Adam Lowry has been the captain of the Winnipeg Jets for just over a week. It will take many more weeks — and perhaps months — before he’s truly comfortable in the job.
One can only speculate that those who came before him in Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler — both, unlike Lowry, had an attachment to the old Atlanta Thrashers days — also required some adjustment to the new role and responsibility when they assumed it.
As the captaincy hung in limbo in the Jets dressing room for all of last season, the general consensus was the 30-year-old Lowry was the odds-on favourite to earn the honour.
He did, although alternate captain Josh Morrissey did receive some thoughtful consideration and will be equally as important to the changes in the way the Jets handle their business for the foreseeable future.
Between Lowry and Morrissey — and presumably with the aid of long-time assistant Mark Scheifele — the trio are now entrusted to change the direction of the team, its culture, the environment around it, and how they’re perceived.
But that process won’t come in one swift about-face manoeuvre, and as mentioned, there may be some time required in order for that shift to be tangible. It’s not like the ghosts of captains past will be lingering in the walls of the Jets’ room this season, it’s just that putting your own stamp on something isn’t as easy to do in a week, month or even half a season.
But if Lowry was paying attention — and we know, as former WHL scholastic player of the year, he does — he would weigh the positives and negatives from both predecessors and plot his own course from first-hand experiences.
Yes, Adam Lowry has only been the Jets’ captain for a week, but with training camp starting later this week, it’s an opportunity for his reign to begin and perhaps one of the most important weeks of his career.