Jim Hiller named Easton Cowan the biggest standout from day one of Maple Leafs camp, ahead of every other name in that room.
Leafslatest posted the clip Thursday night from the club's own feed, and it has pulled 4,699 views.
The coach did not dress it up. He made some plays with the puck, but he was a puck hound, and he was everywhere.
That is a specific compliment. It is also the exact thing this roster has been missing for years.
The 21 year old is coming off 29 points in 66 games on an $873,500 cap hit. Eleven goals, 18 assists, nothing flashy.
The end of his season was better than the start. Seven points across his final 10 games, including two with the man advantage.
His minus-5 rating looks tidy next to what most of that lineup produced, which says more about the team than about him.
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Easton Cowan's huge first day has Maple Leafs fans dreaming big
The first overall pick skated with John Tavares and William Nylander at that same practice. He also lost a glove in a battle drill and put the puck in anyway.
Auston Matthews centred the other unit between Matthew Knies and Jack Roslovic. So the top six is full and the kids are already in it.
A spot opened up too. Max Domi failed his physical and is out with a back issue until at least November 7.
The veterans still have to carry this. Nylander put up 79 points in 65 games and Tavares scored 31 times at 35 on a $4,389,280 deal.
The captain is the one with something to answer for. Fifty three points in 60 games on $13.25 million is not the number that scares anybody.
Now the part optimism keeps skipping. Toronto went 32-36-14, finished 28th, and closed the year on seven straight losses.
They allowed 299 goals. Knies finished at minus-30 and Tavares at -28, which tells you nobody was hiding.
The crease did not get cheaper either. Sergei Bobrovsky arrives on $10 million after a .876 save percentage.
So should the rest of the league actually be nervous about any of this?
Not this October. Calling a camp standout the next big thing in September is like calling a first date a marriage. Promising. Extremely early.
But if Cowan and the 18 year old are both real, the conversation shifts fast. Toronto plays Montreal Saturday and again on September 29, and that is when the talking stops.
Will Easton Cowan hold down a top six spot with the Maple Leafs this season?
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