Easton Cowan registers assist as Canada falls in world junior quarterfinal to Czechia

Canada’s 2024 World Junior Championship is over with Czechia taking the 3-2 victory in the quarterfinal on Tuesday.

That ends the first tournament for both of Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospects, forwards Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan. It was the first ever for both players, with neither having represented Canada in any form beforehand.

Cowan played arguably his biggest game of the tournament, sending Matt Wood down the ice for a breakaway goal early in the second period. The Canadians struggled in the first, allowing two goals, so Wood’s goal was a big momentum shifter. Cowan did his usual work of blocking shots and bringing energy to the lineup, but registered just one shot in 15:56 of play on Canada’s fourth line.

Minten, meanwhile, looked a little out of place on the top line with Jordan Dumais and Macklin Celebrini. Minten had just one shot, putting an end to a tournament that saw him finish with just two points despite playing top-six minutes in every single game.

It’s Canada’s first quarterfinal exit since the 2019 tournament in Finland. Since then, Canada won gold in Czechia in 2020, silver in Edmonton in 2021 and gold in the past two years. It’s also Czechia’s first quarterfinal win over Canada in tournament history.

The tournament will return to Canada in 2025, taking place in Ottawa from Dec. 26, 2024 until Jan. 5, 2025. Minten will have aged out of the tournament by then, but Cowan could return as one of seven players eligible to do so. It’s likely to be much lower than that, with Celebrini, at the very least, expected to make the NHL.

Czechia will await its semifinal opponent, with the two playoff games set for Thursday at 9:00 AM ET and 1:00 PM ET. Finland won the first quarterfinal game earlier in the day, with the United States/Latvia and Sweden/Switzerland making up the remaining contests.