Lowry ready to step up

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This article was published 23/09/2022 (1080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Lowry has long been considered a leader with the Winnipeg Jets, despite never wearing a letter on his jersey.

He is respected by his teammates for his contributions on and off the ice, and has committed long term to Winnipeg, in the second year of a five-year, US$16.25 million contract.

So, with new head coach Rick Bowness looking to revamp the club’s leadership group, Lowry seems like an obvious choice to step into a more prominent role. Something Lowry admitted wasn’t always easy last year after his father, Dave, replaced Paul Maurice as head coach.

“Last year was a little different having your father as the head coach. Sometimes it cuts your voice out a little bit,” Lowry said. “It’s just, for me, how I play on the ice. Don’t cheat the game, play hard, do what’s asked of you, what the coach is asking of you, and if there are some uncomfortable conversations that have to happen in the room — that’s something you have to do, you have to be comfortable in different situations. It’s taking on a little more responsibility, a little more ownership of not only your game but the team’s game as well.”

SOMETHING TO PROVE: At this time a year ago, there were plenty of pundits proclaiming the Jets to be Stanley Cup contenders, only for Winnipeg to miss the playoffs, finishing sixth in the Central Division. Turns out, there were some inside the locker room that were also distracted by the hype.

Needless to say, it’s a much different feel this training camp.

“Two completely different mindsets in training camps, I think. This year, we’ve got a chip on our shoulder. I think, collectively that’s been the narrative talking amongst the guys from Bowness’ message on down to us, we’ve got something to prove,” Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon said. “Last year, I don’t know if you want to call it complacent or just expecting that things were going to happen for us without actually going and earning it. We got our slice of humble pie and it was a long summer. It’s nice to see a Central Division (team) winning the Stanley Cup and we want to compete with the best and we’re going to get a lot of that this year.”

YEAR BY YEAR: Jets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois made headlines over the summer after it was reported that he planned to test free agency once his rights were up with Winnipeg following the 2023-24 NHL season. Dubois, who signed a one-year, $US6 million contract in July, was asked how this season might influence his future and option to sign long term with the Jets.

“I’ve said this before and you guys might not like it, but I’m a one-year-at-a-time kind of guy. My dream’s to win a Stanley Cup. And I won’t win a Stanley Cup in four years because of something I do now,” Dubois said. “I want to do it now so I can win this year. So this summer’s been about getting ready for this camp, getting ready for this season. Last year was obviously a disappointing year, so it’s just been about that and not about two, three, four years down the line.”

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: The Jets had their first inter-squad game of training camp, with Team Hawerchuk earning a 2-0 victory over Team Steen. Daniel Torgersson and Mark Scheifele provided the goals, while Oskari Salminen and Domenic DiVincentiis combined for the shutout.

The Jets will have one more scrimmage game, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, which coincides with the annual Fan Fest festivities taking place at Bell MTS Iceplex, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Winnipeg kicks off the first of six pre-season games Sunday against the Oilers in Edmonton.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton