Chris Tanev could bring a unique set of defensive skills to Team Canada, depending on the specific qualities the team prioritizes for the upcoming mid-season tournament. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan will attend Team Canada's World Junior selection camp, but will not participate for precautionary reasons. Canada announced the move on Monday morning, one day before the selection camp begins at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario. The Anaheim Ducks' 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke has been added to the roster. After extending his unofficial point streak to 56 games on Saturday against the Oshawa Generals, Cowan was on the receiving end of a massive hit by Zack Sandhu in the neutral zone. The London Knights forward was slow to get up and ultimately left the game. Cowan has had a strong start to his season with London, scoring 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games. During his 56-game point streak — which spans two seasons, going all the way back to Nov. 25, 2023 — the forward has 38 goals and 56 assists for 94 points. According to The Athletic's Joshua Kloke, Cowan is dealing with whiplash, however, there's no concern that he'll miss the World Juniors later this month. Cowan represented Canada at the tournament last year and scored one goal and one assist through five games. He and Canada made it to the quarterfinals, but fell 3-2 to Czechia, thus ending their tournament. During the team's Summer Showcase earlier this year, Cowan said he wanted to be more of a leader at this year's tournament, which takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2025. "I just want to show some leadership. I think I bring a lot of leadership this year," Cowan told reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters, at the Summer Showcase. "I think I have a lot of stuff under my belt that will help me be a leader this year, be someone that the younger guys can ask, look up to a bit." The Maple Leafs selected Cowan in the first round (28th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft. He signed his entry-level contract two months later on Aug. 11, 2023, and has been a part of Toronto's last round of cuts during training camp the past two years. Cowan has 176 points (69 goals, 107 assists) in 147 games with the Knights since entering the OHL in 2021.
