All Signs Point to Easton Cowan Making His NHL Debut With the Maple Leafs

Wednesday night's season opener against the Montreal Canadiens was a fantastic start for the Toronto Maple Leafs although it wasn't exactly the best opening to the game, two empty-net goals made the 5-2 scoreline a little more flattering than it actually was.

There was some questions about the lineup that Craig Berube put out, mainly because Easton Cowan was brought up but wasn't penciled into the lineup, something that irritated fans who were hoping for their prized rookie's debut.

However, it might not be too long before he does end up stepping onto the ice.

It was Craig Berube's comments recently that showed that perhaps he wanted to make sure he had Cowan get acclimated with the regular season atmosphere first before throwing him to the wolves:

That opportunity isn't going to be too long it feels like, as clearly Cowan has the ability to help the lineup, has earned the trust of both his coach and GM, and impressed his captain.

There's really nowhere else for him to go, so debuting him sooner than later would be much better for his development, which is something that GM Brad Treliving noted as to why he might not be playing steady minutes this season:

Well, Cowan's on the roster so he should be playing soon. Toronto's next game is against Detroit, a team that Cowan faced twice in the preseason so putting him against a team he has some familiarity with could be a huge boost to his confidence.

But the best way to give him that confidence is to finally put him on the ice and give fans everything they have been waiting for and perhaps the next Toronto Maple Leafs superstar.