Easton Cowan will feature in his third straight preseason game in his bid to make the opening night lineup, as a Maple Leafs group light on NHL regulars takes on the Canadiens in Montreal (7:00 p.m., TSN2/TSN4).
Game Day Quotes
Scott Laughton on Easton Cowan’s camp so far and his line with Cowan and Steven Lorentz:
[Cowan] has been good. He holds onto pucks. He is a big competitor. He gets in on pucks and plays simply, but you can tell he has a lot of skill, and he uses it.
He was fun to play with the other night with [Lorentz]. We’ll try to build on it and build some chemistry through camp. We’ll see where it takes us. It is one game at a time.
I remember being his age in that spot going through it. It is hard at this time of year, but he has handled it really well. He has a good head on his shoulders.
He has handled himself really well and played the right way. That is big with Chief. You have to play the right way and make good decisions with the puck. He’s done that.
When you come from junior, it is different. You are probably playing 20-22 minutes a night. You are getting all of those touches and looks. You are holding onto pucks way more. You have more time and space. It is a different game.
When you come up here, the biggest thing is that your time is so limited with the puck. You can’t make those plays that you always want to. He has done a really good job of putting pucks in. Steven and I are pretty straightforward and make it pretty simple.
I think it is good for his game and good for our game. It has been a good fit so far.
Steven Lorentz on Easton Cowan’s camp and preseason so far:
Everybody can tell the growth that he’s made, even going back to last year’s camp, and with what he did this past season in junior hockey.
Being able to play on a line with him, his skill stands out more than anything. When he has the puck on his stick, that is when he is comfortable. You can tell the comfort is there even when he is playing without the puck.
That is a sign of maturing as a professional. That is what the management and everyone want to see: being able to play that pro game with and without the puck. I think he has made tremendous strides.
He was in all the right spots with Laughton and me in the last game. It was a lot of fun playing with him. If he keeps on this trajectory, he’s going to be in good shape.
Lorentz on Cowan’s defensive game:
In the last game, I didn’t really notice it, and that is probably a good thing. In the regular season and playoffs, you don’t want to think about whether a guy is going to be in a good spot or if you have to go bail a guy out. You just trust that he is going to do his job.
[Cowan] did his job in a great way in his first game. In the defensive zone, I don’t think we had a whole lot of shifts, but when we did, he was defensively sound. He was in all of the right spots, which is a great sign.
The good thing about him: He is willing to learn. You can tell him little things on the ice. It is not even nitpicking with him; it is just little pointers or tricks of the trade. He is willing to listen.
It is a great sign for a young pro trying to break his way in.
Lorentz on Cowan’s contributions to the line offensively:
It gives us more opportunities to be able to create offense. We told him that we are going to be a little bit heavier. We will get those pucks in the corners, and you just use your offensive instincts to find the right spots. We’ll try to get you the puck.
You saw some plays last game where he is finding that open ice. He had a few grade-As right in the slot. If he continues to do that, the goals and points will come. He is going to get some confidence. Look out then.
Craig Berube on the decision to run Lorentz-Laughton-Cowan together for a second straight preseason game:
I like the way Cowan is playing. It is another good opportunity for him to go up and play. [Montreal] is going to have a pretty good lineup, I’d imagine. I want to see that line up there. They’ll be playing against good players. It is an opportunity to see what he can do, and what the line can do together.
Berube on Cowan’s game:
He has very good instincts for the game, especially on the offensive side of things. He is a highly competitive player; he is so competitive on his stick and when battling for pucks. He skates well.
There is a lot of upside there — not only offensively, but good offensive players, most of the time, have the instincts to play good defense, whether you are killing a penalty or what have you. They know what offensive guys are going to do. They can anticipate.
He is a guy who anticipates the game well, for me.
Berube on whether Cowan is more competitive at this year’s camp:
Way more. Last year, he may have come in with too high expectations. There was a lot of talk about him throughout the summer by [the media] that he was going to make the team. I am kidding, but in the year before, he had a really good game, right? I think it built up on him a little bit and got ahead of him.
This year, he had a great summer. He looks stronger and bigger. In terms of his expectations, he is not looking at it like, “Oh, I have to fit in on a top line. I am just here to make the team, do what I can to make the team, and do what I have to do to make the team.”
Michael Pezzetta on returning to Montreal as a member of the Leafs:
It will be fun. I spent a lot of time there. There will be some emotions. It will be fun to be back in the building, playing a hard game on the other side now.
I don’t think there is a better ticket in hockey than when Toronto and Montreal play each other. It is always a game that if you can’t get up for it, there is probably something wrong with you.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #53 Easton Cowan
#74 Bobby McMann – #64 David Kampf – #63 Matias Maccelli
#81 Dakota Joshua – #26 Jacob Quillan – #71 Vinni Lettieri
#61 Michael Pezzetta – #29 Bo Groulx – #77 Ryan Tverberg
Defensemen
#36 Dakota Mermis – #51 Philippe Myers
#83 Marshall Rifai – #3 Henry Thrun
#52 Cade Webber – #33 Matt Benning
Goaltenders
#35 Dennis Hildeby
#50 Vyacheslav Peksa
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
#13 Cole Caufield – #14 Nick Suzuki – #20 Juraj Slafkovsky
#92 Patrik Laine – #77 Kirby Dach – #93 Ivan Demidov
#89 Joshua Roy – #96 Vinzenz Rohrer – #46 Filip Mesar
#49 Jared Davidson – #63 Florian Xhekaj – #88 Luke Tuch
Defensemen
#8 Mike Matheson – #53 Noah Dobson
#21 Kaiden Guhle – #64 David Reinbacher
Ryan O’Rourke – #44 Nate Clurman
Goaltenders
#35 Samuel Montembeault
#32 Jacob Fowler
