<p>Easton Cowan has been in the spotlight since being drafted by the Leafs at the end of the first round in the 2023 draft, elevating his standing in the hockey world to become one of the top prospects in the game, but that spotlight can be a blessing and a curse.</p>
<p>After an underwhelming showing a year ago, not only individually but for the entire team, Cowan was expected to be one of the leading figures in Team Canada&#8217;s pursuit of redemption at this year&#8217;s World Juniors. Things started well in a tournament-opening victory over Finland, where he scored a crucial insurance marker, but it was downhill from there for Cowan and the rest of his Canadian teammates.</p>
<p>Plenty of ink has been spilled on Canada&#8217;s poor performance at this year&#8217;s tournament after they were ousted in the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year, so there&#8217;s no need to further belabour that point here, but the attention Cowan has garnered over the last couple of years has led to him taking a disproportionate amount of criticism in the aftermath.</p>
<p>Sure, Cowan didn&#8217;t play up to the level that he&#8217;s capable of, and as a returning player in a key role, he deserves some of the blame for how things turned out, but it&#8217;s not as if he had many teammates who held up their end of the bargain either. Yes, he made poor decisions with the puck at times, and he took a bad penalty in a big moment, but the entire team struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure, and their overall lack of discipline was arguably the story of their tournament.</p>
<p>Cowan didn&#8217;t produce the way many expected him to or the way that he would have liked, but he still finished the tournament tied with captain Brayden Yager for the team-scoring lead with three points in five games &#8211; he just wasn&#8217;t able to take over games the way he has in the OHL. He looked tentative at times, and his game lacked pace when he didn&#8217;t have the puck on his stick despite dishing out a couple of big hits. A big part of Cowan&#8217;s offensive tool kit is his ability to slow down the game and dictate the pace of play when he is in possession, manipulating defenders to open up passing lanes or drawing in opposing players before beating them with a slick deke, but it&#8217;s hard to dictate the pace of the game without the puck on your stick. Cowan and the rest of Team Canada didn&#8217;t do enough to impose their will on the opposition and wear them down with sustained possession, and that lack of offensive execution was a huge factor in their downfall.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s tough to imagine the disappointment that Cowan and the rest of the Canadian team have felt since losing to Czechia in the quarter-finals, but it shouldn&#8217;t define any of them. Winning World Junior gold is a dream for any young prospect, perhaps even more so for Canadian kids who grew up with the tournament as a staple of their holiday season, but ultimately, it is a handful of games in what should be long careers for many of these players. This loss will sting for a while, but the future is still bright for Easton Cowan.</p>
<h2><strong>Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li>Miroslav Holinka was a part of the Czech team that delivered heartbreak to Canada, and he&#8217;s returning to his junior club in Edmonton with a medal around his neck. Czechia defeated Sweden in a shootout to earn bronze, with Holinka picking up an assist on Eduard Sale&#8217;s go-ahead goal in the second period to bring him up to four points in seven games for the tournament. He played big minutes for Czechia throughout and was instrumental in securing a third straight medal for his country. Despite being a 2024 draft pick, this was Holinka&#8217;s only shot at the World Juniors, as he will turn 20 next November.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">CZECHIA TAKES THE LEAD 👀</p>
<p>Eduard Sale capitalizes on the Sweden turnover.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://t.co/EtNRkabH18">pic.twitter.com/EtNRkabH18</a></p>
<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1876023663209672970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<ul>
<li>Dennis Hildeby got another opportunity with the Leafs as they took on the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night, and it was arguably the best he&#8217;s looked in the NHL thus far. He got off to a rough start, allowing a soft goal in the opening minutes of the game, but he was outstanding from there, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced to pick up a 3-2 overtime win. A tough outing against Columbus earlier in the season has hurt his overall numbers, but Hildeby is now 3-1-0 with a 3.23 GAA and .892 SV% at the NHL level, and his performance on Sunday has likely earned him the next look when Craig Berube has to turn to his backup.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hildeby follows up with a good sequence of his own <a href="https://t.co/Sz2iYlytsc">pic.twitter.com/Sz2iYlytsc</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1876064061345103897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<ul>
<li>Noah Chadwick keeps trucking along for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He scored his 10th goal of the season in a 2-1 win over Red Deer on December 30th and picked up an assist in a losing effort against the Edmonton Oil Kings over the weekend. Chadwick&#8217;s assist numbers are down a bit from last year, but he is just two goals off of last year&#8217;s total in 32 fewer games, and he is on pace for another 50-point season from the blue line. With each passing week, Chadwick is looking more like a player who will be up to the task when he begins his professional career with the Marlies next fall.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeafsForever?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeafsForever</a> prospect Noah Chadwick makes a slick move to shake a defender at the point and wires home his 10th goal of the season <a href="https://t.co/XKz8QHTlXk">pic.twitter.com/XKz8QHTlXk</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NickRichard/status/1873942768881721361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<ul>
<li>It has been a tough stretch for Artur Akhtyamov, but he was solid in a loss to Cleveland on Saturday. He made 25 saves on 27 shots, bumping his save percentage back above .900 for the season. Akhtyamov was a star for the Marlies to begin the season, and it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from his first bit of adversity in the AHL while Hildeby and Matt Murray appear slated to share the backup role at the NHL level for the time being.</li>
<li>Roni Hirvonen has been dealt another tough blow, having his recent hot streak halted by injury once again. The 2020 second-rounder has missed the Marlies&#8217; last three games and is currently listed as week-to-week.</li>
<li>The Cincinnati Cyclones have had a tough go of things in the ECHL this season, but they&#8217;ve won four of their last five games, and a trio of Leafs prospects have played a big part in their recent success. Braeden Kressler, who was just recently sent down, has three goals and three assists over that five-game stretch. Ty Voit missed Sunday&#8217;s game, but he has 11 points in his last 10 games after a slow start, and Vyacheslav Peksa has stopped 61 of the 65 shots he faced in two victories over the last week. The ECHL is a long way from the NHL, but prolonged success at that level will be key for all three players as they look to climb the organizational depth chart.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">And another one in the second 🚨 <a href="https://t.co/suWn9YlO0S">pic.twitter.com/suWn9YlO0S</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Cincinnati Cyclones (@CincyCyclones) <a href="https://twitter.com/CincyCyclones/status/1875369284396085251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<ul>
<li>2024 fourth-round pick Victor Johansson hasn&#8217;t carved out a spot in Sweden&#8217;s top league just yet, but he&#8217;s been highly productive at the junior level. After putting up just eight points in 34 games in the J20 Nationell a year ago, Johansson is already up to 28 points in 32 games this season, including a goal and seven assists over his last five games. He still has a lot of physical maturing to do, and that&#8217;s probably a big reason he has been mostly limited to playing at the junior level this season, but it looks like the Leafs were right about the Swedish blueliner having some untapped offensive potential.</li>
</ul>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
<h2 class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></h2>


Easton Cowan has been in the spotlight since being drafted by the Leafs at the end of the first round in the 2023 draft, elevating his standing in the hockey world to become one of the top prospects in the game, but that spotlight can be a blessing and a curse.

After an underwhelming showing a year ago, not only individually but for the entire team, Cowan was expected to be one of the leading figures in Team Canada's pursuit of redemption at this year's World Juniors. Things started well in a tournament-opening victory over Finland, where he scored a crucial insurance marker, but it was downhill from there for Cowan and the rest of his Canadian teammates.

Plenty of ink has been spilled on Canada's poor performance at this year's tournament after they were ousted in the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year, so there's no need to further belabour that point here, but the attention Cowan has garnered over the last couple of years has led to him taking a disproportionate amount of criticism in the aftermath.

Sure, Cowan didn't play up to the level that he's capable of, and as a returning player in a key role, he deserves some of the blame for how things turned out, but it's not as if he had many teammates who held up their end of the bargain either. Yes, he made poor decisions with the puck at times, and he took a bad penalty in a big moment, but the entire team struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure, and their overall lack of discipline was arguably the story of their tournament.

Cowan didn't produce the way many expected him to or the way that he would have liked, but he still finished the tournament tied with captain Brayden Yager for the team-scoring lead with three points in five games - he just wasn't able to take over games the way he has in the OHL. He looked tentative at times, and his game lacked pace when he didn't have the puck on his stick despite dishing out a couple of big hits. A big part of Cowan's offensive tool kit is his ability to slow down the game and dictate the pace of play when he is in possession, manipulating defenders to open up passing lanes or drawing in opposing players before beating them with a slick deke, but it's hard to dictate the pace of the game without the puck on your stick. Cowan and the rest of Team Canada didn't do enough to impose their will on the opposition and wear them down with sustained possession, and that lack of offensive execution was a huge factor in their downfall.

It's tough to imagine the disappointment that Cowan and the rest of the Canadian team have felt since losing to Czechia in the quarter-finals, but it shouldn't define any of them. Winning World Junior gold is a dream for any young prospect, perhaps even more so for Canadian kids who grew up with the tournament as a staple of their holiday season, but ultimately, it is a handful of games in what should be long careers for many of these players. This loss will sting for a while, but the future is still bright for Easton Cowan.
<h2><strong>Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:</strong></h2>
<ul>
 	<li>Miroslav Holinka was a part of the Czech team that delivered heartbreak to Canada, and he's returning to his junior club in Edmonton with a medal around his neck. Czechia defeated Sweden in a shootout to earn bronze, with Holinka picking up an assist on Eduard Sale's go-ahead goal in the second period to bring him up to four points in seven games for the tournament. He played big minutes for Czechia throughout and was instrumental in securing a third straight medal for his country. Despite being a 2024 draft pick, this was Holinka's only shot at the World Juniors, as he will turn 20 next November.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1876023663209672970
<ul>
 	<li>Dennis Hildeby got another opportunity with the Leafs as they took on the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night, and it was arguably the best he's looked in the NHL thus far. He got off to a rough start, allowing a soft goal in the opening minutes of the game, but he was outstanding from there, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced to pick up a 3-2 overtime win. A tough outing against Columbus earlier in the season has hurt his overall numbers, but Hildeby is now 3-1-0 with a 3.23 GAA and .892 SV% at the NHL level, and his performance on Sunday has likely earned him the next look when Craig Berube has to turn to his backup.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1876064061345103897
<ul>
 	<li>Noah Chadwick keeps trucking along for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He scored his 10th goal of the season in a 2-1 win over Red Deer on December 30th and picked up an assist in a losing effort against the Edmonton Oil Kings over the weekend. Chadwick's assist numbers are down a bit from last year, but he is just two goals off of last year's total in 32 fewer games, and he is on pace for another 50-point season from the blue line. With each passing week, Chadwick is looking more like a player who will be up to the task when he begins his professional career with the Marlies next fall.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/_NickRichard/status/1873942768881721361
<ul>
 	<li>It has been a tough stretch for Artur Akhtyamov, but he was solid in a loss to Cleveland on Saturday. He made 25 saves on 27 shots, bumping his save percentage back above .900 for the season. Akhtyamov was a star for the Marlies to begin the season, and it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from his first bit of adversity in the AHL while Hildeby and Matt Murray appear slated to share the backup role at the NHL level for the time being.</li>
 	<li>Roni Hirvonen has been dealt another tough blow, having his recent hot streak halted by injury once again. The 2020 second-rounder has missed the Marlies' last three games and is currently listed as week-to-week.</li>
 	<li>The Cincinnati Cyclones have had a tough go of things in the ECHL this season, but they've won four of their last five games, and a trio of Leafs prospects have played a big part in their recent success. Braeden Kressler, who was just recently sent down, has three goals and three assists over that five-game stretch. Ty Voit missed Sunday's game, but he has 11 points in his last 10 games after a slow start, and Vyacheslav Peksa has stopped 61 of the 65 shots he faced in two victories over the last week. The ECHL is a long way from the NHL, but prolonged success at that level will be key for all three players as they look to climb the organizational depth chart.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/CincyCyclones/status/1875369284396085251
<ul>
 	<li>2024 fourth-round pick Victor Johansson hasn't carved out a spot in Sweden's top league just yet, but he's been highly productive at the junior level. After putting up just eight points in 34 games in the J20 Nationell a year ago, Johansson is already up to 28 points in 32 games this season, including a goal and seven assists over his last five games. He still has a lot of physical maturing to do, and that's probably a big reason he has been mostly limited to playing at the junior level this season, but it looks like the Leafs were right about the Swedish blueliner having some untapped offensive potential.</li>
</ul>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
<h2 class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></h2>

Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Disappointing WJC shouldn’t define Cowan, Holinka earns a medal

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