Victoria Royals GM Cameron Hope said he always knew the day would come. It has arrived: Dave Lowry is leaving the Royals after five seasons as head coach of the Western Hockey League franchise.
Lowry will take a job as an assistant coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL under their new head coach, John Stevens.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to get back to the NHL,鈥� said Lowry, who played 19 seasons in the big league, and then coached for three seasons as an assistant with the Calgary Flames.
鈥淭here is a new head coach, new GM, new president and an excited group of players there in Los Angeles.鈥�
The Kings are looking to rebound after missing the Stanley Cup playoffs.
鈥淲e dodged a bullet every spring and summer for the last five years,鈥� said Hope, noting he sensed there would eventually be a demand for Lowry鈥檚 coaching services back in pro hockey.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 describe what he brought to our program. He set the standard of what the Victoria Royals are all about.
Lowry leaves Victoria as the all-time winningest coach in franchise history with a regular-season record of 199-112-22. The Royals never missed the playoffs under Lowry, although they never progressed past the second round. He was twice named WHL coach of the year during his Royals tenure and was also assistant coach and head coach of sa国际传媒鈥檚 national junior team during that span.
鈥淚 came to Victoria with the goal of winning a championship and we made great strides toward that goal,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淭here is a solid foundation there now to be successful. As with all such decisions, this was difficult, because there were a lot of positives in Victoria.鈥�
Despite his extensive connections in hockey, Lowry did not know Hope previous to being hired by the latter in Victoria. He also did not know new Kings bench boss Stevens before talking to him in the interview process.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best way to start,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淵ou go from there and build your relationship, much like I did with Cam [Hope].鈥�
The search for the Royals鈥� new head coach begins immediately.
鈥淭he process of securing a head coach who can pick up where Dave left off has already begun,鈥� said Hope.
Hope said that person must work with the template Lowry created in Victoria.
鈥淲e want to keep our high-tempo play, which is the precedent Dave Lowry established here,鈥� said the Royals GM.
Don鈥檛 necessarily look for the obvious names, such as recent WHL head coaches Kevin Constantine and Don Nachbaur, released following the 2016-17 season from the Everett Silvertips and Spokane Chiefs, respectively.
鈥淲e are not limiting our search to people who have been head coaches in this league,鈥� said Hope. 鈥淲e are looking at every option.鈥�
Hope placed no timeline on when he wants to have Lowry鈥檚 replacement named.
