Through thick and thin Jets family of coaches rallied around each other during Bowness’s absence By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:12 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023

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This article was published 13/12/2023 (665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LOS ANGELES — They weren’t two weeks into the shiny new season, one filled with great promise and expectations, and it was already threatening to go off the rails for the Winnipeg Jets.

Ville Heinola, the promising young defenceman who was about to put his stamp on a roster spot, broke his ankle in the final exhibition game. Gabe Vilardi, the prized return in a blockbuster summer trade, suffered a significant knee injury. Three losses in the first four games already had them in an early hole.

Then, the biggest blow of all: Judy Bowness collapsed in her home on Oct. 22 and suffered a major, life-threatening seizure. Her husband, Rick, was stepping away from his duties as head coach to be by her side as she underwent a series of medical procedures and tests.

The keys were turned over indefinitely to associate coach Scott Arniel and assistants Brad Lauer and Marty Johnston, now tasked with trying to get the reeling hockey club back on track.

Mission accomplished: Winnipeg would go an impressive 9-2-2 during what ended up being a monthlong absence for Bowness, the beloved bench boss whose return had everyone breathing a sigh of relief.

Free Press hockey writer Mike McIntyre spent time the past week with Arniel, Lauer and Johnston while on the road covering the Jets in Denver, San Jose and Anaheim. He files this feature from the final stop in Los Angeles, where the Jets face the Kings on Wednesday night.

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Sure, goals and saves and wins and points were all important. There’s no question the Jets required plenty more of all of those after a sluggish start filled with adversity. However, Scott Arniel’s biggest priority while serving as interim head coach was a more personal one.

“Right from the beginning we talked about family, and not letting Rick and Judy down,” Arniel recalled, his voice cracking. “We had to get going. We didn’t know what the future looked like. So we just had to make sure we were sharp right from the beginning.”

We often hear, in the world of professional sports, about athletes rallying around each other. About coming up big when their backs are against the wall. About stepping up before things go south.

Turns out you can apply a similar mentality to coaches.

“We all have our assignments, we all have our jobs here that we need to do. But there was a little bit more added on to everybody’s plate,” said Arniel.

“Right from the beginning we talked about family, and not letting Rick and Judy down.”–Scott Arniel

“We spread it out and made sure we got all the work done, all the details done. Whether it was meetings with players, continuing to do video stuff, just trying to stay on top of that. Try to be as seamless as possible.”

The bottom line, said Arniel, was not adding to the list of worries for Bowness and his family. They figured the last thing he needed was to have the hockey team crumble in his absence.

“The players were great about everything. All of a sudden if we go into the tank then we’re scrambling from that point forward,” he said.

Winnipeg beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Oct. 24 in the first game this year without Bowness, and they were off and running in the right direction from that point on. Just two regulation losses in those 13 games had them suddenly hanging with hockey’s heavyweights.

Turns out teamwork made the dream work.

“It was different, that’s for sure,” said Lauer, who oversees the power play.

“I moved down to work with the defencemen (which Arniel usually does along with the penalty kill). Marty stayed with the forwards, and Arnie obviously ran the bench. So a little adjustment there. Workload wise, we tried to keep things similar but it was a little more work as far as video and other stuff goes.”

“The Xs and Os are just Xs and Os. At the end of the day it’s still about people.”–Brad Lauer

Unlike a situation where a coach is fired during a season, there were no new systems brought in. The structure of what Bowness had put in place during the just-completed training camp remained intact. This was more about communication and motivation, which wasn’t hard to find given the circumstances.

“Everyone around here cares for each other. There’s a real family-type feel, for sure,” said Lauer. “The Xs and Os are just Xs and Os. At the end of the day it’s still about people. It’s about managing people and understanding people.”

At the NHL level, coaches try to have as much one-on-one time with players as possible. That became more difficult with one less body around, but Johnston said they made it work.

“It’s so to make sure we have that time with each player. The good thing is the foundation was already built. And we had a structure in place that we were all comfortable with,” he said.

“The players really stepped up as well. There was, you know, a real maturity about the group, and I think that helped us get through that stretch of games where we found ways to win.”

A bout of COVID early last season took Bowness off the bench for a handful of games. However, he was still heavily involved in day-to-day planning through Zoom and text messaging as he recovered at home. This time around was much different.

“The first 10 games we really didn’t hear much from him,” said Arniel. “Then, we knew things were starting to turn for the better when the text messages started coming alive.”

“Scott, obviously, did a great job creating that stability for us. And making sure that when it was the right time for Bones to come back that we were gonna do all the things that we’ve always done.”–Marty Johnston

Rick and Judy Bowness had gone to Florida as part of her ongoing recovery, and the 68-year-old ultimately re-connected with the club on Nov. 24 as they were set to face the Panthers that night. It was an emotional return, filled with hugs and tears and, ultimately, a terrific 3-0 victory to go with the great news that Judy had made significant improvements.

“Scott, obviously, did a great job creating that stability for us. And making sure that when it was the right time for Bones to come back that we were gonna do all the things that we’ve always done,” said Johnston. “Certainly, it was a really special moment to see him in Florida.”

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They came from vastly different backgrounds, all hired in the summer of 2022 to try and take the Jets to the next level.

“I think we all kind of have our own avenues of getting to coaching. I think that speaks well,” Arniel said of the trio of assistants.

“When we get talking, whether it’s practice drills, maybe a certain situation in games or meetings, just different things about coaching, how we approach things… everybody has sort of a different view because they’ve done it at different levels. I think that’s always good.”

Now, their bond is even tighter than it was before.

Arniel, 61, was brought in to be Bowness’ right-hand man — and, some suspect, the next Jets coach-in-waiting — after having spent the previous four years as an assistant with the Washington Capitals. He had a brief tenure as an NHL head coach but was fired in early 2012 after just one-and-a-half years with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The fire still burns, and the success during this interim stint only added fuel to it.

“You always want that second chance to get a kick at it,” Arniel admitted. “This isn’t the avenue I wanted to go about it, but there’s a lot of self-confidence that came from it. At the end of the day, I’ve learned a lot.”

Lauer, 57, came straight from junior, fresh off winning the Western Hockey League championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He’d previously worked as an NHL assistant for seven seasons with Ottawa, Anaheim and Tampa Bay.

“I think there’s a comfort as a staff here,” he said. “Everybody knows each other and has their role. One thing there is is really good communication amongst our staff. Everybody’s there to help each other. It makes it very enjoyable going to work.”

Johnston was an internal hire with the Jets, being promoted from the Manitoba Moose. The 45-year-old Ontario product is the youngest and least experienced of the group, plus the only one who didn’t play in the NHL (the highest level he ultimately played was in the ECHL).

Now in his seventh year of coaching (five as an assistant with the Moose, the last two with the Jets), Johnston is thrilled to have Bowness back to lead the way.

“I consider myself very fortunate to be working with Bones and quite honestly, everybody on the staff. Everything I had heard of Rick, the type of person he is, has shown itself in the last 14 or 15 months. He’s dedicated to his family and he’s just a great human being,” said Johnston.

“I’m learning every day and I’m also surrounded by people that have really strong ethics in terms of who they are as people. Obviously we don’t want to have any more moments like this, but I think it’s brought us all that much closer.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg