Barlow brings 200-foot game

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This article was published 28/06/2023 (805 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greg Walters wants fans of the Winnipeg Jets to understand the kind of top-quality person and player they’re getting in Colby Barlow. So, to hammer home his point he shared a couple of stories.

Walters has coached Barlow, who was selected by the Jets with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the NHL Draft Wednesday night, the last two seasons as the bench boss of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.

This past season, following a 5-4 overtime loss to the London Knights in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series — a game in which Barlow scored three times, including twice in the final 85 seconds to tie it — Walters noticed something while watching film on the team bus. The tying goal had come from a shot from the point, but it wasn’t clear to Walters until he watched the replay on his laptop that Barlow had clearly tipped it, completing the hat trick.

The officials had missed the tip, meaning the goal was awarded to the shooter, and Barlow hadn’t said a word at the time. Walters then walked up to Barlow to ask him about the goal and congratulate him for such a big accomplishment, especially for a 17-year-old, but the player wanted nothing to do with it.

“I started to ask him if he had tipped in the tying goal and before I could finish, he told me he didn’t care,” Walters told the Free Press in a phone interview. “He just turned away from me. He said it didn’t matter because we lost the game.”

The second story was from the previous year, Barlow’s rookie season with the Attack as an underage player. The left-winger was sitting at 29 goals in the final regular season game and his teammates, desperately wanting him to hit 30, did everything they could to set him up for a goal.

Tired of feeling like the game was becoming all about him, Barlow stood up on the bench and told his teammates to knock it off, that it was more important that they practice good habits for the playoffs than whether he hit 30 goals. Barlow still reached the milestone, however, scoring in OT to earn the Attack a 3-2 win over the Kitchener Rangers.

“I’ve been doing this for 23 years now and this is the highest character kid that I’ve been around. And I coached (Tampa Bay Lightning star) Steven Stamkos and he’s obviously right up there,” Walters said. “But to name a kid captain at 17 is special. The stories are endless of him being team-first and putting his teammates first. Winnipeg has got an unbelievable kid and a future captain, for sure.”

Barlow, at 6-1 and 185 pounds, possesses a dangerous combo of size and skill. He scored 46 goals and added 33 assists for 79 points in 59 regular-season games with the Attack, while adding another three goals in four playoff games. He had another four points (3G, 1A) in six games while helping Team Canada earn gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

As skilled as he is, though, he’s also smart. Barlow was named the OHL’s winner of the Bobby Smith Trophy, awarded to the Scholastic Player of the year. He’s also incredibly detailed and respectful to his coaches, even if he can act a little miffed following a loss.

“I’m just a 200-foot power forward with goal-scoring ability. I play hard, competitive, drive the net, play with some passion,” Barlow, who was born in Orillia, Ont., told reporters in Nashville, where the draft is being hosted. “It’s super special to play for a Canadian team. As a Canadian boy, you grow up watching Saturday night games. It’s just surreal to be a part of the Winnipeg Jets.”

Barlow came as somewhat of a surprise pick in the draft, with many believing he fell to the Jets after he was projected to go earlier in the first round. The Jets were likely planning a future without him but were surely grinning from ear to ear when he was still available.

There were no trades in the first round, which is rare. A few local connections were also picked ahead of Barlow, including Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson and Winnipeg Ice left-winger Zach Benson going to the Detroit Red Wings at No. 9 and Buffalo Sabres at No. 13, respectively.

“It was just awesome to see all of the other players get drafted ahead of me. They’re all great players,” Barlow said. “It’s your dream coming true so there’s excitement, there’s nerves, you’re all over the place in your mind. You never know where you’re going to play until your name gets called. It’s just a special day.”

Barlow said he models his game after a few NHL players, notably Vancouver’s J.T. Miller, as well as Toronto’s Auston Matthews and John Tavares. He also takes pride in his defensive game, something that should be music to the ears of Jets head coach Rick Bowness.

“If you can’t be trusted in your own end, you’re not going to see the ice,” Barlow said. “It was (during my first year in the OHL) where you get your first taste of you’ve got to be a complete hockey player and not just think about offence all the time.”

It’s unclear what the future holds for Barlow and how quickly he’ll make the jump to the NHL. The Jets have plenty of talent on the left wing, including Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti, who can also play centre, Alex Iafallo and Morgan Barron.

Barlow is unlikely to make the Jets next season, but he will certainly be at training camp. And he will definitely be a big part of the club’s future.

“He’s a hard-nosed player and someone that has tremendous skill,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff told Sportsnet in an interview moments after the pick. “We just love the way he plays and if you watch the playoffs, that’s the type of players that help you win championships.”

The draft continues with rounds two through seven happening today. The Jets currently have no pick in the second, one pick in the third (82nd overall), no pick in the fourth, two picks in the fifth (146th and 151st, from NYR), no pick in the sixth and one pick in the seventh (210th).

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton