Minten and Cowan are two of 30 players named to the selection camp, which will take place in Oakville, Ontario from Dec. 10-13.
Minten and Cowan are two of 30 players named to the selection camp, which will take place in Oakville, Ontario from Dec. 10-13.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans could see two familiar faces when Team Canada heads to Sweden for the World Junior Championships.
Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan have been invited to Team Canada's World Junior selection camp, which begins in less than a weeks time.
Minten, a second-round pick (38th overall) by Toronto in the 2022 NHL Draft, has had an interesting season to date. The 19-year-old made the Maple Leafs out of training camp and appeared in four games with the club, mainly centring the third line.
Although he didn't have any points during his time in the NHL, it was a major win for Toronto because no one expected Minten to challenge for a roster spot this early in his career.
After being sent back to the WHL on Oct. 27, the 19-year-old was named captain of the Kamloops Blazers and had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in seven games before being traded to the Saskatoon Blades on Nov. 24.
Since then, the forward has played four games with Saskatoon, registering three points (one goal, two assists) in that span.
Cowan was another surprise during Maple Leafs training camp earlier this fall. The 18-year-old was a surprise selection by Toronto, who drafted him with their first-round pick during the 2023 NHL Draft.
From Maple Leafs development camp this past summer, all the way to training camp in September and October, Cowan impressed. Toronto sent the 18-year-old back to the OHL's London Knights on Oct. 11 after making all the way to the end of training camp.
After returning to the OHL, Cowan has 34 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in just 21 games this season. He's been a key contributor to the Knights this year and is second among the team in points. Cowan is also 13th among all OHL skaters in points.
There's 30 players participating in Canada's camp next week and the roster will need to be trimmed down to 25 when the tournament begins on Boxing Day. The World Junior Championships will be held in Sweden and runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
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