Toronto Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan is the most promising prospect in the organization, so naturally there’s a tendency to be cautious about the 20-year-old’s future. Cowan completed a tour-de-force major junior career with the London Knights, winning Memorial Cup MVP and during his third training camp with the Maple Leafs, his improved confidence, decision-making and physicality have been self-evident throughout the fall, in the lead-up to the regular season.

The popular, cautious approach suggests that Cowan should spent the majority of the year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, in order to fully actualize his scoring punch at the professional level. This line of thinking suggests Cowan would be better suited getting more minutes in a top-six role at the AHL level, rather than play 10-12 minutes a night on the Maple Leafs’ fourth line. Throughout training camp, Cowan emerged as one of the team’s best 12 forwards, and that should be his ticket to a spot in Wednesday’s lineup against the Montreal Canadiens. And this distinction shouldn’t change because Scott Laughton, Cowan’s centre on the fourth line throughout training camp, is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

At the time of this filing, there are a few candidates who could be in the running for Wednesday’s fourth-line centre role. David Kampf was considered the immediate favourite to take over, but he cleared waivers over the weekend and hasn’t gelled in Craig Berube’s system. Calle Jarnkrok could play at centre, although he’s better suited to the wing and his $2.1 million cap hit is unenviable at this stage of his career. Max Domi could operate as the third-line centre, while Nicolas Roy could be slotted down to the fourth-line role, but this may lead to fewer minutes than Roy ought to receive. The notion that Cowan would be expected to command an overwhelming share of the offensive production in a fourth-line role with Kampf or Jarnkrok at centre seems silly, especially when the 20-year-old has been extending plays throughout training camp, and has been lauded for doing the small things well.

If the argument against Cowan playing Wednesday is based on the idea that his development would be halted by playing fewer minutes in the NHL, call me naive, but it’s hard to buy into. Cowan could always be returned to the AHL, and he’s earned, at the very least, an initial tryout period, where his defensive acumen, tenacity and hockey intelligence are assets for a Maple Leafs team positioned to contend.

“We got decisions to make, but I think he showed us enough that he is ready. I mean, he’s got a motor on him. Like, he’s just constantly working and he’s got a high IQ. I like him a lot,” Berube said of Cowan via TSN’s Mark Masters, following Saturday’s preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Cowan is ready for the NHL. Ahead of Wednesday’s opener, Cowan’s status shouldn’t be determined by other injuries on the team, especially when he’s making smart decisions at the NHL level, that could create some much-needed secondary offence. We’ll know in the coming hours, but Toronto should allow its prized prospect to graduate to the NHL for opening night, and monitor his status as required through the initial month of the season.

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