In part 1, Kraken assistant coach Dave Lowry provided insights into some of the team’s core players. In part 2, Lowry brings his wisdom to bear on Kraken draft picks and other youngsters progressing up the prospect ladder toward Seattle.
The trickle of Seattle Kraken prospects who have graduated to the pro ranks, which began with Matty Beniers and Ryker Evans, could soon turn into a flood. With four amateur drafts having filled the prospect pool – and because we’re not done beating this aquatic metaphor to death – some will ride the wave to NHL glory, while others wash out.
James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle draft picks with gaudy offensive numbers in junior hockey – hello, Jagger Firkus, David Goyette, and Carson Rehkopf to name three – would be well advised to heed the wise counsel of Kraken assistant coach Dave Lowry.
“A lot of these kids come in and think this is going to be easy,” Lowry said on the Cam & Strick podcast. “They underestimate how good the league is. You’re now playing against the best 750 players in the world. You’re a 25-goal scorer in junior? Most of these guys were 40 and 50 goal scorers in junior.”
Lowry has the receipts to back his message, surviving in the NHL for 1,084 games. Before returning to the league as an assistant coach with the Flames, Kings and Jets, and then Seattle starting in 2021, he served as head coach of the WHL Calgary Hitmen.
“When I was coaching junior, I would always tell these young guys, ‘The biggest challenges that you’re going to have is, one, you think you belong in the National Hockey League. Two, you’re going to the American Hockey League and you’re going to underestimate how good of a league that is.'”
Lowry cautions that many junior phenoms are “shocked and taken aback” by the rigors of the AHL. His next comment may leave you the same way. “The American League is a heck of a lot harder to play in (than the NHL). It’s everybody trying to get to the same place. There’s a lot more reckless players. You’re traveling and playing three games in two-and-a-half days, and you’re expected to be great every game. You get in at 4:30 a.m. and you’ve got to play at 2 p.m.”
For those in the most recent Kraken draft class, like all that have come before, impatience is an occupational hazard. Lowry has had to cool the jets of more than one youngster with exceptional talent. “These guys think, ‘I’m ready,’ and they want it right away. When I was coaching in Calgary, I had a 16-year-old kid come in. He wanted more.”
The roadblock was five older players on the roster, all talented enough to have been drafted by NHL clubs. “I said to the player, ‘If it was me, I would think this was a really good opportunity to learn from all these guys. They all do something different, and they do it really well. I’d be a little more patient and pick their brain every day. When it’s your turn, be ready for the opportunity.'”