NHL or OHL: Maple Leafs Announce Official Decision on Top Prospect Easton Cowan

Coming into training camp, the top story in Toronto was quite arguably what may happen with Easton Cowan Un 2024-25. Before camp commenced, the prevailing thought was that the London Knights standout was ready for the big time. However, as we found out quickly during the pre-season, Cowan has taken steps, but is not quite ready for the show just yet.

Per an announcement from the Maple Leafs' official PR team on Twitter/X, Cowan has indeed been returned to London for his 19-year-old season.

When it was announced that Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz would be coming in on PTOs this fall, it became very clear that the Leafs were banking on plenty of competition for the organization's remaining roster spots. Unfortunately for Cowan, the added competition meant added pressure, to which he could not rise to the occasion.

Cowan going back down to junior is not all bad. He'll now have some time to continue to add some muscle mass and work on his strength and conditioning while not having to also endure a rigorous 82-game NHL schedule right away.

Cowan also recently revealed that he'd like to add another layer to his game, becoming a bit more of a scrapper when the situation calls for it -- much like what Max Domi is for the Maple Leafs now.

The hope is that Cowan will be able to go back and replicate the success that he enjoyed with the Knights last season, perhaps repeating as OHL champions and maybe adding a Memorial Cup championship to their trophy case as well.