The London Knights are trying to cement their status as one of the most dominant teams in the history of the . The Oshawa Generals hope to gain a measure of redemption.
But there will be a very interesting game-within-the-game when the OHL final begins Thursday night in London, and the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs will be very keen observers.
The repeat of the 2025 final prominently features the Maple Leafs鈥 top two prospects 鈥 dynamic right winger Easton Cowan of the Knights and shut-down defenceman Ben Danford, who is the captain of the Generals.
Cowan might be the most dominant offensive player in junior hockey and Danford was voted both the best defensive defenceman and the best shot blocker in the Eastern Conference in the OHL鈥檚 annual coaches鈥 poll.
Rather than filling the net himself, the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs first-round pick revels in stopping his opponent and shutting down top forwards.
Rather than filling the net himself, the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs first-round pick revels in stopping his opponent and shutting down top forwards.
So you can expect Cowan and Danford to spend the next little while going nose-to-nose.
鈥淲e鈥檒l probably see each other on the ice quite a bit,鈥 Danford said. 鈥淚t should be fun. He鈥檚 a great player and we got pretty close in camp. It should be a lot of fun to play against him. They have a lot of high-end players over there.鈥
There aren鈥檛 many defencemen in junior hockey who would describe the prospect of having to play Cowan in a seven-game series as something that would be fun. But Danford, the Maple Leafs鈥 first-round pick (31st overall)聽in 2024, has always excelled in that area of the game. It is where he has carved his niche as a player and certainly what the Leafs envision him being at the pro level.
Cowan, on the other hand, is something of a Mitch Marner clone, a player with incredible quick-strike ability, outstanding vision and head for the game who can play both ends of the ice and kill penalties.
And both Cowan聽and Danford聽have endured their share of highs and lows this season. Danford missed all of main camp with the Leafs and the first three games of the OHL season after suffering a concussion in Leafs rookie camp; Cowan was an early cut of the Leafs in camp and struggled to produce at the world junior championship for the second straight year.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 in a bit of a reset right now,鈥 Maple Leafs assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser told The Hockey News earlier this season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy to have all eyes on you in this market, so the challenge for him right now is as much mental as it is physical.鈥
With the trade of Fraser Minten to the Boston Bruins in the Brandon Carlo deal, Cowan and Danford are undisputably the top two prospects in the Maple Leafs鈥 system.
New Year’s Eve vs. the Americans will be a prime-time opportunity for Cowan to show what he can do in a featured role.
New Year’s Eve vs. the Americans will be a prime-time opportunity for Cowan to show what he can do in a featured role.
The only thing keeping Cowan from leading the OHL in playoff scoring 鈥 he鈥檚 tied for third with eight goals and 27 points 鈥 is the fact that he hasn鈥檛 played enough games. The Knights have swept their first three series, outscoring the Owen Sound Attack, Erie Otters and Kitchener Rangers 68-28 in the process, and they鈥檙e trying to become the first team in Canadian Hockey League history to sweep four consecutive best-of-seven series. Dating back to last season, the Knights are 28-2 in the playoffs, which included a four-game sweep of the Generals in the 2024 final in which they outscored Oshawa 31-9.
But this is a much different version of the Generals. Last year, Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim’s third-overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, had to sit out the final series with an injury. The Generals have also made some key additions, including Winnipeg Jets top prospect Colby Barlow up front and Nashville Predators prospect Andrew Gibson on defence.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 happy or satisfied with the job we did last year,鈥 Danford said. 鈥淎nd this year we want to get it done. I feel like last year we wanted to have a deep playoff run, but I don鈥檛 think it was necessarily our year. This year we went all in and got some huge pieces and all year our eyes have been set on winning it all.鈥
The Knights鈥 eyes will be firmly fixed on the same target, for good reason. Despite their dominance in the OHL in 2023-24 they couldn’t get the job completed in the most important game of the season, losing 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit on a goal with 22 seconds left in the Memorial Cup final. A win in this OHL final series will punch their ticket for a return trip to the tournament, which is scheduled for May 22 to June 1 in Moncton, N.B. The Moncton Wildcats and Rimouski Oceanic already have the Quebec-Maritimes Major Junior Hockey League berths.
While the Knights are favoured to win 鈥 London was the OHL’s best team in the regular season, finishing with a 55-11-2-0 record; Oshawa was seventh overall at 41-21-4-2 鈥 the Generals aren鈥檛 there to simply pick up a participation badge. The Generals are a storied OHL franchise with a tradition of success, a tradition Danford and Co. are eager to continue.
鈥淲e鈥檙e super confident in our group,鈥 Danford said. 鈥淚 think it will come down to structure and details. I think it鈥檚 going to be a really tight series.鈥
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