Falcons high on Lowe
Cam Lowe was an easy, obvious selection as captain of the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons for this season.
The 20-year-old Niagara Falls native returns to the Falcons after spending his first two years of junior with the team.
“I love it. I’m so happy (to be back),” Lowe said. “It’s an honour to be named captain. I played with them for two years when I was 16 and again when I was 18 so it’s a full circle moment to come back here and wear the C.”
Lowe, who was selected in seventh round (128th overall) by Erie Otters in 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft, played parts of two years with the Otters before returning to St. Catharines for half a season two years ago. He spent last year as captain of the Niagara Falls Canucks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League before deciding to return to the Falcons in the off season.
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby is thrilled to have Lowe back as captain.
“Cam is just a great kid so it made the decision fairly easy,” Bielby said. “It was always a no-brainer with Cam. He came in as a bright-eyed 16-year-old just after being drafted to the OHL to play for me. He started here and he’s going to finish here.”
Lowe, who is attending Brock this fall and majoring in concurrent education, felt a third tenure under Bielby in St. Catharines was a perfect situation to round out his junior career
“(It shows) definitely how good of a program Tyler is running here and the character he’s built here is second to none,” Lowe said. “It made me really want to come back here, especially now that I’m going to Brock.”
Bielby appreciates Lowe’s loyalty.
“Most of us in this league we have full-time jobs and careers and we get involved because we love the game and we love the kids that come through our dressing rooms. Anytime your culture or the way you’re running the organization or the way you’re making kids feel, anytime that comes back to you, it’s rewarding as a group to know we’re doing the right things to have these players what to be around,” Bielby said.
Lowe feels a good captain leads by example.
“Just the way they go about themselves at the rink,” he said when asked for the attributes of a good leader. “They are always the hardest working in practice and bring out the best in people. I learned over the years from previous captains I played with and against, watched and learned a lot from them.”
He also feels it is important to communicate.
“I think getting the message across in the room, what we’re all about and what are plan is here and how we’re going to be successful. Make sure everyone gets on board early and everybody buys into what we’re all about.”
Newcomer Matt Fries, who captained the Cambridge Redhawks last season, has been named one assistant captain. The others will be announced later.
“He’s an incredible kid,” Bielby said. “I haven’t been in this situation. I’ve never had a captain that’s been a captain in the past so for this year to have two guys come into our room that have been captains at the junior level already, we have to assume we’re very fortunate and very blessed from that perspective. It’s going to bring so much value to our room.”
Bielby said the Falcons have pretty much finished assembled their roster heading into the regular season opener Friday, Sept, 13 at home versus Cambridge.
“We have committed to seven D, two goalies and our forward group. I think we’re in a good position to start and are really excited with the group that Zack (general manager Zack Schipper) and the team have assembled,” Bielby said.
The Falcons are home to Welland Thursday at 7 p.m. and in Welland Sunday at 7 p.m. to round out the pre-season.
“This time of year it’s very important to build your tribe,” Bielby said. “You have to make sure everybody is on the same page and we’re building trust early because there will be adversity early in the season and moments where people get hot headed so this time of year it’s very important to build trust and communicate.”
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 6,200 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
