Just two seasons ago, Easton Cowan was playing junior B hockey at the Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ont., as a member of the Komoka Kings.
On Wednesday, he’ll be in the same rink — but it will be just a slightly different atmosphere.
The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 2023 first-round pick, who grew up about 40 minutes northwest of St. Thomas in Strathroy, will be the centre of attention for a national television audience as the Leafs face the Buffalo Sabres in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game (Sportsnet One, Sportsnet+, 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT).
“Basically the whole rink will be my family and friends,” said the 18-year-old forward, who figures he’ll have at least 25 people he knows well in the rink.
“It will be exciting and I can’t wait to get out there.”
Cowan had a goal and an assist in his pre-season debut on Monday against the Ottawa Senators, earning strong reviews from the coaching staff and teammates.
The London Knights product was reliving memories of his junior B days with reporters on Wednesday, but he experienced nothing like the scene in the morning — as tons of kids crowded around the rink to greet the players.
“It was awesome, I couldn’t believe it,” Cowan said. “I was sitting beside (fellow rookie Fraser) Minten on the bus and we were like, ‘Wow, this is crazy, we’ve got to go out first.’ It was pretty special. You kind of give back to the young guys (because) you were once a young guy. It was awesome, not a lot of words to be said. Just special and a moment I’ll never forget.”
Another Leafs youngster, Matthew Knies, noted there was nothing similar growing up in Arizona.
“I think there’s Leaf pride everywhere,” he said. “It’s fun to come out to a town like this and see how much joy it brings to the kids and just how much they cheer for the Leafs. It’s pretty cool to see. Especially coming from a smaller suburb in Arizona, it’s not such a hockey hotbed. But when you come over here, it’s cool to see that every community is so involved in hockey.”
The town of West Lorne, Ont., actually won the Hockeyville competition, but opted to play the game in nearby St. Thomas, where there is a bigger rink, with a capacity of about 2,500.
John Tavares, Max Domi and John Klingberg are the headlining veterans on the Leafs roster scheduled to play, while the Sabres have Owen Power and Dylan Cozens on the trip.