Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has liked what he’s seen from Easton Cowan through his first couple of games in the NHL.

To say Cowan was thrown into the fire is an understatement. It’s one thing to get your feet wet in the AHL when you become eligible for the pros, and it’s another to start your NHL career in the bottom six against lesser competition. But Cowan bypassed both of those steps and got to ride shotgun with Auston Matthews for the first few games of the season. He’s looked more and more comfortable with each shift that has passed, and he even picked up his first NHL point on Tuesday night.

Beyond the stat sheet debut, Berube is impressed with the intangibles Cowan has displayed.

“He really supports the puck well with those guys and makes a lot of little plays that go unnoticed to a lot of people, but I notice it,” Berube said following Tuesday’s 7-4 win against the Nashville Predators. “He’s a dog on a bone out there, for me. He hounds everything, get pucks back, strips people. He’s played well.”

With both Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton sidelined for the time being (Laughton being a longer-term injury) Cowan is going to force the Maple Leafs’ hand sooner rather than later if he keeps playing the way he has been. Being a rookie, he will have his struggles now and then, but he’s doing all the little things right and seems to have the trust of his head coach already, which is the biggest key to sticking around.

“He played well again tonight, back-to-back nights, I wasn’t sure, but I thought he had another good game, so it’s good to see,” Berube continued. “It seems like that line is forming some chemistry with him. He’s a worker, and a worker with skill.”

A frequent concern that pops up with young players who don’t have built-in size is how they’re able to handle the physicality of the NHL compared to the OHL. Berube is not the type of coach who would be afraid to tell it like it is with things like this, but he had nothing bad to say about Cowan’s physicality.

“I think he’s been physical on people. He forechecks extremely well, I haven’t noticed anything popping up to me that he can’t handle the physicality right now.”

Cowan’s debut on the top line saw Matias Maccelli bumped down to the second line. While he only has one assist in four games, he’s had tons of looks that simply haven’t been converted by the recipient. Berube maintained his faith in Maccelli by playing him with two strong players in John Tavares and William Nylander and believes he can work in that role.

“He’s a playmaker, right? He sees the ice well. I think with Willy and JT, anytime we can get some pucks and make some plays to those guys that’s a good thing,” Berube said of Maccelli. “They need the puck. They need the puck on the rush, they need the puck in the offensive zone. He sees the ice well, and that’s a big thing for me.”

The Maple Leafs will be back at home on Thursday when they host the New York Rangers and will look to get above .500.