CHL notebook: Cowan, Maple Leafs prospect, extends point streak to 31

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.
 
Easton Cowan is trying to keep the one-game-at-a-time focus that's allowed him to succeed this season, but it's starting to get a bit harder for the Toronto Maple Leafs forward prospect.
 
A 31-game point streak tends to bring an increased level of attention.
 
"I think I'm pretty good with trying to dial in," Cowan said. "The media stuff and all that, push it to the side when I've got a game. Obviously, there's a lot of media here in London and Toronto too. I kind of enjoy it and I think it's cool but I kind of just push that aside during the game and focus on what I can control."
 
Cowan had an assist in London's 6-1 win against Sarnia on Friday to give him 58 points (23 goals, 35 assists) during his streak. It's the longest in the OHL since Brett MacLean had a 32-game run for Oshawa in 2007-08, and he's nearing the London record of 33 straight games, set by Dave Gilmore in 1993-94.
 
He has done more than just have a good run. The 18-year-old has 86 points (32 goals, 54 assists) in 49 games, up from the 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) he had in 68 games last season, but it was after that season that the Maple Leafs selected Cowan with the No. 28 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft.

It was a surprise selection, with Cowan No. 51 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2023 draft, but Maple Leafs assistant general manager, player development Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser said there was something different about Cowan that she and the Toronto amateur scouting staff noticed in pre-draft interviews that pushed Cowan up their draft board.
 
"I got an opportunity to interview him along the draft process with some of our development staff and some of our management staff, and just to ask him sort of rapid-fire, point-blank questions," Wickenheiser said. "And there certainly was something that jumped out at me, that this kid has got some intangibles that you don't see in every hockey player, and the special ones tend to jump out at you in those environments. Very sure of himself. Not in a cocky way, but just confident … sort of an attitude of, he's not going to be denied, whatever that obstacle is and what gets put in front of him, he's the kind of kid that will find his way around it, and belief in himself, which I think is a fine line to walk, believing in yourself vs. appearing arrogant or overconfident.
 
"And I think there's a little bit of, 'I'll prove you wrong,' in Easton, just along the way of maybe not being drafted as high as he believed he could be and then being able to perform at every step that he's been in."
 
Cowan said he saw the doubters after he was selected by the Maple Leafs, but never let it affect him. 
 
"I really just trusted myself and obviously the Leafs trust me," he said. "I'm really happy they believed in me and they're believing in me so that means a lot to me. Whether people love it or hate it that I was a first-round pick … I'm just going to do what I keep doing."
 
Cowan started to show how smart the Maple Leafs were during training camp, when he had three points (one goal, two assists) in four preseason games. It provided the fuel he needed to make the jump he has this season.
 
"I felt like I can produce up there so I felt like I could produce down here," Cowan said.

The Maple Leafs have been following closely, and thought the point streak is exciting, Wickenheiser said there are other details in Cowan's game that give them hope he can be an impact player.
 
"We know he can put points up, we know he can play at the junior level in every situation," she said. "When I keep saying the details of the game, it's just appropriate shift length, changing at the right time, utilizing his teammates when it's time to make a play or carrying the puck when it's time to lug the puck, so understanding the moment and the different situations, being able to play through all three zones of the ice, not cheating the game for offense. … 
 
"We just talk to him about those types of habits that are going to translate to the NHL level and then also at the same time not to lose the qualities that make him the elite player that he is, which is, he plays with passion and an intensity. He doesn't back down from physical confrontation. He gets into the middle of the ice and continues to play in tough areas. All the things that make him great, just to enhance that.
 
"Especially at this time of year when you're playing for a Memorial Cup or getting through the playoffs. That's what really separates the good players from the great ones, and I think he has the potential to do that."

OTHERS TO WATCH

Owen Beck, C, Saginaw: The Montreal Canadiens prospect had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) during a season-high 12-game point streak that ended in a 3-2 overtime loss to Flint on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, a second-round pick (No. 33) in the 2022 NHL Draft, has 71 points (33 goals, 38 assists) in 51 games, including 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 26 games since he was traded to Saginaw by Peterborough on Jan. 8.
 
Jeremy Langlois, D, Rouyn-Noranda: The Arizona Coyotes prospect had his first five-point game (all assists) in five seasons playing in the QMJHL in a 7-4 win against Chicoutimi on March 1. The 20-year-old, selected in the third round (No. 94) of the 2022 draft, has 56 points (15 goals, 41 assists) and a plus-37 rating in 55 games this season.
 
Jagger Firkus, C, Moose Jaw: The Seattle Kraken prospect had a goal and two assists against Wenatchee on March 3 to give him 14 points (nine goals, five assists) during a seven-game point streak. The 19-year-old had a seven-game goal streak end Friday, the second time he's had such a run this season. Selected by the Kraken in the second round (No. 35) of the 2022 draft, Firkus leads the WHL with 110 points (50 goals, 60 assists) in 57 games.