TORONTO — As Easton Cowan’s hair blew in the cold Scotiabank Arena air and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ in-house DJ cued up Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” — a nod to the farm kid’s nickname — to soundtrack his rookie lap, the former London Knights star looked up in the stands to soak in the moment.

Cowan spotted a row of his junior buddies wearing replicas of his old green-and-gold No. 7 sweater — backwards, so the lettering of his name stretched across their hearts.

“Just big smiles on their faces. It meant a lot that they came all the way here,” Cowan said, after realizing his NHL dream in front of 20 to 30 friends and family members on Thanksgiving. “Definitely special. It was very cool.”

Cool is an apt adjective to describe Cowan’s demeanour throughout this process, a third

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