Bob Lowes (right) will be in his element and showing off his year's work at the NHL entry draft this week. (submitted photo/Bob Lowes)

By Rob Mahon

Lowes on Draft

Prince Albert’s Lowes talks strategy, spectacle ahead of NHL draft

Jun 27, 2023 | 11:00 AM

It’s one of the biggest events on the NHL’s calendar, one of the only times all 32 teams are in the same room and each with a chance to shape the future of their franchise: the NHL entry draft.

Prince Albert’s own Bob Lowes is going to be right in the thick of the busiest day of the hockey calendar in his role as assistant director of player personnel with the Vegas Golden Knights. In this role, Lowes is largely responsible for the team’s amateur scouting, which takes centre stage on draft day.

“It’s pretty exciting when you’re Stanley Cup champions to be able to go to the draft,” Lowes said. “We’ve been working, we stayed in Vegas the whole time after the Cup to get prepared for this. We were able to have the Cup with the scouts last night, our own kind of private party for it.”

While many Stanley Cup champions trade away their first-round pick to pursue a rental player at the trade deadline, the Golden Knights hung on to theirs, meaning they will select 32^nd overall in tomorrow’s draft. Whatever player they select, you can bet the scouting staff will have gone through thousands of hours of video and in-person viewings of that player.

“We have 13 scouts that I work with,” Lowes said. “There are lots of reports. You try to do them daily so that you stay on top of them. Through those reports, your own viewings, their viewings, you get a framework of a player. It’s kind of a day-to-day thing that you just keep working on.”

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Having been with the team since the 2016-17 season, Lowes has seen the Golden Knights draft at the high end of the order (albeit only once) and much further down the list. The first pick the club ever made was sixth overall. This pick will be 26 selections later and will bring a much different strategy with it.

“It’s a pick that can be traded at times, some people want to move into the first round to get a guy,” said Lowes. “It’s a little different because you’re sitting there waiting and you’re hoping for a group of players you have earmarked. You have a pretty good understanding of the guys going ahead, but there are always some obscure guys, some different picks… A lot of the decisions are made for you, you just have to be prepared to manage that pick.”

As is the case every draft, there will be debates over the merits of selecting the best player available versus drafting based on organizational need. Lowes has his own approach to answering that question.

“In the early rounds, first round, you’ve got to pick the best available player, the best asset,” he said. “You’re going to see this year though, with a lot of teams that have multiple first-round picks, they can do that. Let’s say if the first pick a D became available for them, they might look at going to forward or be more inclined to go forward. It even could bring a goalie into the mix late first round or early second round. It’s all based on how many picks you have… If you only have one, I think you take the best available talent.”

Lowes added that the draft is the culmination of a year’s work for him and his scouts, so the day is a very exciting one for them. He also said the pageantry of the draft, with all the teams in one room and players crossing the stage, makes it an even more special day.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP