There were also the personal relationships that formed in tough times. "I had a lot of great memories of just good conversations talking hockey and life, and him taking care of guys in the room." "Early morning coffee and sitting in the training room with Kenny," Jason Smith, a seven-year veteran and five-year captain with the Oilers, said of his best memories with Lowe. That was probably my biggest thrill from a championship perspective."Īt the heart of Lowe's extended career as an athletic trainer was a love for the every-day in between with the players he tended to on a daily basis. I don't think people realize how hard of a grind it is. "My first Stanley Cup was probably my greatest, being it was with my younger brother and it's so hard to win a Stanley Cup. "I keep telling people I was in the right place at the right time. That started a stretch of championships for him on the first try, including a Stanley Cup in his first year with the Oilers after former equipment manager Barrie Stafford recommended the position with the team in 1989. It was also the right time, as Lowe won a Grey Cup in his first season with the Green & Gold. "My younger brother Kevin was instrumental in getting me out here and letting me know that the Eskimos were looking for a trainer. "I was the head athletic trainer at the time at Concordia, but I wanted to go somewhere with my Master's Degree," Lowe said. With experience and a Master of Arts Degree specializing in Athletic Training and Conditioning from the University of Alberta, an opportunity arose in the Canadian Football League in 1981 thanks to a familial connection. "Things fell into the proper place for me, so I was lucky." "Those three people are more instrumental than anyone in getting me into the field because Paul kept me around for the year as a video guy to help out and Garry had me working with him," Lowe said. "Just to going in with them is an honour."Ī bit of it was luck, but relationships were instrumental.Īn industrial accident on his family farm in Lachute, Quebec following his rookie season as a goalie for the University of Concordia in Montreal pushed Lowe out of hockey for a year, and eventually towards a long career as an athletic trainer thanks to the tutelage of Doctor Jim Sullivan, Concordia Head Coach Paul Arsenault, and Athletic Trainer Garry Cummings before eventually assuming the latter's role. "I look at the people who've already been inducted - people like Larry Ashley, Pete Demers, Barrie Stafford and Gaetan Lefebvre - these were the guys who started the program and association and built on it," Lowe said. "You get so wrapped up in it and don't realize the impact your decisions have."Īn induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame by the Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society (PHATS) and the Society of Professional Hockey Equipment Managers (SPHEM) this week for Lowe comes as one of the most decorated trainers in history with 1,500 NHL games of experience with the Oilers, a Stanley Cup, and gold medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey to his name. The rest, and a gold medal for Canada, was history. Mario didn't dress in Canada's 3-2 win over Germany before coming back the next day to deliver two goals against the Czechs in a 3-3 tie. "I said: 'So, you figure you need to play against Germany then the Czechs? If we can't beat the Germans without you, we shouldn't be here.'" "I remember looking up at him and thinking 'Holy geez, this is Mario Lemieux asking me that,'" Lowe said to.
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