Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan may be the player to watch in this year’s World Juniors tournament, getting off to a roaring start with a hat-trick in Canada’s 7-1 pre-tournament victory over Switzerland.

Cowan, a standout forward for the OHL’s London Knights, capped off an excellent performance with an expertly placed one-timer, wiring home a feed from Matthew Schaefer — a contender for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis is covering the World Juniors, and was impressed by Cowan’s outlook for the remainder of the event:

“You got a guy like Easton, that’s driving the line tonight. I think it’s a fair thing to say, it’s too not too far out to say: when you have a 53-game point streak in the CHL, you’re not lucky,” Canada head coach Dave Cameron said to TSN’s Mark Masters. Masters then corrected Cameron and noted Cowan has recorded a 56-game point streak — the unofficial OHL record, as the league doesn’t recognize the accomplishment, given that Cowan has recorded the streak over the span of two seasons.

“Real good hockey IQ,” Cameron continued. “When you consider he missed most of camp, too. An exceptional start.”

Cowan was placed on a line with Calum Ritchie and Bradly Nadeau and the trio outright dominated against Switzerland, which is to be expected from three 2023 first-round picks, but nonetheless impressive in its own right. The line was in terrific form all evening, as Cowan converted a feed from Ritchie on a 2-on-1 for his first goal of the game during the first period, a clever passing sequence where Switzerland had no chance. Cowan’s second goal of the game was a seeing-eye shot from the point, where he didn’t get much velocity on a low shot that went into the low corner.

It was a terrific start for Toronto’s top prospect, and this year’s World Juniors very well may be The Easton Cowan Show.