Easton Cowan is being defended by an unlikely party, a reporter for the Edmonton Oilers, after he was targeted as a scapegoat for Canada’s performance at the World Junior Championship.

There was plenty of criticism to go around after Team Canada made another early exit from the 2025 World Junior Championship following a loss to Czechia in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row.

Perhaps no player was targeted more than Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan, who took the brunt of the outrage from Canadian fans.

 

Easton Cowan took so much criticism that Leafs veteran John Tavares felt he had to come to the young player’s defence. Good on Tavares for supporting the young prospect when nobody else was doing so publicly.

“Love him as a kid and the type of skillset he has and the player he’s going to be. He’s going to be really good going forward.”

Now, Cowan is being defended again, but this time by a less likely source.

Jim Matheson, who has covered the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers for decades, responded to a statement calling Cowan a “disgrace to hockey.” Matheson was fired up, telling the original poster these are kids, not pros.

 

Canada is never likely to take a loss at the World Juniors well, but the level of vitriol this year was off the charts. Canada’s Andrew Gibson received death threats following the team’s quarter-final loss to Czechia. If that’s not evidence that fans were out of control, I’m not sure what is.

On a lighter note, fellow Maple Leafs prospect Miroslav Holinka won a bronze medal with Czechia following a 14-round shootout. Holinka finished the tournament with a goal and 3 assists.

For Maple Leafs fans, obviously everyone is happy for Holinka, who earned a medal with Czechia the hard way. Hopefully, everyone can take a step back and realize that Cowan, as impressive as he was last year, is still learning.

Give the kid a break and support him throughout the remainder of the year in London. After all, we shouldn’t be rooting for him to fail or giving up on him after one U20 tournament. We should be supporting him in hopes that he helps the Leafs remain a very good team for a very long time.