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.
“It’s a great opportunity to get back to the NHL,” said Lowry, who played 19 seasons in the big league, and then coached for three seasons as an assistant with the Calgary Flames.
“There is a new head coach, new GM, new president and an excited group of players there in Los Angeles.”
The Kings are looking to rebound after missing the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“We dodged a bullet every spring and summer for the last five years,” said Hope, noting he sensed there would eventually be a demand for Lowry’s coaching services back in pro hockey.
“I can’t 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 Canada’s national junior team during that span.
“I came to Victoria with the goal of winning a championship and we made great strides toward that goal,” said Lowry.
“There 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.”
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.
“That’s the best way to start,” said Lowry.
“You go from there and build your relationship, much like I did with Cam [Hope].”
The search for the Royals’ new head coach begins immediately.
“The process of securing a head coach who can pick up where Dave left off has already begun,” said Hope.
Hope said that person must work with the template Lowry created in Victoria.
“We want to keep our high-tempo play, which is the precedent Dave Lowry established here,” said the Royals GM.
Don’t 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.
“We are not limiting our search to people who have been head coaches in this league,” said Hope. “We are looking at every option.”
Hope placed no timeline on when he wants to have Lowry’s replacement named.
