#libtardgg

Stephen Miniotis. For his Patreon: DonateAMeal.ca; September 25, 2025 – Toronto, ON See also: TheMutant.net; Contact: Libtard.gg!

In the cutthroat world of professional hockey, few prospects arrive with the kind of fireworks Easton Cowan has been igniting lately. The 20-year-old London native, selected 28th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2023 NHL Draft (someone credit the Leafs for an amazing sleeper pick right there), has spent the last couple of seasons dismantling junior and minor-league defenses like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents. From his meteoric rise in the OHL to his eye-popping playoff explosions, Cowan hasn't just checked boxes—he's obliterated them. Thank God for the pick (even though I'm a secular atheist as I often joke, but I digress). And as training camp heats up, the message to Leafs brass is crystal clear: Give this kid a regular spot on the roster, or risk repeating the heartbreaking saga of Nicholas Robertson all over again.

Let's rewind to Cowan's junior dominance, because it's the stuff of prospect porn for any diehard Leafs fan. After a solid rookie season with the London Knights in 2022-23, where he notched 53 points in 68 games, Cowan flipped the script in 2023-24. We're talking 96 points in just 54 games—a blistering 1.78 points-per-game pace that had scouts drooling. But that was just the appetizer. The main course came in the playoffs: 29 goals and 69 points in 46 regular-season tilts, followed by a jaw-dropping 39 points in 17 postseason games. He didn't stop there. At the Memorial Cup, Cowan was a one-man wrecking crew, showcasing the kind of clutch scoring and two-way grit that screams "NHL regular."

Fast-forward to 2025, and Cowan's not content resting on those laurels. After bulking up to a sturdy 5-foot-11, 190 pounds over the summer, he's turned heads in Leafs preseason action. In the opener against Ottawa, he snagged a power-play assist and peppered the net with four shots in a 3-2 overtime loss. Across two games, he's been a pest on the forecheck, a sniper in transition, and a penalty-killing dynamo—qualities that fit like a glove in Craig Berube's hard-nosed system. As one pundit put it, Cowan's creating a "good problem" for Toronto's brain trust: Do they dare send this kid back to the OHL for another lap, or unleash him on the big stage?

The answer should be a resounding no to the former. Here and at TheMutant.net, we've preached patience with prospects, but Cowan's ascent demands action. He's conquered everything the minors can throw at him—from junior scoring titles to international tournaments—and now it's time for the Leafs to reciprocate with real opportunity. Imagine slotting him on the third line with David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok: His speed and shot could inject life into a unit that's been more penalty-box fodder than offensive threat. Or pair him with a vet like Max Domi for mentorship minutes. Either way, Cowan's ready to contribute 20-30 points as a rookie while learning the pro ropes—soaking up game minutes with an entry-level paycheque; exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward bet Toronto needs amid cap crunches and aging stars.

But here's the gut punch: If the Leafs hesitate, they're flirting with disaster, and the ghost of Nicholas Robertson should be haunting every exec's nightmares. Robertson, once hailed as a sniper extraordinaire after his 55-goal OHL season in 2018-19, arrived in Toronto with sky-high expectations. Drafted 53rd overall in 2019, he flashed brilliance in spurts—think his 2022-23 AHL tear with 55 points in 64 games. Yet, the Leafs squandered it all by pinching pennies-and minutes- on his development. Chronic injuries didn't help, but the real killer was the ice time—or lack thereof. Averaging a measly 11:23 per game last season, Robertson was shuttled to the press box more often than the ice, denied the reps needed to iron out kinks like defensive lapses and confidence dips.

We all know how that story ends: Frustration boils over, trade requests fly in (as Robertson's did last offseason), and a once-amazing-blue-chip asset becomes "damaged goods". At 23, he's still got the tools—hell, he lit up camp scrimmages with a pair of goals just days ago—but trust is eroded, and his value's in the toilet. Toronto's brass admits the mishandling now, with whispers of a potential trade to salvage something. It's a cautionary tale of what happens when you bench your kids instead of breaking them in: They wither, and fans foot the bill in lost potential and morale.

Easton Cowan can't become the next Nick Robertson. Not when he's this polished, this hungry. Denying him a regular shift from Day One—say, 12-14 minutes nightly—would send a toxic signal to Leafs Nation: That we can't, or won't, develop our own. In a market starving for homegrown heroes amid endless UFA splurges on Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares, squandering Cowan would erode faith as fast as dubbing it another Robertson fiasco. It'd whisper that Toronto's still the black hole for prospects, the ScotiaBank Arena equivalent of a prospect farm team where dreams go to die and kids aren't given any show-time minutes.

So, Shanahan, Treliving, Berube, Leafs Fans, Whoever: Listen up. Easton Cowan isn't just a prospect anymore—he's the unpolished gem begging for the spotlight. Lock him into the opening-night lineup, give him the polish to stumble, learn, and soar. The minors are conquered; the NHL awaits. For the love of the Blue and White, don't make us think you've wasted yet another hungry home-grown talent. PS: We like Robertson, too. Let's hope that kid gets things sorted out in the blue and white somehow, too. Would love to see these two players eat bottom 6 minutes and special teams time.

Stephen Miniotis

---

Wait! While I have your attention. It takes guts to be one of the only "non meta" aggro players in esports, shakin' up the meta. Did you know? I also shake up healthy and nutritious soylent meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Did you know? Food is my biggest expenditure per month. I'm a persons living with a disability.

Join my Patreon for free to start; or for just 3.50$ a month and net me a meal: more about my patreon here: (DonateAMeal.ca). Or sub for FREE to my twitch channel with an Amazon Prime sub, netting me a 3$ meal (www.twitch.tv/NeutralG). Every 3$ raised (or prime sub) gets me a healthy and nutritious Soylent or Hol Food meal. I write for free and publish for fun in the public domain (TheMutant.net; Libtard.gg) Status: 10-25k per year: Disability: Paranoid Schizophrenia. I'm a part-time literature undergrad at the University Of Toronto, someone who accepts a disability grant and therefore takes just one course per year. I want to raise three 3$ meals per day and graduate some day. Will anybody help?

Patreon: DonateAMeal.ca

Published Opinions: TheMutant.net

and

Contact me at my blog:

SteveMini.com

Libtard.gg

Or Ask Me Anything Anonymously For Free: AskMeAnything.bet

---

Troll/Budget decks to Legend. Usually in the top 10k somewhere for fun.

All the decks I've streamed with at:

Hearthstone.lol/all

otherwise, just recent decks i've streamed with at:

Hearthstone.lol

---

Live nights 10pm EST:

twitch.tv/NeutralG

###

NeutralG on Twitch tv!

The High Warlord Warlock of Havelock, ON

Mister SM of SM College & Havelock, TO

Lit TO: UofT.

6 Minions fo' sho'. Where my 6ix at? Well Ima light this Canon, yo.

Stephen Miniotis "Steve Mini" from the 6ix.

I take home about 10k/yr. Disability: Paranoid Schizophrenia I welcome all donations: 3$ per meal:

---

Over 4,000+ Anonymous questions answered for free:

AskMeAnything.bet

---

Charity: Where I was diagnosed:

ParanoidSchizophrenic.ca

camh.ca

All Decks I've Streamed With and Win Rates at:

Hearthstone.lol/all

or just the latest decks can be found at:

---