Easton Cowan secures spot on projected 2025 WJC Team Canada full roster
As the days inch closer to the start of the World Junior Hockey Championships, rosters are being projected, and Leafs' Easton Cowan appears to have made Team Canada.
With exactly 143 days to go until the puck drops at the 2025 World Junior Championship (WJC) in Ottawa, Ontario, potential rosters for countries participating in the tournament have begun to circulate, and the Team Canada roster looks formidable.
Team Canada is aiming for a much better performance than last year's WJC, where they suffered a devastating quarterfinal loss to Czechia in Sweden.
Prior to that exit, Canada had won the gold medal for two years in a row. Since the tournament will be played on home soil this year in Canada's capital city, the organization is pulling out all the stops to ensure they are as competitive as possible.
Bradly Nadeau (CAR) � Brayden Yager (PIT) � Riley Heidt (MIN)
Tij Iginla (UTH) � Cal Ritchie (COL) � Beckett Sennecke (ANA)
Easton Cowan (TOR) � Berkly Catton (SEA) � Gavin McKenna (2026)
Carson Rehkopf (SEA) � Denver Barkey (PHI) � Porter Martone (2025)
Matthew Wood (NSH)
Defensemen
Sam Dickinson (SJS) � Oliver Bonk (PHI)
Tanner Molendyk (NSH) � Zayne Parekh (CGY)
Étienne Morin (CGY) � Andrew Gibson (NSH)
Carter Yakemchuk (OTT)
Goaltenders
Carson Bjarnason (PHI)
Scott Ratzlaff (BUF)
Let's look at Canada's expected top line. Bradly Nadeau is believed to be a strong contender for a spot on the Carolina Hurricanes roster this upcoming season. However, he may not stay with the NHL team for the entire season, so chances are high he returns to play for Team Canada at the WJC.
He will likely be paired with Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt, two players who have been long-time friends and have spent a lot of time playing together in the past. This would be a formidable scoring line.
Taking a look at the top line on the back end, it appears it will be the all-London duo of Sam Dickinson and Oliver Bonk. Dickinson was a top defender at the World Junior Summer Showcase and he took home gold at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky tournament and won the 2024 OHL Championship. Bonk would also be returning for his second time to the club, and would be looking for a better outcome than last year.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans will be very excited to know that one of their club's top prospects is pencilled in the projected lineup. Easton Cowan appears to be headed to Ottawa to represent his country once again in December, as he was on the Team Canada team that fell short last year. He will definitely be looking for a rebound performance.
Cowan appears to be slotted in to the third line alongside Seattle Kraken's Berkly Catton and soon to be draft eligible in 2026, Gavin McKenna. Cowan will be expected to have a bigger role than what he had with the team last year.
He was placed in more of a checking and penalty kill role for the team, however he and his line-mates would be expected to score more goals this year. These three could be very dangerous together, and Canada's third line would likely take many countries by surprise with how much of an offensive threat they could be.
Easton Cowan had a great season with the London Knights in their Championship run last year, as he scored 34 goals and had 96 points in the 54 regular season games the team played. He also added 34 points in the team's 18 playoff games.
Source: Daily Faceoff
2025 World Junior Championship: A very early Team Canada roster projection
Source: HockeyDB
Easton Cowan Stats
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