Maple Leafs’ Easton Cowan Extends Record Point Streak & Blues’ Young Core Is Lacking One Key Piece
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have found a diamond in the rough with their 2023 first round pick, but they aren't the only team getting more bang for their buck from their prospects.
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Welcome to the THW NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our great team of writers.
In today’s edition, we have a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect Easton Cowan’s incredible point streak, the future of the Calgary Flames’ newest member Artem Grushnikov, what the St. Louis Blues need to add to their young core, and much more!
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Now on to the good stuff…
Maple Leafs’ Prospect Easton Cowan Extends Record Point Streak
February 29, 2024 by Andrew Forbes
Maybe the surprise of the first-round in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs used their first-round pick to take London Knights’ forward Easton Cowan 28th overall. There was very little questioning his overall skill level — he has a natural ability when he has the puck to open up the ice for himself and others, but his size and lack of OHL experience were two of the major question marks.
Jakub Dobes’ AHL Shutout Shows Potential of Canadiens Prospect
February 29, 2024 by Mike Fink
The Laval Rocket took advantage of a struggling Bridgeport Islanders team on Feb. 28 to return to the win column. After two losses in a row, they shut out the Islanders 4-0, and for goaltender Jakub Dobes, it was the best performance he put together all season. He made 35 saves and more importantly, earned his first shutout at the American Hockey League (AHL) level.
Blues’ Young Core Is Lacking One Key Piece
March 2, 2024 by Stephen Ground
The St. Louis Blues have drafted very effectively over the past decade under Doug Armstrong. And in recent seasons, they have seemed to identify a core of future talent that could be the centrepiece of their team going forward. They have done this by focusing on a “best available” draft and trade strategy. It has worked for them so far; however, as another trade deadline approaches, it might be time for Armstrong to find the one piece that is still missing from their pipeline: a cornerstone defenseman.
Calgary Flames Have Monumental Draft Ahead of Them
March 2, 2024 by Derek Olsen
After almost 60 games, the Calgary Flames currently find themselves nipping at the heels of the last wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. However, the franchise is also in an uncommon position; they are in a transitional period where multiple big names are being traded away for assets, but a core of veteran players remain. Rookie general manager Craig Conroy labelled it as a “retool on the fly”, and Flames and media alike have embraced this pathway. The team started last offseason with six impactful unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on the roster: Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin. Since then, the team has re-signed Backlund and traded Toffoli, Zadorov, Lindholm, and Tanev, with Hanifin likely slated to follow in their footsteps.
Red Wings Prospect Report: Danielson and Augustine Flourishing
March 3, 2024 by Logan Horn
The Detroit Red Wings have one of the deepest and most talent-loaded prospect pools in the NHL, with plenty of future NHL players developing in their system. The Red Wings have landed high-end prospects in each NHL Draft since Steve Yzerman joined the franchise as the General Manager, with varying degrees of success.
What Flames Are Getting in Newly Acquired Prospect Grushnikov
March 1, 2024 by Rupert McDonald
The Calgary Flames made their third trade of the 2023-24 season last night, as they sent one of their most talked about pending UFAs, Chris Tanev, to the Dallas Stars. The deal came of little surprise, as the 34-year-old’s name had been discussed in trade rumours all season long. With the direction the Flames are headed, an extension made little sense for either party.
More Draft & Prospects stuff from THW:
NHL Draft History - 2000 NHL Draft: 21 Goalies Selected Before Henrik Lundqvist
Rookie Report - Flyers Have to Give Bobby Brink a Serious Opportunity
St. Louis Blues - Best-Case Scenarios for Blues’ Top Prospects
Prospect Rankings - The NHL’s Top 100 Prospects - Midseason Rankings
Draft Coverage - Horn’s Top 100 for February
2024 NHL Mock Draft - THW Prospect Corner Top 16 Mock Draft 2.0