The Toronto Maple Leafs are relying on rookie Easton Cowan to play a big role with the team this season.
Cowan is the Maple Leafs’ top prospect and made the team out of camp. Although he has been scratched at times, Cowan is now playing a top-six role in Toronto.
Maple Leafs legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler gave some advice to Cowan and is impressed with his skills.
“Well, I think Easton, there’s no doubt he’s a very skilled and talented player,” Sittler said to Heavy.com, through an interview by ToonieBetCasino. “The fact that he played for the Hunter brothers in London. He knows the importance of playing a 200-foot game, so to speak. He’s come into our camp the last couple of years, and especially this year, with the attitude that that’s what he has to do. The opportunity will come for him.
“If I’m Easton Cowan, I just say I put my trust in the coaching staff and the management staff. He’s got lots of experience, guys and players around him like John Tavares and other players who’ve been in the league to support him. So just come ready every night, play hard and his skill level and his passion for the game will come to the top for sure.”
Sittler wants Cowan to rely on the veterans to understand the NHL game, and it will lead him to have success.
Cowan has recorded 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 10 games this season.
Sittler Pleased With How Physical Maple Leafs Are
Although Cowan isn’t a physical player in nature, he has made hits when needed, and Sittler believes that is due to Craig Berube’s style.
Berube wanted the Maple Leafs to be a harder team to play against, and that was the focus this offseason. Toronto added the likes of Nic Roy and Dakota Joshua this offseason to be harder to play against, which Sittler is pleased about.
“One thing I like about our team compared to say three or four years ago, we’re a tougher team to play against in our own end,” Sittler said. “We play with a little bit more grit. To me, that’s important. Giving up that space around the net, making it tough to get there, clearing out the rebounds, those sorts of things.
“If a guy passes the puck, follow through with the check and hit, because he’ll think a little differently about it next time. So guys like (Chris) Tanev, the other players, (Jake) McCabe, they play that way, and they’re tough to play against. So I know that from a management standpoint, they know that now is the time that is our opportunity if we’re going to challenge and go on and win the Cup.”
Toronto is off to a 7-5-1 start.
Sittler Reveals Most Memorable Memory From His Career
Sittler is a hockey legend and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Maple Leafs legend was named one of the Top 100 players in NHL history by the league in 2017, and has the record for most points in a game with 10. However, the memory that sticks out the most for him is getting his jersey retired by Toronto.
“The most memorable one was the night the Leafs honored me by putting my banner up in the Scotiabank arena,” Sittler said. “My wife had passed away from cancer about a year and a half before that. When they were showing me the banner to be put up, I asked them if they would consider allowing me to put Wendy’s name on the banner.
“Ken Dryden was the president at the time, and he allowed me to do that. Happened to be on a Saturday night. The Habs were my favourite team as a kid. And I picked the Saturday night where the Leafs were playing Montreal, coast to coast, Hockey Night in Canada. I had my kids there with me, and the banner was going up. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place that Wendy’s here in spirit and her name’s on the banner. So that was my greatest moment as a player, a member of the hockey community. It kind of wrapped and brought everything together.”
Sittler skated in 1,096 career NHL games, recording 1,121 points.
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