Easton Cowan happy but not satisfied with NHL debut following loss vs. Red Wings

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost their second game in a row and second in as many games to the Detroit Red Wings, spoiling what was otherwise a solid debut for top prospect Easton Cowan.

Cowan made his NHL debut in a way that every kid dreams of, on home ice and skating on a line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. While Cowan didn’t register a point in his debut, he didn’t look out of place, which is all you can ask for. He finished the game with just under 15 minutes of ice time, three hits, and one shot on goal. It may not have been the headline-grabbing debut fans and media may have been hoping for, but he didn’t look out of place and did the little things right, which is a great way to make a good first impression on your coach. Cowan said that his teammates helped him ease into the game quickly.

“There’s a lot of good guys on this team, a lot of good leaders,” Cowan told reporters after the game. “They’re helping you out a lot. They’re always encouraging you. So I just went out there, played free and felt like I created a lot tonight.”

When you’re skating alongside players like Matthews and Knies as a rookie, you’re typically going to be asked to do the dirty work to make life easier for them. Go into the corners, retrieve pucks, and keep your feet moving. Cowan he understood the assignment in his debut.

“I felt like I did a good job of getting pucks, stripping guys, making plays and driving to the net hard,” Cowan continued. “Obviously, those are two good players [Matthews and Knies]. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with the two points tonight, but we’ll learn from it and keep on.”

Knies, who’s pretty green in the league himself, scored his first goal of the season on Monday night and had lots of good things to say about Cowan’s debut. The rookie came close to picking up his first point after finding Matthews for a breakaway, but Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot denied him of a goal.

“I think he did phenomenal with his puck play. That pass to Matty for that breakaway, that’s pretty elite,” Knies said.” He did a tremendous job in every zone. I think he played simple and made some great plays, so yeah, he was useful for us today.”

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz echoed Knies’ sentiments about Cowan, commending his ability to stand tall when opposing players turned up the heat from a physical standpoint.

“I thought he was solid. I think they were trying to run him out a couple of times, and he stood his ground,” Stolarz said. “Made some smart decisions with the puck and created some offence. Huge congratulations to him, it’s obviously a big moment. Hopefully he starts getting his feet under him, get a little more confidence. We all know the potential is there, but I thought he looked pretty good tonight.”

Not to take anything away from what Knies and Stolarz said, but the one person whose opinion on Cowan truly matters in this context is his coach. Craig Berube showed confidence in his rookie by putting him on the ice for a 6-on-5 at the end of the game, and referred back to Cowan’s compete and said he’s seen a ton of improvement in his game compared to this time last year.

“I thought, five foot plays all over the ice, he made a lot of them to them [Matthews and Knies],” Berube said of Cowan. “He was very good on the forecheck, he’s got great hockey IQ…totally different player [to last season]. Way more confident and direct, skating way better.”

It’s unknown whether Cowan will be back in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against Nashville, but for a first impression, Cowan passed the assignment and proved to his teammates and head coach that he’s capable of being an NHLer.