The Winnipeg Jets unveiled Adam Lowry as team captain on Tuesday.
The Winnipeg Jets have officially made the decision on which player will wear the captain's 'C' for the 2023-24 season, and hopefully onward.
That player is 30-year-old centre Adam Lowry.
"It’s a huge honour to be named the third captain since the return of the Winnipeg Jets, and it's an honour I'm really looking forward to," Lowry said from the stage of the new Scotiabank Premium Club at Canada Life Centre.
"I'm honoured to be standing before you guys today and looking to continue leading this organization, representing this organization and representing the city of Winnipeg."
Entering his 10th year with the Jets, the St. Louis, MI. product said he received word of the news on Saturday afternoon, but had been in contact with second year head coach Rick Bowness much earlier in the offseason.
“Bones is such a great communicator, we talk every once in a while in the summer just to see how things are, check in. Kind of just stay up to date on what was going on with the team and things like that," Lowry said.
"He mentioned they were thinking of naming a captain and the potential was there that it could be me and to give it some thought and see, first of all, my reaction, whether it would be something I’d be willing to do. We kind of left the conversation there. I gave it some thought over time. We talked this weekend and it was something I was really excited to be given the opportunity to do. It progressed from there, and here we are today.”
Joining Lowry at the special event were teammates Nate Schmidt, Dylan DeMelo, Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron and Neal Pionk, as well as Bowness and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“Adam embodies the characteristics and the class that the Winnipeg Jets value both on and off the ice," Cheveldayoff said at the podium. "On the ice, Adam plays with a level of compete, consistency, character and selflessness that makes him a valued and respected teammate. Off the ice, Adam is a consummate professional and a committed representative of our True North organization who recognizes and embraces his role and his place in the community, including through his charitable efforts in our city."
Lowry had 13 goals, 36 points and 48 penalty minutes in a full 82 games for the Jets last year, before adding four goals, five points and two penalty minutes in five postseason games against Vegas.
Having stripped Wheeler of the 'C' upon joining the Jets last season, Bowness rolled with three alternates in 2022-23, as Lowry, Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele each served in leadership roles with the club.
He confirmed the three would continue wearing letters for the team this year, with Lowry being the captain, and Morrissey and Scheifele as his alternates.
"(Lowry) is the first guy out there to stick up for his teammates," Bowness said. "He has a lot of respect, not only from obviously our players and our staff and everybody else in the organization, but around the league. And that's just as important. People know the type of person he is. They know the type of teammate he is. They know the type of competitor he is."
Although first sharing the news with his brother-in-law, Lowry said the highlight of the past couple days were the conversations he had with his wife, parents and grandmother following the not-yet-public information.
"My mom, she was back at home, so it was a couple of nice phone calls to make," Lowry said of the FaceTime call he made with his mother. "Moreso it happened, I was getting her to check on my house in Calgary quickly. We had to get the essentials out of the way before I told her, but getting to tell her and seeing her reaction was something I don't think I'll forget."
With Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois leaving the organization over the summer months, a season of change is upon the Jets. But with a number of familiar faces remaining, Lowry will look to lead the charge as the third captain in franchise history since the club returned to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011 (Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler).
"I haven't talked to them yet, I'll reach out to both of them," Lowry said of Ladd and Wheeler. "One, for advice. I think there's a lot that I did learn and I can learn from them, handling different situations and things like that. I think both of them are such passionate people, they did so much for the community, they were so involved in making Winnipeg a better place to live... There are a lot of different qualities that I can take from both of them."
With the Jets set to open the 2023-24 season on the road in one of Lowry's hometowns, the long-time Calgary resident couldn't be more excited to pull the Jets sweater freshly emblazoned with the 'C' over this head for the first time and get to work.
“I kind of hadn’t even looked down," Lowry laughed. "We practiced with a blank jersey in the hallway so we didn’t look like complete idiots. It’s pretty special. I still remember seeing the pictures of Andrew Ladd and his jersey in the media scrum. It’s pretty surreal. I think going to bed last night, knowing it was going to be announced today, it almost felt like a dream.
"I’m extremely excited, extremely honoured for this privilege. I’m looking forward to it."