Jared Nelson Cowen (born January 25, 1991) is a
Canadian former professional
ice hockey player who played for the
Ottawa Senators of the
National Hockey League (NHL). Cowen was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Senators in the
2009 NHL Entry Draft
The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...
. Cowen was traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs in February 2016, but never played for the franchise and retired in 2017, after a pre-season tryout with the
Colorado Avalanche.
Playing career
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
The 2008 Memorial Cup was played in May 2008 in Kitchener, Ontario at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, Memorial Auditorium. It was the 90th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey cham ...
, 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 7 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
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
' 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 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...
, the Senators assigned Cowen to their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Binghamton Senators
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
, 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
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
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 Hurricanes star forward
Jeff Skinner
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
to leave the game and not return. Cowen later fought both
Chad LaRose
Chad LaRose (born March 27, 1982) is an American former professional hockey player. He has previously played as a Stanley Cup winner for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
As a youth, LaRose played in the ...
and
Kevin Westgarth
Kevin Reginald Westgarth (born February 7, 1984) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, and Calgary Flames. Westgarth mainly ...
. "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
The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to ...
. 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
Colin Peter Greening (born March 9, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played for the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Senators in the ...
,
Milan Michalek,
Tobias Lindberg
Tobias Lindberg (born 22 July 1995) is a Swedes, Swedish professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger who is currently playing with HC Vítkovice in the Czech Extraliga. He has previously played for Södertälje SK in the HockeyAllsvenska ...
and Ottawa's
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
second-round draft pick were sent to Toronto in exchange for Maple Leafs captain
Dion Phaneuf,
Matt Frattin,
Casey Bailey
Casey Bailey (born October 27, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with ERC Ingolstadt in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Bailey played college hockey with the Penn State Nittany Lions and is the first ...
, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey.
On February 26, 2016, Cowen was placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs and then assigned to their AHL affiliate, 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 the 2016–17 season; buying out Cowen's contract would provide the Leafs with a $650,000 salary cap credit for the 2016–17 season.
At the conclusion of the season, Cowen was placed on waivers with the intention of buying him out of his $3.1 million contract. After clearing waivers, Cowen filed a grievance against the Toronto Maple Leafs, claiming that since he was on the injury reserve, he could not be bought out of his contract. As a player younger than age 26, Cowen would have only been entitled to one-third of his remaining salary if bought out.
On December 7, it was announced Cowen's grievance had been dismissed by an arbitrator, and that he would remain bought out.
After sitting out the entirety of the
2016–17 season recuperating from injury, Cowen as a free agent agreed to professional tryout contract to attend the 2017 training camp of the
Colorado Avalanche on August 30, 2017. After participating in camp, Cowen was released by Colorado with one pre-season game remaining on September 27, 2017.
International play
Cowen helped Canada West win the bronze medal at the
2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament held in London, Lucan, St. Thomas, Stratford, Strathroy, and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada between December 29, 2007 and January 4, 2008. The venues used for the tournament included t ...
. In the tournament, he had seven assists in six 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
The 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an under-18 ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Piešťany, Slovakia from August 12–16, 2008. The two venues were Alcaplast Arena in Břeclav and Zimný Štadión in Piešťa ...
as well as having been one of five underage players on Canada's gold medal-winning team in the
2008 IIHF World U18 Championships
The 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Kazan, Russia. The championships began on April 13, 2008, and finished on April 23, 2008. Games were played at TatNeft Arena and Arena Kazan in Kazan. Canada defeated Russia 8–0 in the final to c ...
.
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
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...
.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowen, Jared
1991 births
Living people
Binghamton Senators players
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Ottawa Senators draft picks
Ottawa Senators players
Spokane Chiefs players
Sportspeople from Saskatoon