Elliotte Friedman Weighs In On Easton Cowan Trade Rumors Following Abysmal World Juniors
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has addressed the criticism surrounding Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan's performance at the World Juniors and he defended the young forward.
As reported by Hockey Patrol, fans were expecting Cowan to play a big role in helping Team Canada overcome their disappointing finish last year, but the team's elimination by Czechia reignited frustrations and it's Easton Cowan who has the most critics on him.
On The FAN 590, Friedman strongly criticized fans for overreacting to Cowan's performance:
I see people saying, oh, they should trade him. Number one, his value will never be lower than it is now. And number two, I think it's bananas to give up on someone you really think highly of based on two bad weeks."
This tournament has demonstrated that international hockey is more competitive than ever, with Canada no longer the sole dominant force and Elliotte Friedman said that judging Cowan on this limited sample size is shortsighted.
Easton Cowan tied Brayden Yager for the team lead with three points and had attention on him for a controversial penalty against the U.S., where he was taunted by forward Cole Eiserman after a power-play goal.
Despite the criticism, Cowan's OHL performance this season has been excellent which is including breaking the league points streak recorded.
Returning to the London Knights, Easton Cowan has the opportunity to continue his growth and regain momentum and while the World Juniors didn't yield the results fans hoped for, it's far too early to write off a prospect with such promise.
