Jared Cowen

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 selected by the Spokane Chiefs with the first-overall pick in the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s 2006 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 7 goals and 14 assists.

However, his season was cut short due to a knee injury suffered in a game against the Chilliwack Bruins.

Cowen was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

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.

In his final year with the Chiefs, he was named a WHL Western Conference Second Team All-Star.

Cowen signed a professional contract with the Senators on February 3, 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 Chára 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 his junior team.

He joined Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators after the Spokane Chiefs were ousted in the third round of the WHL playoffs.

Binghamton at the time was in the second round of their own playoffs.

Cowen quickly became a key component for his new team as they went on to win the 2011 Calder Cup championship.

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 the Binghamton Senators, 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 Hurricanes 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 unsigned as 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.

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.