Madison Bowey
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
-- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
At this time last year, the Washington Capitals and their
fans were contemplating the possibility of starting two rookie defensemen as a
regular feature of their lineup. Neither
Madison Bowey nor Christian Djoos started for the Caps on Opening Night. But whereas Djoos made his way into the
lineup and more or less remained there through the regular season (63 games)
and the playoffs (22 games), Bowey found his way into the lineup but dressed
for only 51 games, none after February 20th. He would be the roster casualty of the Caps
obtaining Michal Kempny for the stretch run to the postseason.
Not that his season was a failure so much as it was unsatisfying. For example, Bowey was only the 18th
rookie defenseman in Caps history to dress for at least 50 games, but he was
the only one of those 18 defensemen failing to record a single goal. He is one of only a dozen Caps rookie
defensemen in franchise history to post at least a dozen assists. Mike Green didn’t do it (ten), despite
playing in almost 20 more games (70) in his rookie season. Kevin Hatcher came up short, too (10 assists
in his 1985-1986 rookie season). For
that matter, so did Djoos (11).
If there was a disturbing aspect to Bowey’s play, it was in
taking penalties. Among the 14 rookie defensemen
to appear in at least 50 games, Bowey tied for third in penalty minutes taken
per game (0:28, with Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev). And, there were the possession numbers. Of that same group of 14 rookie defensemen,
his shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 was the worst of the group (44.69;
source: NHL.com). He was the only one of
the group whose number in this category was under 50 percent when the team was
behind (47.99). This despite 54.62
percent of his total offensive and defensive zone starts being taken in the
offensive zone. There might be a fair
number of Caps fans, however, who would attribute much of this result to his
being paired with Brooks Orpik for much of his time.
Odd Bowey Fact…
Despite not scoring a goal in his rookie season, Madison
Bowey finished in the top ten among rookie defensemen in points per game (tenth/0.24
per game; minimum: 30 games).
Fearless’ Take…
One has to think the goal scoring will come. Consider that no defenseman in Kelowna
Rockets history (the team for which Bowey played in Canadian junior) has more
career goals than Bowey (58). He did get
a fair amount of responsibility for a n NHL rookie otherwise. Bowey was one of 30 rookie defensemen to
skate 15 minutes in at least 13 games.
Cheerless’ Take…
Hey cuz? About that
goal scoring in junior. Bowey averaged
11.6 goals per season at Kelowna. Well,
Scott Hannan averaged 11.5 per season with Kelowna, and he ended up with just 39
goals in 1,166 career NHL games. And
about that ice time. In the 14 games in
which Bowey skated at least 15 minutes last season, the Caps were 5-8-1.
Potential Milestones:
- 100 career NHL games (he needs 49)
- 1,000 career minutes played (he needs 301)
- First NHL goal
The Big Question… Can Madison Bowey crack a lineup that
looks set in its top-six defensemen?
What was the Capitals’ biggest question mark going into last
season – the three defensive pairings – appears to be the most solid fixture on
the roster going into this season. Matt
Niskenen – Dmitry Orlov, John Carlson – Michal Kempny, and Brooks Orpik –
Christian Djoos appear to be the pairs that would be penciled into the lineup
if tonight was Opening Night. It leaves
Madison Bowey in a bit of an odd place.
He is not the sort of veteran that would normally occupy a seventh
defenseman spot on a roster the way that a Taylor Chorney might have last
season.
Bowey needs playing time, and under ideal circumstances, if
the team manages his development with that in mind, he might be starting the
season in Hershey. But Bowey is no
longer waiver exempt. Unless he has an
outstanding camp, he could find himself in an odd no-man’s land, unable to
crack the lineup for significant stretches, but a player the team would not
prefer to expose to waivers. Add to this
the fact that his position on the depth chart might be challenged from below by
players such as Lucas Johansen or Jonas Siegenthaler, and it makes for an
interesting situation to watch, if an uncomfortable one for the player.
In the end…
Let’s do a little mind exercise and compare a couple of
prospect defensemen. Defenseman A played
265 games in the Western Hockey League in Canadian junior and scored 37
goals. In 56 games in the AHL he had
nine goals. As a rookie with the Caps he
had two goals in 70 games. Defenseman B
played 259 games in the Western Hockey League in Canadian junior and scored 58
goals. In 113 games in the AHL, he had
nine goals. Defenseman A went on to be a
two-time Norris Trophy runner-up and had a 31-goal season for the Caps – Mike
Green. Defenseman B is, of course,
Madison Bowey.
This is not to say that Bowey will become Mike Green 2.0,
any more than he will become the scoring-limited sort like Scott Hannan. His immediate challenge is getting playing
time on a team that is largely set in its top-six defensemen. That is not a bad thing for the Caps, and it
might not be a bad thing for Bowey, who could end up finishing his
apprenticeship in Hershey this coming season.
He has worked his way back from what was a gruesome injury in December
2016 that made for a bitter interruption in his development. As it is, he is at a stage in his career and
plays at a position where patience is called for.
Projection: 30 games, 1-6-7, minus-2
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
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