Look who’s lighting the lamp… Lowry

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This article was published 01/02/2021 (1734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets centre Adam Lowry has all the tools you’d want of a teammate.

Jets coaches and players universally respect him for his commitment to the game and style in which he plays. He’s unselfish in who he plays with and his defensive game is the catalyst to the identity of the Jets third line, which is often tasked to play against the other team’s best players. He’s also no stranger to dropping the gloves, possessing a willingness to stand up for his teammates.

It’s the kind of makeup that makes one wonder why Lowry isn’t part of the formal leadership group, even if he does lead by example.

“As an overt sign of leadership, the letter on the sweater, (he’s deserving) for sure. What he is, is that he’s unique in the room. A big, powerful man. Our team hasn’t been built on defence-first players. We have some and he clearly takes that assignment and takes it seriously, on the penalty kill but also the physical element. When you have something happen, like it did in Vegas last year, and he ends up fighting a really tough player in Ryan Reaves, you have a unique spot in the room,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “What makes him a strong leader, he’s a very intelligent man — and he’s also the (team’s NHLPA) player rep, so there’s a respect for the fact that he has their best interests at heart on and off the ice.

“He’s universally respected for that and by the coaching staff as well. The guy wants to learn and he wants to talk about hockey. Adam is a really focused individual and we’re fortunate that we’ve got a lot of those guys. He wants to get better, wants to improve his game. But he’s never once knocked on the door and said ‘hey, I want to play more minutes. I don’t like the role that I’ve got. I want to play with more offensive guys. This is a guy who scored 15 goals for us a few years ago and has never once complained that I’ve put him in a role that, at times, is going to limit his offence. A team-first mindset always makes those guys leaders.”

Lowry has established himself as one of the Jets go-to defensive players. While his linemates have changed over the years, with some staying longer than others, he’s been the one constant on the third trio. He’s currently playing between Mason Appleton and Mathieu Perreault.

While his defensive game is what has blossomed, the 27-year-old has taken full advantage of his opportunities in the offensive zone this season. Heading into tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames, Lowry is riding a six-game point streak, a stretch that includes four goals and eight points.

Filling the score sheet is not new for Lowry over his career, though it has been less consistent at the NHL level. As captain of the Swift Current Broncos for the 2012-13 WHL season, he scored 45 goals and had 43 assists for 88 points in 72 games.

He’s shown flashes of offence in the NHL. It should be interesting to see how, or if at all, Maurice moves Lowry, with the arrival of recently acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Maurice said he was considering moving Lowry to the wing, but stopped short of saying on which line. Given he plays anywhere between 16 and 20 minutes per game, Lowry was asked if a move to the top-six would even be considered a promotion.

“I kind of view my role and my minutes individually and collectively, as someone’s got to take on that responsibility. You can’t just have 12 guys that are filling the stat sheet every night; you need guys to go out there and defend, play in your own end, take key draws, kind of things like that,” he said. “The minutes I get and the role I have on this team is something I’ve embraced and something I enjoy doing.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton