduce accidents. And there was video to look at.
Like a whole lot of expert younger gamers, classes from video periods would typically drift in a single ear and skate out the opposite. Cowan was probably the greatest gamers in his league, in any case.
“He might by no means actually take (criticism) and put it proper into follow,” Steadman mentioned.
Easton Cowan, left, vowed to take a special strategy to his remaining OHL season. (Christopher Katsarov / The Canadian Press through AP)
Cowan made a promise to himself and the Knights’ teaching employees: this season will likely be completely different. The Leafs requested the Knights to maintain pushing Cowan to be the sort of professional participant they envisioned. Video periods turned centered on areas the place Cowan might monitor again with extra vitality, chase pucks down, execute on the forecheck, create turnovers, and on easy methods to correctly dump the puck into the offensive zone. The room would typically really feel uncomfortable because the Knights’ greatest participant was getting picked aside.
Cowan’s pores and skin grew thicker within the course of.
“The primary couple years in junior, you’re a younger man, it’s arduous to take criticism,” he mentioned. “Clearly this 12 months I made errors. However wanting again, I do know it’s good to see that stuff. As a result of as an older man once I’m on the video board, the youthful guys can see that and say, ‘Oh, he’s an older man and he made a mistake too. However that is the way you be taught from it and get higher from it. Studying to bounce again from stuff is night time and day for me in comparison with once I was youthful.”
Cowan’s sport started to evolve. He turned a extra accountable participant, whilst questions from the skin emerged about his dropping level totals. Steadman started injecting extra NHL video into Cowan’s video periods.
“I’d lower Mitch Marner coming again tougher, or Auston Matthews monitoring down pucks and creating turnovers. We’d have a look at how they use their physique to get into the fingers and shield the puck. It might be guys that I do know he seems to be as much as and needs to be like. It simply provides you that little additional motivation: ‘OK, they’re doing it up there, I can do it right here,’” Steadman mentioned. “He took the very minute particulars of the sport to coronary heart.”
Cowan almost eradicated junior errors from his sport. As he did, he led the Knights to a Memorial Cup. Not simply with highlight-reel passes however with an aggressive, pro-ready two-way sport. Cowan would find yourself splitting his summer season between London and Toronto. When he was in Toronto, he labored with Leafs, together with McMann, on making an attempt to attain from new angles, selecting completely different routes to get to the online and adjusting the goalie’s toes earlier than a shot.
“It’s incremental, he’s continually working at it,” McMann mentioned.
He was appearing like an NHL-ready participant. The ultimate piece of the puzzle? Wanting like one. Cowan entered summer season exercises with extra questions for Williamson within the hopes of extra advantageous exercises.
“’How does this development match with what we’re making an attempt to perform? How are we getting ready for the following check? Right here’s what Toronto mentioned: what are we doing about it?’” Williamson recalled Cowan asking. “Whereas a 12 months earlier than, I must hear that stuff from Toronto. And Cowan would simply say, ‘They’re proud of me, all good.’ However now, he was a lot extra checked into what they wished. His motivation was large this time round.”
On the high of the Leafs’ record of priorities was including muscle mass and hitting 190 kilos with out turning into slower. The Leafs’ lead sports activities dietician Landon Hong had beforehand tried to teach Cowan on the significance of higher timing his consumption of carbohydrates. The Leafs wished Cowan to eat with a objective so as to add dimension.
All through the summer season, Williamson would get numerous calls and texts from Cowan about how significantly better his meal-prepping had change into. Cowan’s dad and mom chipped in with double orders of the household favorite — tacos — however provided that he was consuming them on the proper time. Williamson would hear simply as a lot delight from Cowan when he’d weigh in each day earlier than a exercise.
Late in the summertime, Cowan’s shoulders and neck appeared far thicker. He appeared able to maintain stress from NHL defencemen. Cowan would holler as his scale arrived at 190 kilos.
The Leafs hoped to depend on Cowan to make use of these 190 kilos and be heavy on the forecheck. And they also had been centered on Cowan’s leads to the isometric mid-thigh pull, a trusted train that may decide skating energy.
Cowan’s work paid off. Williamson might hardly include himself when the Leafs informed him Cowan’s numbers had doubled on the train from a 12 months in the past.
“He works his ass off,” Calle Järnkrok mentioned. “That’s what I like a couple of younger child like him arising. He’s making an attempt to get higher each day.”
Come coaching camp, Cowan’s progress was unimaginable to disregard. His performs with the puck had been smarter and simpler. Cowan sped by means of site visitors and appeared just like the pest he’ll need to be on the forecheck. And across the internet, his shot was faster and extra highly effective. Cowan was enjoying Berube-style hockey and the Leafs coach vaulted him right into a top-12 spot as coaching camp wound down. Berube beloved Cowan’s competitiveness and instincts, sufficient to position him above NHL veterans like Järnkrok and David Kämpf.
“Final 12 months, he could have are available in with too-high expectations. I feel it constructed up on him somewhat bit and bought forward of him,” Berube mentioned of Cowan. “This 12 months, he had an ideal summer season. He seems to be stronger and greater. By way of his expectations, he’s not taking a look at it like, ‘Oh, I’ve to slot in on a high line.’ (As a substitute it’s) ‘I’m simply right here to make the group, do what I can to make the group.’”
And that’s what he did. One 12 months after a coaching camp that modified his perspective on the sport, Cowan achieved his aim.
“You exit for dinner with among the guys and then you definately get house and also you begin to be like …” Cowan mentioned, staring off and combating the phrases as he realizes he’s referring to himself as an NHL participant.
As he does, he shakes his head and re-focuses.
The NHL beckons.
“Proper now I really feel like I’m in a great place,” Cowan mentioned, “however I’ve simply bought to maintain going.”
