At the start of 2025 Development Camp, Assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser discussed Esaton Cowan’s NHL readiness, Ben Danford, Victor Johansson, and Luke Haymes’ development, and the structure of dev camp this summer.
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What led to the decision to keep Easton Cowan off the ice this week?
Wickenheiser: He has played over 100 games in the last couple of seasons. It was more about allowing him to have a bit of recovery time and downtime. He is going to have a big few months coming up. It allows him to train, more importantly, off the ice right now, put on some of the weight he’s lost through the season, and get some rest.
What have you made of Cowan’s progress in the time you’ve known him?
Wickenheiser: I think he made a big jump this year. He is a great kid. The intangibles that he brings — he plays with a lot of passion, a lot of drive, and there was the way he conducted himself as a leader and impact player, especially in the Memorial Cup. He produced and led the team. The habits he needs to play pro we saw improve in the latter half of the year.
What is the next step for Cowan? What does he need to focus on to make the leap?
Wickenheiser: The next step for Easton is the pro habits we talk about. In junior, you can get away with long shifts and lagging or not tracking back pucks. We talk a lot about the things that will translate to being an everyday, impact pro player: cleaning up those areas of the ice, being able to play on the inside and with pace day in and day out, and being physically strong so that when he comes in, he can handle the grind that it is.
Cowan said he feels as though he has really improved from a puck-management standpoint. From your perspective, is that really what he needs to do to get to the next level — the skill set is there, but it is about how he utilizes the skill set?
Wickenheiser: Yeah, he has an NHL skill set. I agree it is puck management. It is about what you do with the puck at both blue lines, not turning pucks over in soft areas of the ice, being able to drive deep, take the puck to the net, and hound and hunt the puck — which he does really well, but in junior, he can turn it on and off when he wanted to. Over the latter half of the season, we saw a really big improvement in that way.
How close to NHL-ready do you think Cowan is?
Wickenheiser: Time will tell. I guess that is the question we are all asking ourselves. The money is on him that he will be fit enough and prepared enough. The experience to be able to step in and play — we’ll see very quickly when camp starts.
What have you made of Ben Danford’s progress?
Wickenheiser: Similar to Easton, Ben has continued to improve. The thing I have noticed is that his game is starting to calm down. He is a great skater. He moves as well as anyone on the ice here.
Sometimes, he tries to do too much when he plays in the OHL with Oshawa. We have just been talking to him about taking the time to play calmly and to get on inside lanes to block shots. He has spent a little bit of time with Chris Tanev this summer already. That is a big influence on him, just watching how Chris carries himself day in and day out.
What has it been like to have Jake Muzzin on the development staff?
Wickenheiser: These players love and look up to the players who played. Any time a guy like Jake, Chris, or Kyle Clifford — who is around as well — talk, they listen. They have been through it. They know what it is like. They bring a lot of wisdom and experience that they can relate to.
Having those guys around has an impact that you can only really do if you were a player. That is the special part of it.
Is Mark Giordano pitching in as well?
Wickenheiser: Mark has been around. I am not sure what he has worked out with Tre in terms of moving forward with the role, but he certainly knows the organization and has been around. I think he is interested in the coaching and development side of things.
We are picking his brain. I have known Gio for a long time. He is another guy who brings however many years of NHL experience as well.
What did you think of Rhett Parsons and Matthew Hlacar dropping the gloves? What goes through your mind when you see that?
Wickenheiser: “Oh no!”
We don’t want guys to fight in development camp. We talk about it. We want you to compete, but no one needs to get hurt. But for those two, that is what they do. It is part of their game. The opportunity arose where it came up.
We talked to both of them. They were fine with it afterward. You don’t want to see it, but the game is full of emotion, and at the same time, you are happy to see guys playing with emotion and passion, wanting to make an impact.
There is a fine line to walk. I am sure we won’t see it again.
Rhett Parsons & Matthew Hlacar drop the gloves during Leafs development camp @BarDown pic.twitter.com/RRhUME6pSc
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 3, 2025
Victor Johansson has put on some weight since last summer. What differences have you noticed in him this year compared to last year?
Wickenheiser: He has really improved. He put on about 20 pounds over the last year or so. He said to me today after the fight that he had never seen that before on the ice. I said, “Welcome to the NHL.” He had a big smile on his face. If you know Victor, he always has a big smile.
He plays with a bit of a mean, nasty streak, but often, they are not fighting in Sweden like that. His game has calmed down. He is an elite skater. He made some really nice plays out there with the puck. He continues to have more and more composure.
He will play professionally with the SHL in Leksands this year. We really like him.
What have you seen from Luke Haymes’ development?
Wickenheiser: Luke was at our camp a couple of years ago. He played with the Marlies last year.
We think he is a smart, crafty player. He has the opportunity to make an offensive impact. Can he play with pace and the other aspects of the physicality while being able to be a defensively reliable forward as well?
He brings something offensively that we like.
You’ve won at many levels. Owen Michaels won an NCAA championship, and Cowan won the Memorial Cup. What is the value of that winning mentality?
Wickenheiser: When you win, it is something you can’t teach. You go through a grind of playoffs. I have never been through seven-game series repeated, but the Olympic Games, the grind of getting there, and being able to win and take it over the top — those are things that stick with you as a player and a person forever. You can never teach it to anyone.
Whenever we get people in here who have won, we know it is a quality we can’t give them. That is special. They have an advantage over anyone else.
Do you think there is a mental aspect to winning, having dealt with the emotions of semifinals/finals, and learning how to handle those pressure moments?
Wickenheiser: Winning is 90% mental. Everyone is pretty equal physically. It is the ability to grind day after day after day and being able to have that performance on demand when it matters the most. It is a really hard thing to do.
When you can get over the hump, I think winning breeds more winning. You’ve seen it with Florida and the confidence they have. It is the same at any level in any sport.
What are you doing with the group off the ice to work on the mental side of the game?
Wickenheiser: We had a session on managing pressure and performance, especially here in Toronto, including some of the things players this age go through, whether it is social media, family, the jump to pro, and the expectations of coming to Toronto and playing for the Maple Leafs.
We have had them interact with a lot of different players. Wendel Clark was in to speak. Craig Berube addressed the group. Mark Giordano will be talking to the guys.
Tomorrow, we brought in a world-class horse trainer to spend a couple of hours — we actually brought in a colt or a wild horse — to talk about how you manage emotions and how you go through handling pressure in tricky situations, using a horse. It is going to be interesting.
Will the horse be on the ice?
Wickenheiser: The horse will not be on the ice, and no one will be getting on the horse.
It was kind of an idea Danielle Goyette and I were talking about one day. Of course, Shane Doan, being from the farm, thought it was great, too.
We all think it is a great idea. I’ll let you know if it works tomorrow.
Who is the horse trainer?
Wickenheiser: His name is Jeff Davis. He is coming up from Oklahoma.
Are there fewer on-ice sessions this year? What went into that decision?
Wickenheiser: In talking with Tre, we shortened the camp. At one point, we had it at seven. Now, it is at five days, with three on ice. There is a little bit more off-ice stuff going on.
You can kind of go either way with it. Coming out of Covid, we had a lot of on-ice stuff. We wanted to see what the players were doing and had done in the time off. Now, it is a little bit more of an orientation. We take the time to educate and walk them through some on-ice stuff.
Obviously, it is early in the summer. We don’t need any injuries. We don’t really need to see high-intensity games.
It is a fine line. They are still hockey players. At the end of the day, you have to play hockey, too.
