Round 3, Pick 73 – D Keegan Lowe
Another attempt at bolstering their defensive core, the Carolina Hurricanes selected Keegan Lowe at #73 overall, son of NHL great Kevin Lowe, who was a 6-time Stanley Cup champion and 7 time All-Star. Obviously, with that bloodline, the Hurricanes had high hopes for Keegan.
Lowe, at 6’2, 200lbs, was drafted as purely a defensive-minded defenseman, who could shut down the oppositions’ top forwards and play a physical game. He was also a decent puck mover, and could hold his own dropping the gloves. In his final OHL season though, he broke out offensively, scoring 15 goals to go along with 148 penalty minutes and a +38 rating.
After that breakout season, he turned pro with the Hurricanes organization to high expectations. He continued to develop with Charlotte, having a quiet but solid rookie season that continued well into his 2nd season with the Checkers. For his improvement, he was called up to the Hurricanes for their final 2 games of the 2014-15 season.
Unfortunately, those would be the only 2 games he would play for Carolina. Despite showing promise, Lowe (along with Danny Biega, Rasmus Rissanen and others) would become victims of the Hurricanes drafting Noah Hanifin 5th overall that summer, and the fast-track of Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin to the NHL, effectively eliminating any hope for Keegan Lowe to contribute in Raleigh.
Considering Lowe would only play 2 games for the Hurricanes, I was inclined to give the pick an F grade. But in a time that the Hurricanes didn’t fight much at all, Lowe actually dropped the gloves twice in the same game (you can watch the fights here) and even won one of them. For that reason and that reason alone, I’ll give the pick a D grade, because at least Lowe brought fans some entertainment, albeit for just a few brief seconds.