Why Easton Cowan’s world juniors tournament won’t define his Maple Leafs future

Easton Cowan stared at the lineup of Czechia players celebrating in front of him. His shoulders lowered, the look on his face grew hollower and he buried his head in his gloves. For the second year in a row, Cowan was far from where he wanted to be.

With a loss to Czechia, the top Toronto Maple Leafs prospect’s world juniors tournament was over in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

“It hurts a lot, I love those guys in there,” Cowan told TSN after Thursday’s game, speaking about his Canada teammates. “A sh—y feeling, to be honest.”

The 19-year-old Cowan entered the tournament on a high. He hung around Leafs training camp longer than his junior hockey peers. Cowan is one of the better players in the OHL. And after being a surprise addition to the world juniors lineup in 2024, the Easton Cowan of 2025 became a top-line player who was one of Canada’s better skaters in the pre-tournament games, too.

And yet because of those expectations, the spotlight on Cowan seemed to go from bright to piercing as Canada’s fortunes dipped this tournament.

After a stretch of suboptimal performances in losses to Latvia, the United States and Czechia, Cowan received an excessive amount of hate on social media. That’s very likely because of who he is: a lauded Leafs prospect, drafted in the first round in 2023. Players drafted into wildly popular yet divisive teams like the Leafs are subject to criticism in a way most other prospects are not.

Cowan played like a young man with the weight of expectations on his shoulders. His blend of playmaking and tenaciousness seemed lost as Cowan instead tried to consistently force plays. On a team that either left plenty of quality scorers at home or out of the lineup, Cowan can’t be blamed for trying the heavy lifting himself.

Yes, Cowan took a wholly unnecessary penalty late in the third period against the United States on Tuesday. The Americans capitalized on the power play, adding salt in the wound. Cowan wasn’t alone in his undisciplined play, however. Canada’s continual penalties late in crucial games was its undoing.

But now that Cowan’s disappointing tournament is over, will his performance negatively impact his Leafs future?

If anything, the Leafs likely believe the opposite.

“You want to do what’s right for the long term,” Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said ahead of the season, when many believed Cowan should make the Leafs roster.

As much as the Leafs could use young, impactful players on cheap entry-level contracts — who couldn’t? — they understand that with a player whose game is built partly on emotion, development will take time. The payoff could be worth it.

Come next season, Cowan will be eligible to play for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. He wouldn’t require waivers to move back and forth between the AHL and the NHL if necessary, just as Fraser Minten has done this season.

Why would a few games in which Cowan was placed in a situation that doesn’t really apply to the Leafs change that course?

The role Cowan has played with Canada is important to note here: The Easton Cowan who was expected to contribute offensively in a first-line role is not the Easton Cowan who will play in the NHL. Cowan has skill in his game, but his worker bee attitude, peskiness and physicality make him better suited for an energetic third-line role in the pros. Being dynamic in different areas of the ice and responsible defensively with some goals here and there could end up making him valuable to the Leafs.

That’s not who he was expected to be for Canada. But it’s what the Leafs would like him to be, eventually.

With that in mind, how could the Leafs then judge his tournament to be a failure? Or how could it drastically alter their plans for him? You wouldn’t fault a service technician apprentice for not fully knowing his way under the hood of a Chevrolet Caprice, would you?

As bad as Cowan might feel after his final world junior games for Canada, he can rest assured knowing those games will not define his career. Take Jake McCabe, who captained the United States to a gold medal in 2013.

“What’s more important is how you react from situations,” McCabe said of Cowan.

McCabe is 31 and in the middle of a successful NHL career. He knows what Cowan may likely come to learn: A few games over the holidays when you’re a teenager can turn into great memories, but they won’t necessarily change the trajectory of a career.

“Long term, it’s an experience that’s on a really big stage and there’s heightened pressure and people are watching so you want to perform really well,” McCabe said. “Whether it goes good or bad for you, you still have those experiences, so I think it’s a net positive no matter how it goes.”

Within the Leafs’ system, there are plenty of reminders of how a great world juniors doesn’t necessarily lead to NHL success.

Toronto’s trio of Finnish prospects — Topi Niemela, Roni Hirvonen and Mikko Kokkonen — all had strong showings in a bronze medal win at the 2021 world juniors. Niemela was named the best defenceman in the tournament. These weren’t late picks, either. These three prospects were critical pieces for Finland. At the time, they felt like players with possible Leafs futures, too.

Each remains in the AHL four years later. The likelihood of them cracking the Leafs roster feels low right now. That’s partly because of circumstances beyond their control. But their games haven’t developed to the point the Leafs couldn’t say no to NHL chances, either.

A discouraging world juniors shouldn’t write a player off in the NHL, either.

Minten captained last year’s Canada team to a quarterfinals exit. Minten had a slightly underwhelming tournament but was also thrust higher up the lineup than he probably should have been.

A year later, Minten has played more NHL games than AHL games, impressed in his most recent stint with the Leafs and, frankly, might still warrant a look with regular NHL games.

His world juniors undoubtedly felt like a distant memory to him, the Leafs coaching staff and Leafs fans when he potted two goals in five games this season. What was more topical was how much more consistent Minten looked in his play compared to a year earlier.

Max Domi understands the pressure that comes with playing at the world juniors. He was a star for Canada when it won gold in Toronto in 2015. That pressure might have helped him, but again, Domi agreed that what players do at the world juniors does not define them.

“At the same time, it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing hockey in my life,” Domi said. “It certainly helped shape me into the player I am today.”

So while Cowan might take some heat for his play over five games, let’s remember what NHL coaches value: consistency. And that’s what Cowan is delivering in the OHL. He’s in the middle of a ridiculous 56-game point streak spread across two regular seasons.

Because of what he’s done over a larger sample size, it’s likely little changes for Cowan’s future. Whether it’s with the Leafs out of training camp or in the AHL with the Marlies, Cowan will play in Toronto next season. The Leafs showed no desire to move him at last season’s trade deadline, with his value high in the middle of an OHL MVP season. A poor showing at the world juniors won’t affect how the Leafs treat Cowan ahead of the upcoming deadline, either.

The Leafs will feel even better about Cowan’s future if he can rebound from what happened to him over a few weeks in Ottawa and emerge as a stronger and more hardened player because of it.

(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)