It’s been a big day for NHL assistant coaching news already with Scott Gomez joining the New York Islanders staff and Scott Stevens leaving his post with the Minnesota Wild. Yet, the news continues to break. The Los Angeles Kings, new GM Rob Blake, and recently named head coach John Stevens today announced that Dave Lowry has joined the team as an assistant coach. Lowry joins goalie coach Bill Ranford on Stevens’ staff, one that will surely grow more as the off-season continues.
Lowry is no rookie when it comes to coaching; he has had his fair share of experience in the NHL and elsewhere. The 52-year-old began his coaching career as an assistant with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen in 2005, eventually working his way into the head coaching position during the 2008-09 season and guiding the team to the WHL Championship round. Lowry then stayed in Calgary, but instead worked for his former NHL club, the Flames, from 2009 to 2012 in his first taste of big league coaching. Lowry returned to the junior game in 2012 as the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, a position he held until today’s announcement. In that time, Lowry won WHL Coach of the Year twice and helped his team to fourth place or better divisional rankings and a playoff berth every season. In 2016, his success also earned him the job of coaching Canada’s National Junior Team at the IIHF World Championships.
The Kings are one of the oldest teams in the NHL and have one of the league’s worst prospect pipelines, so Lowry will not be coaching kids like he has of late. However, the WHL is traditionally known a heavier league than it’s CHL counterparts with more physicality and less speed, much like the style of the Kings under Darryl Sutter. If Stevens also feels that his players are better suited to that pace, it is one that Lowry has ample experience with as a coach. It’s also similar to how Lowry played as an NHL player during his long 18-year career. Lowry, a left winger, was not so much known for scoring as he was for his physical two-way play. A Kings penalty kill that already ranked fifth in the league last year could be potent in 2017-18 and beyond with Lowry in the mix. Lowry was also an effective checking threat and a force in the crease at just 6’1″ and often less than 200 pounds, so he should be able to help the likes of young, similarly sized players like Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli to round out their defensive games and rebound efficiency.