Jared Cowen

Jared Cowen (born on January 25, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was drafted in the first round (ninth overall) by the Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Jared 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.

Junior Playing Career
Jared 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, Jared 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.

He 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.

Jared 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 Jared'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.

Jared still managed to be ranked as the fourth best skater in the final rankings for the 2009 NHL Draft by the International Scouting Service.

Professional\NHL Career
In March of 2010, Jared signed a professional contract with the Senators. After Spokane was eliminated from the playoffs, he 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, Jared was expected to challenge for a roster spot in Ottawa for the 2010-11 season.

He made it to the final cuts at the 2010 training camp, before being returned to junior.

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

In 2011-12, he made the Ottawa roster out of training camp and played regularly, being paired with veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar.

On November 1, 2011, Jared scored his first NHL goal against Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. As the season progressed, he emerged as one of Ottawa's top four defencemen.

During the 2012-13 NHL lockout, the Senators assigned Jared to their AHL farm team in Binghamton in order to give him the opportunity to play at a competitive level.

On October 6, 2012, he suffered from what was expected to be a season-ending hip injury on October 6, 2012, in a game against the Albany Devils.

On November 17, 2012, Jared underwent surgery in New York to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.

By March 27, 2013, he was able to practice with the Senators and was finally able to return to the Ottawa lineup on April 16, 2013 (much sooner than initial estimate of six to eight months).

Jared's 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.

Later, Jared 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," Jared said about his first game back.

On April 15, 2013, Jared was among a small group of Senators' players who had planned on attending the 2013 Boston Marathon.

He 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 Jared.

As Ottawa's 2013 training camp opened, Jared 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 him with an average annual value of $3.1 million.

Awards & Achievements

 * Won a silver medal for Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship
 * 2011 AHL Calder Cup

International Play
Jared 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.

He 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.

Jared was invited to Team Canada's selection camp for the 2010 World Junior Championships held in Regina during December of 2009. He was selected to Team Canada for the event.

On December 19, 2010, Jared 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.