Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3–2, but if you only look at the scoreboard, you miss the real story. The team played hard. They skated with urgency, battled on the boards, and led the game most of the way.
Much of that spark came from what had previously been thought of as the bottom of the lineup — from players like Easton Cowan and Nicholas Robertson. Both, to my eyes, brought a type of energy that has been largely absent in Toronto.
Watching the youngsters raised a question that has been circling my head for weeks: Can hunger travel upward? Here, I’m thinking more about Cowan, who made a difference in his short time with the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies and translated that into a ton of missed chances with the big club last night.
There’s something about watching a player who refuses to lose that’s contagious. Cowan lost, and his team with him. But you could see the refusal to quit in his game. It’s been with him in his first real stretch of AHL-to-NHL minutes. He carries himself like a player who has something to prove — and he worked to prove it every shift.
Every battle along the boards, every rush into the offensive zone, he played with a visible sense of urgency. Robertson wasn’t far behind. Only once did I see him, on the defensive end, looking a bit lost. These are young guys whose spots in the lineup aren’t guaranteed, whose minutes come with a reminder that they have to earn every inch. That edge can make a team better, but only if it spreads.
The strange thing about spreading energy is that it rarely does. Cowan’s energy last night was palpable, yet it didn’t completely carry the team. The flashes were there, but they weren’t contagious enough to fully ignite a veteran core. That’s not a knock on the veterans. But it’s the natural challenge of integrating a younger, hungrier energy into a team that hasn’t been able to break free of its own funk.
This is where the Maple Leafs’ problem has shown itself this season. The veterans, for all their skill and experience, don’t seem to show the fire (the urgency) that drives these two young players. They don’t lack effort, but the desperation appears absent. The grind that comes from having something to prove hasn’t shown itself in the middle of the lineup. Without that fire, minor errors get magnified, lapses linger, and the leads (like last night) slip quietly away during the games.
Head coach Craig Berube’s role here is critical. He was hired to instill structure and accountability, ensuring that players at every level do the right things. But his tools are limited if the players don’t feel like they have something to fight for. Loud “motivation” can only go so far. At some point, the veterans need to pick up the torch, or the flashes of fire from guys like Cowan will burn out without leaving a mark.
The challenge for Berube isn’t simply teaching systems, though those have sometimes seemed absent this season. His bigger job is to manage an emotional current. Can the coach create a culture where energy moves both ways? Where the desperation and fire of younger players uplift the older ones? It’s a fine line. Push too hard, and you risk resistance; stay too soft, and the team drifts without focus.
Last night was an example of what’s possible if even part of the team embraces that hunger. The Maple Leafs (particularly Cowan) never gave up. He played with heart. He was on the ice when the team desperately needed a score that never came. The power play didn’t work the way it should have, and they couldn’t finish on enough chances. But the effort — the fire — was there.
It suggests that keeping Cowan up with the team is a wise move. Robertson also seems to be growing into a meaningful role. He needs more time and space. But with Cowan, it’s becoming more than a developmental choice. It’s become a needed one because of the drive he brings. He is the energy carrier this team desperately needs.
Oliver Bonk took brief part in the Flyers’ practice today; what it means for his timeline for return and his place on the Phantoms.
Oct 1, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk (59) battle for the puck during the first period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
The Flyers are back from their quick road trip over the weekend, during which they split their back-to-back against the Blues and Stars, and after a surely much-needed day off on Sunday, they’re right back on the ice for a good practice, the first in their runway up to their next game on Thursday. And while the Flyers are working with some of the usual headlines coming out of the practice session — the shuffling of some of the forward lines, as well as an absence for Cam York which is, it seems, just for maintenance — the big news of the day is that they also have one of their top prospects returning to the ice as he works his way back from injury.
For the first time since he took an upper-body injury during rookie camp, Oliver Bonk was back on the ice with the Flyers. It’s been a long road for him, as his injury was initially thought to be more of the day-to-day variety, but it’s turned out to be more serious, keeping him out now for upwards of two months, so it’s nice to see him getting back into the mix, albeit briefly and still in that non-contact jersey.
Now, as reported by some of the boots on the ground at practice this morning, Bonk didn’t take the full practice with the NHL group, but rather came out for a bit of warmup work with the main group, and then headed over to the other ice sheet to continue with some individual rehab skating. So, it would seem that Bonk isn’t yet pounding on the door for a full return to action, but it’s encouraging all the same to see the recovery process continuing to move along nicely for him, as he gets closer to a return to playing, and eventually, his professional debut with the Phantoms.
Getting Bonk back into the mix would be a pretty significant boost for the Phantoms in terms of raising the floor of the raw skill level of the group, particularly with veteran Dennis Gilbert remaining out with injury.
This will be, though, the first time in recent memory when the Phantoms will have a surplus of bonafide AHL level talent on the right side of their defense. The Phantoms were running for much of the early part of the season with just one right-shooting AHL regular in the mix, in Helge Grans, and filling in the rest with bubble players. Now, though, between the team getting right shooting Christian Kyrou back in the trade for Samu Tuomaala last month, and getting Ethan Samson back from injury over the weekend, the Phantoms are now running a full group of at least marginally more veteran defensemen on the right side of their defense. When Bonk returns, though, this will mean the coaching staff will either have to establish some kind of platoon rotating two or more of these players in and out of the lineup — as they’ve already been doing with some of their players up front — or else move someone over to play on their off-side and push one of the bubble players (like a Berger or a Sevigny) out to prioritize the AHL regulars.
At some point, though, some kind of rotation is going to have to be established, as the Phantoms will be adding to their mix the literally just now acquired Maxence Guenette who is another righty, and with Rasmus Ristolainen also progressing through his recovery track and looking like he could be back in action before very long, the Flyers will also need to send at least one defenseman back down to the Phantoms to make space to activate him, so their surplus of players will grow even more significant. This isn’t an impossible situation that they’ll eventually find themselves in, but it will be a challenging one, as they work to strike the balance between fairness and optimizing their lineup to best help them secure wins.
All of this said, though, Bonk is going to get games. Not just because he needs to — as one of the organization’s top prospects and one who needs reps at the pro level to advance his development — but because his game is one which can offer a lot to the team, once he’s able to really get going. His details focused, well-rounded style of play is one which should lend him some versatility in that lineup, as he could be a good stylistic fit with just about any of the other pieces on the back end. His ability to move the puck cleanly and with some pace will also be an element of his game which will work particularly well within the Phantoms’ game plan, as they’re shifting their play style to a more uptempo transitioning team.
And on top of that, while Kyrou has been carving out a nice role for himself running the Phantoms’ top power play unit, the spot (or spots) on the second unit have been a little less locked down, as the Phantoms are still looking for the right mix, and Bonk could quite easily see himself sliding into a role there to help round out the second unit, building up from some success found in a similar role at the junior level.
Of course, ultimately it will take him some time to work himself up to speed and adjust enough to the professional game where he can again get to the top of his game, just like every other rookie in the league, but the Phantoms are running a system which should support his growing game nicely.