Jared Cowen

Jared Nelson Cowen (born January 25, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. His rights were last owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cowen was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He began his professional career with the Senators at the end of the 2009–10 season and joined the team full-time in 2011 after completing his junior hockey career with the Spokane Chiefs. Cowen was a member of the Senators organization until a February, 2016, trade to the Maple Leafs, though he ultimately never played a game with Toronto and was bought out by the team in September, 2016. Cowen was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Allan, Saskatchewan.

Junior
Cowen was selected by the Chiefs with the first-overall pick in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft. He appeared in six regular season games in the 2006–07 season and also six playoff games. In his first full season with the team, he played in 68 games, and had four goals, 14 assists and 18 points, to go along with 62 penalty minutes. The Chiefs won the Ed Chynoweth Cup that season as the league's champions. Cowen played in all 21 playoff games, scoring one goal and adding three assists. As the league's champions, the Chiefs subsequently earned a berth in the 2008 Memorial Cup, where they defeated the Kitchener Rangers by a score of 4-1. Cowen effectively clinched the Chiefs' championship by scoring into an empty net with 56 seconds to play. He was named the Chiefs rookie of the year, and the WHL Western Conference scholastic player of the year.

The 2008–09 season saw Cowen's numbers improve, as he registered seven goals and 14 assists. However, his season was cut short due to a knee injury suffered in a game against the Chilliwack Bruins. He still managed to be ranked as the fourth best skater in the final rankings for the 2009 NHL Draft by the International Scouting Service. He was chosen ninth overall by the Ottawa Senators.

Professional
Cowen signed a professional contract with the Senators in March 2010. After Spokane was eliminated from the playoffs, Cowen received a call-up to the Senators. He made his NHL debut with the Senators on April 8, 2010, in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Compared by some scouts to Zdeno Chara and Derian Hatcher, Cowen was expected to challenge for a roster spot in Ottawa for the 2010–11 season. Cowen made it to the final cuts at the 2010 training camp, before being returned to junior.

Cowen was a member of the Binghamton Senators' 2011 Calder Cup championship team in his first season of professional hockey.

In 2011–12, Cowen made the Ottawa roster out of training camp and played regularly, being paired with veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar. He scored his first NHL goal on November 1, 2011, against Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. As the season progressed, Cowen emerged as one of Ottawa's top four defencemen.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the Senators assigned Cowen to their AHL farm team in Binghamton in order to give him the opportunity to play at a competitive level. He suffered what was expected to be a season-ending hip injury on October 6, 2012, in a game against the Albany Devils. Cowen underwent surgery on November 17, 2012, in New York to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. By March 27, 2013, Cowen was able to practice with the Senators and he was finally able to return to the Ottawa lineup on April 16, 2013, much sooner than initial estimate of six to eight months. His return to the lineup was a memorable one, as he delivered a clean open-ice hit 13 minutes into the game which caused Carolina star forward Jeff Skinner to leave the game and not return. Cowen later fought both Chad LaRose and Kevin Westgarth. "I think it's the first two-fight game I've had since junior, but I like it", said Cowen of his first game back.

One day earlier, on April 15, 2013, Cowen was among a small group of Senators' players who had planned on attending the 2013 Boston Marathon. Cowen and the other players had originally intended to be at the marathon's finish line during the time at which bombs exploded, killing and injuring several spectators and runners. Scratches for that night's game against the Boston Bruins, the players changed their plans at the last minute and elected to return to their hotel for a nap instead. "We probably would have been in that exact same spot, within a block or so," said Cowen.

As Ottawa's 2013 training camp opened, Cowen remained a restricted free agent. On September 14, 2013, the team announced that it had come to an agreement on a four-year contract with the defenceman with an average annual value of $3.1 million.

In the 2015–16 season, Cowen struggled to solidify himself within the Ottawa lineup, occasionally seeing himself a healthy scratch. On February 9, 2016, Cowen was included in a blockbuster, nine-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg and Ottawa's 2017 second round pick were shipped to Toronto in exchange for Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey. On February 26, 2016, Cowen was placed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs and then assigned to the Toronto Marlies. Cowen was then sent home by Toronto to await a buyout and given the freedom to contact other teams about a new contract for 2016–17. Buying out Cowen's contract provides a salary cap credit. At the conclusion of the season, Cowen was placed on waivers with the intention of buying him out of his $3.1M contract. After clearing waivers, Cowen filed a grievance with the Toronto Maple Leafs, claiming that since he was on the injury reserve, he could not be bought out of his contract. However, Cowen was denied an injunction.

International play
Cowen helped Canada West win the bronze medal at the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. In the tournament, he had 7 assists in 6 games, en route to being named player of the game for Team West three times. Cowen was also an assistant captain on Canada's gold medal winning team in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament as well as having been one of five underage players on Canada's gold medal winning team in the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Cowen was invited to Team Canada's selection camp for the 2010 World Junior Championships held in Regina during December, 2009. Cowen was selected to Team Canada for the event. On December 19, 2010, Cowen was named alternate captain for the 2011 Canadian Junior National Team to Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires, along with his fellow returnees, Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Calvin de Haan of the Oshawa Generals.