By the Numbers will highlight the Red Wings' on-ice accomplishments in the 2018-19 season. Each week during the offseason, By the Numbers will profile a different player on the team, focusing on his statistical highs. This week we focus on defenseman Madison Bowey.
Perhaps defenseman Madison Bowey was destined to play for the Red Wings all along.
By the Numbers: Madison Bowey
Young blueliner in the mix for a spot on Detroit's back end
© Dave Reginek/Detroit Red Wings
By
Arthur J. Regner @ArthurJRegner / DetroitRedWings.com
On Feb. 22, when Detroit sent defenseman Nick Jensen and a fifth-round pick (acquired from Buffalo) in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to the Washington Capitals for Bowey and the Capitals' second-round pick in the 2020 Draft, former Red Wings GM Ken Holland told reporters the Wings considered drafting Bowey in the 2013 Draft.
Holland scouted Bowey three times when he was playing for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and liked Bowey's size (6-foot-2, 198 pounds), his skating ability and offensive game, but the Wings ended up passing on the right-handed defenseman, who was taken by Washington in the second round, 53rd overall, in 2013.
Detroit chose Anthony Mantha in the first round, 20th overall, instead. The Red Wings had two second-round picks, selecting Zach Nastasiuk, 48th overall, and Tyler Bertuzzi, 58th overall.
Bowey, who turned 24 in April, had a tough time cracking the Capitals lineup and was relegated to being the team's seventh defenseman last season before he was moved to Detroit.
A player who enjoys being physical, Bowey is an impressive skater and a bit of risk taker. He's not shy about trying to make the home run play, which has come back to haunt him during his early NHL career.
But the Wings believe he can still develop into a solid defenseman once he gets the feel for when to play it safe as opposed to going for it all at the most inopportune times.
Once he became familiar with the Red Wings' style of play, Bowey began to show some consistency in being a two-way player who could be abrasive and defend, as well as make the spot-on outlet pass to a streaking forward up the ice.
By no means is Bowey a finished product or a sure bet to secure a spot as one of Detroit's top six blueliners, but the opportunity with the Wings has given him a second lease on his career.
With Detroit's defensive corps getting a bit long in the tooth, coupled with general manager Steve Yzerman's proclamation that essentially most roster spots are up for grabs, the timing may be perfect for Bowey to win a full-time NHL job.
33 -Before he was traded to the Red Wings, Bowey appeared in 33 games for Washington. He had one goal, five assists, was plus-3, was assessed 38 penalty minutes with an ice time average of 13:45 per game. His one goal was a game-winner. He also blocked 41 shots and registered 47 hits.
17 -Games he played for the Wings after he was acquired from the Capitals.
1 -On March 14, Bowey scored his first and only goal with the Red Wings in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay at Little Caesars Arena.
3 -His assist total in 17 games for the Wings.
4 - Bowey's four total points for the Red Wings came over a nine-game span from March 7-28. Detroit actually played 11 games in that time frame, but Bowey was a healthy scratch for two of those contests.
-4 - Detroit's defense was ravaged by injuries toward the end of last season, which increased Bowey's role on the team. In the Wings' last two games, he was minus-3, putting Bowey at minus-4 in his 17 Wings games.
8 -He was assessed only eight penalty minutes with the Red Wings. However, when you include Bowey's 38 penalty minutes as a Capital, his 46 total penalty minutes was second-highest on the Wings. Dylan Larkin led Detroit with 75 penalty minutes and Niklas Kronwall was third with 40.
18:12 - Bowey's ice time average per game as a member of the Red Wings. His season high in ice time with the Wings was 24:29 in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Golden Knights on March 23 in Las Vegas.
22/25 -In 17 games for Detroit, Bowey blocked 22 shots and delivered 25 hits.
100 - On April 4 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh, Bowey played his 100th NHL game. In a 4-1 loss, he didn't register a point, had one shot, was minus-1 in 17:49 of ice time. In 101 career NHL games, Bowey has two goals and 20 assists. He is minus-4 with an ice time average of 14:29 and 70 career penalty minutes.
74 - With the Capitals, Bowey wore No. 22 in honor of Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL. When he joined the Red Wings, Bowey changed his number to 74 to honor his mentor, Washington defenseman John Carlson.
