Dave Lowry’s first words at a media availability in Brandon on August 15 were thank you, Kelly McCrimmon, for bringing me to Brandon.
Back on July 18, the Wheat Kings named Lowry their new head coach.
Lowry has coached in the WHL before. He spent four seasons with the Calgary Hitmen from the 2005-06 season through the 08-09 season. Dave then made his NHL coaching debut with the Calgary Flames in the 2009-10 season, where he would spend three seasons as an assistant coach.
He would then come back to the WHL to become the head coach of the Victoria Royals from 2012-2017. While with Victoria, he also was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Next up was a trip back to the NHL, as he spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings beginning in the 2017-18 campaign.
Now, the Sudbury native will call the Wheat City his home as he is the 23rd head coach in franchise history.
“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity and I’m very excited to get things going,” said Lowry as the Wheat Kings introduced him.
Darren Ritchie was named the team’s general manager last month and he’s thrilled to have Dave in town.
“We see this as a very positive step for our organization,” said Ritchie. “Dave’s teams are always prepared, they play fast and are very competitive.”
Dave arrived in Brandon on Wednesday, August 14.
“It’s been a great couple of days. I came in on Wednesday and I’ve been hard at it since,” said Lowry. “It’s been great talking with the new staff and setting our expectations for the upcoming season.”
After working with professional athletes for the past two years, Lowry is back in a league that he’s spent most of his coaching career in. Prior to this season, he’s spent nine years in the WHL and five in the NHL.
“I think the biggest thing is going to be the size of the players again,” said Lowry. “We’re going to have some guys that just aren’t that big.”
“At the end of the day, it’s the same game,” he continued. “When it comes to teaching it, it’s the same thing. Our biggest challenge is making sure that these guys get to school, get to the rink and get home at night.”
Brandon finished just outside of the playoff picture last season. They went 31-29-4-4 for 70 points. That ended up being two points behind the Red Deer Rebels, who earned the final playoff spot.
With as many as 18 veterans on the roster entering training camp, Dave is looking forward to making a push back to the playoffs. The ultimate goal is winning a WHL title, which three other Wheat King teams have done.
“I like our skill and I like the pace that we’re going to be able to play at,” commented Lowry. “The biggest thing that is encouraging is we have really good goaltending. I really like the age of our group and overall skill level.”
Recently, Dave got the chance to watch Ridly Greig at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“He’s a very talented player, that’s for sure. It’s great to see we have players on our team that are making noise on the national level,” concluded Lowry. “They get to play against the best players in their age groups. These players learn lessons and Ridly knows there are some areas in his game he has to improve on.”
Dave and the staff will continue preparation for main camp which starts on August 28.
