Lowry a leader in every sense of word

Opinion

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This article was published 16/12/2022 (1014 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — This is an Adam Lowry appreciation column.

The 29-year-old Winnipeg Jets forward is almost all steak, and very little sizzle, when it comes to his on-ice play. You won’t see him pulling off many filthy toe drags or dazzling end-to-end rushes. That’s just not his style.

But that doesn’t make him any less valuable to the hockey club. Quite the contrary. Lowry does plenty of heavy lifting, the kind of grunt work that doesn’t always hit the scoresheet or the highlight reels but is very much appreciated by teammates, coaches and management.

Killing penalties. Blocking shots. Throwing big hits. Protecting and defending his teammates. Shutting down opponents’ big guns. And, occasionally, chipping in offensively.

Lowry’s most recent performance, on Thursday night at Canada Life Centre, is Exhibit A in that regard. It was a tasty sample platter of all his various talents.

After defenceman Nate Schmidt was on the receiving end of a hard, heavy hit from Nashville’s Tanner Jeannot, Lowry knew what needed to be done. On the ensuing faceoff, he dropped the gloves for a quick but spirited scrap.

It brought fans out of their seats. It got teammates banging their sticks in approval. And it reinforced what has become a mantra for the Jets under new coach Rick Bowness.

“If you go after one of us, you go after all of us,” said defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “For Lows to step up, it just shows the strength of our group.”

Some might suggest the fight was silly and unnecessary. But those who play the game will swear otherwise. It matters.

That was far from his only contribution. Lowry was a massive part of the penalty kill that went a perfect three-for-three, which made a huge difference in a game that was tied 1-1 through regulation. He’s been doing that all season long, which is why Winnipeg currently owns the fifth-best PK percentage in the NHL.

And then the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Lowry showed his hands can be used for good and not just evil by dishing a perfect drop pass to Kyle Connor in overtime which led to the game-winning goal.

It was the 100th assist of Lowry’s nine-year NHL career.

Lowry, a third-round pick (67th-overall) in 2011, will never be mistaken for Connor when it comes to offensive production, but it’s worth noting he’s already up to 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 29 games this year. That’s sixth on the team in scoring and has him on pace to shatter previous career highs in goals (15), assists (14) and points (29).

The fact he’s doing this as the team’s third-line centre, with a rotating cast of characters on his left and right wings, is remarkable.

No player on the active roster has had more linemates than Lowry. Already this season he’s skated with the likes of Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron, Saku Maenalanen, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Jansen Harkins and Sam Gagner on a regular basis.

Lowry is also a plus-eight, which leads all forwards and is extremely impressive when you consider he’s regularly matched up against other teams’ top lines. No easy task there.

After the Nashville game, Lowry showed off another one of his strengths as he met with the media in the Winnipeg dressing room and delivered nearly five minutes of eloquent insight. He’s a true student of the game, smart as a whip and as humble and polite as they come (at least, until you get him mad on the ice).

“You just want to show up for your teammates,” is how Lowry described his role.

He’s doing that in spades, and there’s a reason he’s Winnipeg’s union rep.

After years of being an unofficial leader with the Jets, he was given alternate captain status out of training camp, joining Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele in that regard. It was a well-deserved promotion, especially considering what he had to endure last year when his father was made interim head coach of the Jets following the abrupt resignation of Paul Maurice.

As Dave Lowry told me last month in Seattle (where he is now an assistant coach), the situation was an especially difficult one for Adam.

“He is a leader, everyone knows that. But, realistically he lost his voice last year in the room,” the elder Lowry said.

Adam has certainly found it this year. And then some. And, despite having more than 600 combined NHL regular-season and playoff contests under his belt, his games continues to grow and evolve as well.

Bowness called him a “ringleader” on Thursday night, describing his play as “outstanding, with and without the puck.”

It may not be long until the veteran coach has another name for Lowry: Captain.

The Jets are currently without one, after Bowness removed the “C” from Blake Wheeler during training camp. It was meant to be a fresh start for Wheeler and his teammates, while also opening up the room for others to speak up and take on bigger roles.

It appears to have worked like a charm. Wheeler is playing like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, and the Jets have the best winning percentage in the Central Division (second best in the Western Conference and sixth in the NHL) at 19-9-1.

Lowry is also flourishing, and I’d suggest he’s become the most likely candidate to fill Wheeler’s shoes once Bowness decides it must be done. There’s a good chance that won’t happen until after this current campaign, but Lowry is signed for three more years at a very affordable US$3.25 million cap hit.

The Calgary product is the picture of consistency, a guy who gives the same honest effort night in and night out. He’s the template Bowness often refers to when describing how he wants his team to play. He’s a consummate pro.

Lowry is also a model citizen and a terrific advocate in the community, including being an ambassador for the Toba Centre, a non-profit organization that helps children and families that have suffered abuse.

In short, he’s the kind of player teams wish they could clone. The kind you need to win. And the Jets are lucky to have him.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg