Auston Matthews and John Tavares take pair of Maple Leafs rookies under their wing ahead of camp

Former and current Maple Leafs captains John Tavares and Auston Matthews are taking a pair of rookies under their wing before the start of training camp.

There appears to be no issues with the change in leadership for the Toronto Maple Leafs following the recent transfer of the captaincy from Tavares to Matthews. The new and former captains have been skating with promising rookies Cowan and Minten in Bracebridge, Ontario, before training camp begins.

Both Cowan and Minten have a significant opportunity to make the Maple Leafs out of camp, especially if they perform well during the preseason.

Minten, the 38th overall pick in the second round in 2022, actually made the Maple Leafs out of camp last season, appearing in four games before being sent down to his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers. There, he tallied 10 points in seven games before being traded to the Saskatoon Blades, where he recorded 38 points in 36 WHL games. Minten also captained the Canadian World Junior squad last season, though the team fell short of a medal.

Cowan had an outstanding season last year, earning numerous personal awards and an OHL championship. He scored 96 points in 56 games for the London Knights and added 34 points in 18 playoff games. Cowan won the OHL's most outstanding player award (Red Tilson Trophy), led the playoffs in points, and took home the MVP of the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, voted the most outstanding player in the playoffs.

While both players have different specialties, they are likely to make a strong push to become NHL regulars for the Maple Leafs next season.

Tavares has a long history of taking care of rookies in Toronto. Both Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten have given rave reviews after living in the Tavares household for a time in their rookie seasons. It appears as though this may be Tavares' way of passing on the tradition of the captain taking care of the kids to Matthews, along with the "C".

Source: HockeyDBFraser Minten Statistics

Source: Hockey DBEaston Cowan Statistics

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