Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan has spoken out for the first time and addressed the heavy hit in open ice from Zach Sandhu that left him injured and unable to play during Canada’s World Junior Selection Camp.
Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan spoke to the media this week for the first time following a devastating open-ice hit from Oshawa Generals defenseman Zach Sandhu.
The hit forced Cowan out of the game, but the young forward is now fully recovered and preparing to join Team Canada in the upcoming World Junior Championship, which begins December 26 in Ottawa. Surprisingly, even without participating in selection camp, Cowan has made the team.
Cowan reflected on the hit, which he surprisingly referred to as a clean one, as per TSN’s Mark Masters on X:
”It was a clean hit. I had my head down. I just have to be more aware. Unfortunately I didn’t see him coming. Usually I can see that, but didn’t see it there. I’m pretty sure I’ll be more aware now.”
Fortunately, Cowan was able to recover quickly and is healthy enough to compete for Canada in the World Juniors. In a stroke of luck, Cowan also registered a point before leaving the game, extending his historic OHL point streak, that now sits at 56 games. Of course, Cowan’s record remains unofficial, since it spreads across two seasons.
As per Mark Masters on X:
”Obviously it’s cool. He’s a Leafs legend, so to get that text meant a lot to me, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Despite his impressive talent, Cowan was reassigned to the OHL earlier this year after an up-and-down camp with the Maple Leafs.
With his historic point streak and now a spot on Team Canada, Cowan is poised to make an even bigger splash on the world stage at the World Junior Championship tournament, where the spotlight will be at its brightest and where heroes are made at the best on best tournament, which includes some of hockey’s brightest young stars.
