Cowan’s confidence, bounce back season for Moldenhauer

Upon his return from the AHL, Cowan was thrust into a prominent role in Toronto’s top-six as Craig Berube searched for chemistry among his forward group with new additions like Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua struggling out of the gate. Playing with the likes of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, Cowan had flashes of the high-end skill and promise he had shown in junior hockey, but it’s fair to wonder if it was too much, too soon for the young winger.

In recent weeks, Cowan has formed a third line alongside Nic Roy and Nick Robertson, and they have been the Leafs’ most dangerous looking unit on some nights, but it looks like the slog of a particularly condensed NHL schedule has started to catch up to the rookie. He has remained productive over the last couple of weeks, with three goals and three assists over his last 13 games, but some of the warts you’d expect out of a 20 year old have started to show up a bit more frequently.

Make no mistake, the calling card in Cowan’s game is his offensive vision and playmaking ability, but he was also a more physical and disruptive force in junior than what we’ve seen from him in the NHL thus far. Playing against the best players in the world night after night is an entirely different ball game than lighting up the OHL at will, and growing pains should be expected, but Cowan looks like a player who has lost some confidence as of late.

His puck touches haven’t been as clean, turnovers have become more frequent, and he has started to get into a bit of penalty trouble. The penalties have typically come when Cowan has gotten too busy with his stick in situations where he would have taken the body or engaged in a more physical manner back in junior. Simply put, he has looked a bit more hesitant and unsure of himself when it comes to some of the battles that come with playing in the NHL.

After being pushed down to the fourth line, Cowan played a season-low 9:44 in Thursday’s 5-2 loss at the hands of the Seattle Kraken, and he has been a healthy scratch in the two games since – both of which were victories for the Leafs. The Leafs have just one game remaining before the Olympic break, and the timing couldn’t be better for Cowan.

Between Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto’s first game back after the break against the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 25th, the Marlies play five games, with the first of those coming on February 14th. That break in the NHL schedule and mini-break for the Marlies will provide Cowan with ample rest, while also giving him an opportunity to play big minutes at the AHL level and get back to feeling good about his game.

With reports that the Leafs have already put the rest of the league on notice that they are ready to start selling off some pieces, there should be a hole punched back into the lineup for Cowan shortly after the Olympics, even if the Leafs are able to get fully healthy by then. For now, sending Cowan to the Marlies is the obvious course of action.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

• Dennis Hildeby was reassigned to the Marlies after Anthony Stolarz was activated from the injured list, and Saturday marked his first AHL appearance since the beginning of November. He gave up three goals on 25 shots in an overtime loss to Laval, leaving him with a 2.76 GAA and an .888 SV% in six games at the AHL level this season. We’ve seen how good Hildeby can be against NHL competition this season, so the numbers aren’t all that concerning, but Hildeby will be looking to get that stat line closer to his NHL numbers in the time being. With so much up in the air for the organization right now, Hildeby could find himself back with the Leafs after the trade deadline, or he could find himself in another organization altogether with the value he has built up this season.
• Things started slowly for Noah Chadwick in his first AHL season, but the towering blueliner has been productive recently. He scored a goal and an assist in Saturday’s overtime loss to Laval, and seven of his 13 points this season have come in the last eight games. The mobility and defensive side of the puck are still a work in progress, but Chadwick has looked more confident making things happen with the puck on his stick as he did in junior. He isn’t there yet, but with his blend of size and offensive skill, Chadwick has room to grow into a viable NHL option over the next couple of years.

• Nothing has ever come easy for Nick Moldenhauer, with freak injuries throughout his junior career costing him valuable development time. He overcame those setbacks to put together a solid freshman year with Michigan in 2023-24, but he struggled mightily as a sophomore with just three goals and seven assists in 29 games. Moldenhauer has bounced back this year and is in the midst of his best season at the college level. He scored a pair of goals, including the winner, in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory against Ohio State, and now has five goals to go along with a pair of helpers over his last six games. For the season, Moldenhauer is up to 20 points in 26 games for the top-ranked team in college hockey.

• Sam McCue was held without a point in his first few games after being acquired by the Ottawa 67s, but he put himself on the scoresheet as well as the highlight reels this past week. He had a pair of goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory over Peterborough, and one of those goals was of the spectacular variety. Known more as a disruptive force around the net, McCue showed off his puck skills by scooping one behind the net and tucking it under the bar to become the latest to land “The Michigan.” So far this season, McCue has 13 goals and 11 assists in 33 games between Brantford and Ottawa.

• A fifth-round pick by the Leafs in 2024, Alexander Plesovskikh has been a productive player at the junior level in Russia. He scored twice and added an assist in last Tuesday’s 4-2 victory, and is now up to 19 goals and 18 assists in 39 games. Those are encouraging numbers, but some context is required. Most players with legitimate NHL potential have moved on from the Russian junior ranks by this point, but he has been relegated to just two games in the VHL so far this season, and he has yet to make his KHL debut. Listed at 6’1″ and 185 pounds, he should be able to handle the increased physicality, but he hasn’t forced his way up the depth chart as of yet. Plesovskikh is a player to monitor, but until he is making noise at higher levels, he remains a long shot NHL prospect.

Statistics from EliteProspects.com

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