Easton Cowan was drafted in the First Round by the Toronto Maple Leafs and followed with a season of 34 goals, 62 assists and 96 points. He captured the Red Tilson Trophy, the OHL playoff MVP (Gretzky 99 Award) and an OHL championship. Cowan became the Maple Leafs' unanimous top prospect. He is listed at 5'11" and 185 lbs, slightly below typical NHL size around 6'0–6'1 and 200 lbs, prompting questions about NHL readiness. Some undersized players have succeeded by leveraging elite skills, high-end play-driving ability or tenacity to overcome physical disadvantages and reach scoring areas.
After a year where Cowan scored 34 goals (62 assists) and 96 points as well as capturing the Red Tilson Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) most outstanding player award, OHL playoff MVP (Gretzky 99 Award) and an OHL championship, he changed many people's minds ( eliteprospects.com). Cowan quickly became a prospect recognized around the league and especially amongst Leafs nation, being named the club's top prospect unanimously, a title he still holds today.
Currently, the young forward is listed at 5'11 and 185lbs, which is not 'small' but is definitely slightly below the NHL average size which tends to hover around 6'0-6'1 and 200lbs, give or take. This alone would give some team's pause as usually, when a player is undersized they either tend to struggle out of the gate, have such elite skills that they can overcome it, or have a style of play that allows them to look past this.
Some examples of players who are smaller than average that have been able to overcome their size; Mitch Marner, Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat, Logan Stankoven, Bobby Brink, Conor Garland, Trevor Moore, and Lane Hutson. It is a good mix of players who have elite skills like with Caufield and DeBrincat who are lethal goal scorers. Marner, Stankoven, and Hutson who are players with high end sense and Garland, Moore, and Brink who have definitely found some struggles to produce at times.
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