Bowers Determined To Display His Skill

It was a typical Sunday night in a Boston University dorm room for Shane Bowers.
Well, it was until he found out he was involved in a mid-season, three-team trade and he was now a part of the Colorado Avalanche organization.
The Avs acquired the young forward as well as Samuel Girard, Andrew Hammond, Vladislav Kamenev and three draft picks in the deal that saw Matt Duchene go to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 5.
"A couple of my buddies on my team at BU, we were sitting in the dorm, I think we were watching a movie or something," he said of what he was doing when the trade occurred. "We saw on twitter that Duchene had been traded. He left the ice, and actually the guy I was with was Nashville property and we saw it was a three-way deal. We were joking around saying, 'Imagine if we were all swapped for each other.'

"Probably three minutes later, my advisor called me and said I was part of the trade, we kind of had a good laugh at that. It was kind of a weird experience, but I think it all worked out for the best and I am happy to be here."

The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native had to wait until Colorado's development camp at the end of June before he could meet many of his new club's staff. Due to NCAA rules, the week is one of the only opportunities the Avalanche development team has to work with him on the ice during the year.
"Its huge for me definitely. Being traded midseason I knew no one in the organization," Bowers said of getting to know people at the five-day camp. "Coming here, being able to meet everyone and put names to faces and at the same time come here and learn a lot and get better, it's awesome for me. I think it is a great experience."
Some members of the organization watched him play during his draft-eligible season and were excited to have him join the Avalanche system. His participation in development camp allowed them to see how he progressed during his freshman campaign of college hockey.
"We liked him his draft year, that was the one thing. We knew we weren't going to get him where we were picking, he was going to be gone before our second pick," Avalanche director of amateur scouting Alan Hepple said at the beginning of development camp. "We liked him, so when we got him in the trade it was a plus, it was a bonus. To see him now, look bigger, look stronger, playing at BU getting more confident. I am looking for big things from him, it's exciting to see him here with us now."
Bowers spent the 2016-17 campaign with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League and amassed 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists). He was the Senators' first-round selection (28th overall) in the 2017 draft and recorded 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 40 contests as a freshman with the Terriers last season.
He finished third on the team in points and second in goals while leading BU with a plus-16 rating. He was named to the Hockey East all-rookie team and earned the title of an honorable mention all-star after being named a Hockey East top performer eight times throughout the season.

Though the goals of Colorado's development camp were for the prospects to get familiar with the organization, learn a few new things to help them mature and have fun, Bowers had a few more ambitions in mind.
He wanted to make sure that his talent was on display and demonstrate why he was a key part of that Sunday-night deal in November.
"For the people that haven't seen me, I kind of want to be able to show up and show them what I am about," Bowers said about what he wanted to accomplish during the camp. "There are guys that didn't get out to see me since I was traded midseason, so for me I want to come here and get better, but at the same time kind of show them what I got."
He will take what he absorbed during development camp back with him for his sophomore season at BU with the ultimate goal of continuing to progress as he prepares to take the next step of his career.
"[The Avalanche] had a great year this year, and I think that they are obviously a young team and that the way they play suits my style," said Bowers. "Hopefully with them being young, I will be able to make a jump here sooner than later."