Easton Cowan has the chance to achieve something only three other CHL players have done in history.
Easton Cowan and the London Knights take on the Memorial Cup hosts, Saginaw Spirit, in the final game of the CHL 2023-24 season.
After being selected in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he grew up cheering for, Cowan has put together a season in major junior that will be remembered.
Many “Experts” took to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize the Maple Leafs for their selection of Cowan, claiming they could’ve gotten him in the third round of the draft instead. Those complaints have turned into praises.
The young kid from Mount Brydges, Ontario had a terrific training camp with the Maple Leafs, and almost made the opening night roster. Sending him back to junior was definitely the right call, as it gave him the opportunity to showcase to the hockey world that he is one of the top prospects outside of the NHL.
You can have your pick at what has been the biggest achievement for him this season. Is it winning the OHL regular season, Red Tilson MVP Trophy? How about winning the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for OHL Playoff MVP? Or the incredible 42-game point streak he had this season?
“I love playing on the big stage. People are like ‘Oh do you like that Easton?’ I love it, personally. I love cameras on you with everyone watching you. When the lights are on it really shows you how big you are and how mature you are on and off the ice,” Cowan said to TSN’s Mark Masters in an interview a few weeks ago.
Winning the regular season and playoff MVP in the same season is no easy feat. There have only been six players in the history of the CHL to do that. With five points in three games at the 2024 Memorial Cup, Cowan could complete the trifecta if London were to win tomorrow night and his name is announced as the Memorial Cup MVP.
Only three players in CHL history have won regular season, playoffs, and Memorial Cup MVP, in the same season. Crazy enough, two of those players did it while playing for the London Knights.
The first player to do it was Brad Richards in 1999-2000 with the Rimouski Océanic. Then Corey Perry achieved it with the London Knights in 2004-05. And the last player to do it was Mitch Marner in 2015-16 with once again, the London Knights.
Two of those three players have gone on to win the Stanley Cup and have incredible NHL careers, while the ladder has been over a point-per-game player in his 576 games in the show, and was a Selke finalist in 2022-23.
Cowan isn’t a lock to win MVP if London beats Saginaw tomorrow. His teammates, Michael Simpson and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk have both been outstanding in the tournament and surely have their hats in the ring.
However, if he were to win the Stafford Smythe Trophy, he would join elite company with Perry, Richards, and Marner, and put a cap on his incredible season. This also could be his last game in major junior as he prepares over the summer to make the Maple Leafs 2024-25 opening night roster.