Since Kyle Dubas is no longer the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team may be looking for insight from another MLSE executive on proper roster creation. In the NBA, the Toronto Raptors are known for their penchant for crafting athletic excellence, developing their skills over time, and teaching players how to excel better with their elite physical talents. Sometimes the score is Bruno Caboclo, other times Pascal Siakam.
For years, the Maple Leafs’ draft strategy has been selecting high-risk, high-scoring players, often undersized forwards who have shown the ability to create elite-rate offense. While the thought of Alex DeBrincat’s next draft pick is an exciting one, the strategy fails to pan out in Toronto, where players like Nick Robertson and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev struggle to adapt to the size and speed of professional hockey, often getting injured in the process.
During the 2023 NHL Draft, the Maple Leafs surprised the league by selecting Easton Cowan 28th overall, despite many polls predicting he wouldn’t be taken until the third round. While selection seems off the board, a look at the combined NHL’s performance suddenly reveals a lot of value residing within the London Knights winger.
Kwan was one of the top performers in the NHL, and perhaps the best overall in measures of agile fitness. He finished near the top in a number of tests and drills, including first overall in both left and right professional shuttle runs, often referred to as the cone drill which measures a player’s speed, agility, and ability to change direction.
Kwan also finished with the 3rd-best VO2max (a cardiovascular measure of the body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently), tied for 10th-most consecutive pull-ups, 10th-lowest body fat, 17th-highest vertical jump, 21st-highest no-arm jump jump.
It can be easy to forget how young these draft prospects are, and remember that, at 18 years old, they still have a lot of growing and developing left to do. Much like the Toronto Raptors have done with several draft picks over the years, the Maple Leafs seem to see Easton Cowan as an unfinished project that can turn into a sports star with the right tuning.
This hypothesis is supported by Cowan’s development in Borders last season. Despite scoring only 53 points in 68 games during the OHL regular season, Cowan exploded in the playoffs with a 21-point performance in 20 games. Those 21 points were the 10th among all OHL skaters in the playoffs, as teammate Oliver Bonk was the only other rookie to have even half as many playoff points, finishing with 11 himself.
The Easton Cowan who started the 2022/2023 OHL season, is not the same one who finished it. Over the course of one season, the Ontario-born winger has excelled in his development, and his combined results suggest there’s more to come. Toronto Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting Wes Clark noted that they weren’t the only franchise in the NHL who noticed either, stating that part of his job was gathering information and he had good authority that other teams have Cowan in high esteem. lists.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs’ draft strategy does indeed shift from going purely skills to drafting for athleticism and internally specific skill development, it could provide the extra depth the Maple Leafs need further down the lineup. Two years ago, Toronto selected another player whose physical talents far outweighed his raw skills when they recruited Matthew Kniss. Now, heading into the 2023/24 season, Knies is already expected to be in the middle of the Maple Leafs’ regular line-up, while a number of young skill players picked years ago struggle to crack the lineup.
Easton Cowan being only 5’11 might suggest he’s another undersized forward that the Maple Leafs risk. However, it is his athletic profile and spine-tingling mentality that a number of coaches and scouts have commended to suggest he is less the next Nick Robertson and more than the next Nazim Qadri (who is only an inch taller than Kwan).
With the Maple Leafs’ development camp starting next week, we’ll get our first look at how Kwan handled himself in the blue and white uniform. First impressions mean everything, and he’ll want to prove that he wasn’t an out-of-the-box pick, but instead a turn in the direction of athletic prowess for the Maple Leafs’ scouting department.