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Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Confidence in Cowan, Holinka among WHL’s best
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Photo credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Nick Richard
Dec 2, 2025, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 2, 2025, 09:51 EST
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Coming into training camp a couple of months ago, Easton Cowan’s pursuit of a spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ roster was one of the biggest stories surrounding the team. Fast forward to December, and his ascension to becoming one of the Leafs’ most impactful players on a night-to-night basis has become one of the lone bright spots in a difficult season.
Following a brief stint with the Marlies, Cowan was thrust into a prominent role with the big club, and he has made the most of the opportunity. Despite generating plenty of chances for himself and his linemates, he was held off the scoresheet through the first two games following his recall, but he has been a big-time contributor over the last five games. After back-to-back games where he registered an assist, Cowan scored his second goal of the year to send the Leafs to overtime against Columbus before William Nylander secured the extra point with the game-winner, and he found the back of the net again in Saturday’s blowout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The production has been impressive all on its own, but the way he’s producing might be even more encouraging. The coach clearly has a lot of trust in his rookie forward, but he is also earning more trust from his teammates in the process. Cowan has routinely played upwards of 18-20 minutes per game since his recall, skating on a line with Nylander and John Tavares. His tying goal late against the Blue Jackets was the result of some good work on the cycle before Tavares got the puck to Nylander behind the net. Nylander then proceeded to find Cowan at the side of the net, and he made a great shot to beat Jet Greaves up high and send the game to overtime.
Cowan’s goal against the Penguins on Saturday night came off another great setup from Nylander, and it was one that caught nearly everyone, including Cowan, off guard. He came from behind the net to find Nylander streaking into the slot loaded up for a one-timer, but Nylander showed great vision as well as some faith in Cowan by holding back on the shot and making a pretty one-touch feed back to Cowan, who had to quickly reset his feet and fire a difficult one-timer of his own into the back of the net.
The pass fooled just about everyone on the ice, including Leafs netminder Dennis Hildeby.
“William Nylander comes down by the hashmarks loading up for a one-timer, I think every goalie in the league will freeze,” Hildeby said after the game. “But it was a great pass, and that’s just what he does,”
An NHLer making a pass to his linemate isn’t headline news by any means, but Nylander is a superstar talent who has been among the league’s top goal scorers over the last few seasons. He typically doesn’t pass up on opportunities like the one he had in Pittsburgh on Saturday, but with each passing game, it’s becoming clearer that he and the rest of the Leafs’ veterans trust Cowan to make plays. With the way Cowan has played since his return, it’s hard to blame them.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

  • Speaking of Hildeby, he put together an impressive performance of his own against the Penguins on Saturday. The contest was never really in question, but it could have been, if not for Hildeby shutting the door when the Penguins were trying to get back into it. The Leafs were outshot by a healthy margin once again, with score effects contributing to that more than usual, but Hildeby stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced to pick up his first NHL win of the season. He has now suited up for six games at the NHL level this year, and while his 3.07 GAA is nothing to write home about, his .914 SV% is a clearer indication of how solid he’s been when called upon.
  • Ben Danford has been playing big minutes for the top team in the OHL since being acquired by the Brantford Bulldogs a few weeks ago, but his offensive contributions had dried up after a strong start with his new club in that regard. He had gone six consecutive games without a point prior to this past weekend, where he tallied an assist in consecutive games, including a rare loss for the Bulldogs against his former club in Oshawa on Sunday. For the season, Danford now has a goal and 11 assists in 20 games between Brantford and Oshawa.
  • Jacob Quillan had a couple of solid games with the Leafs while their forward group was banged up, but he returned to the Marlies this past week. He was held without a point in Friday’s loss to Charlotte, but he opened the scoring with his third goal of the season as the Marlies were able to hold on for the win in Saturday’s rematch. Quillan now has 15 points in 16 games with the Marlies so far this season, and he looks like a player who will get another look at the NHL level before too long.
  • Luke Haymes burst onto the scene last spring, registering six points in nine games with the Marlies after signing with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent. The points haven’t come quite as rapidly for him so far this season, but he scored his second goal of the season in Saturday’s win, deflecting home a point shot from William Villeneuve. Haymes is now up to seven points in 17 games, and the assist was Villeneuve’s 12th point in 20 games thus far.
  • Third-rounder Tyler Hopkins has been heating up as of late, and he added two more points to his total in three games over the weekend. He fired five shots on goal and picked up an assist in a losing effort on Friday, launched six more shots at the net in a loss to Barrie on Saturday, and added another assist against Owen Sound on Sunday. For the season, Hopkins has compiled 10 goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
  • The Leafs went a little bit off the board when they selected Tinus Luc Koblar with their first pick in the 2025 draft, and while his production doesn’t jump off the page, his play this season has been encouraging. Still just 18 years of age, Koblar has been a key player for Leksands in the SHL all season, and he has seen over 17 minutes of ice time in each of his last two games. He scored his third goal of the season in Thursday’s overtime win against Lulea, and he has five points through 21 games in Sweden’s top professional league.
  • Miroslav Holinka just keeps piling up the points for Edmonton in the WHL. He had a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win over Red Deer on Friday, and tallied a goal and three more helpers in Sunday’s 6-5 win over Saskatoon. Now with 14 goals and 24 assists through just 25 games, Holinka is tied for third in WHL scoring. What’s more impressive is that Holinka isn’t the kind of player who makes a habit of cheating for offence, and he can be trusted to play a responsible defensive game down the middle. He’s still a long way from the NHL, but the Leafs may have unearthed a real player in the fifth round of the 2024 draft.
  • Nick Moldenhauer had another productive night as Michigan took down Harvard by a score of 5-1 on Friday night. Moldenhauer had a pair of assists in the contest, bringing him up to 13 points in 18 games so far this season. Considering that he had just 10 points all of last season, Moldenhauer’s junior year with the Wolverines has certainly represented a step forward for the young winger. He’ll be in consideration for an ELC with the Leafs next spring.
  • It’s been a quiet season for Hudson Malinoski, but he had a big weekend as the Providence Friars played a back-to-back set against Colorado College. He scored once in Friday’s 3-2 loss, and he found the back of the net twice more in Saturday’s 2-1 win. Through 15 games, Malinoski has tallied four goals and two assists.
Statistics from EliteProspects.com

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