Count Winnipeg Jets forward Adam Lowry as someone intrigued by his newest teammate. The Jets captain is high on the potential of Viggo Björck's development.
The Jets drafted Björck with the eighth overall pick in June. Ideally, he could compare to a player like Ben Kindel or Zach Benson in his first season with the Jets. Potentially, he might be better than both, depending on who you ask.
The common refrain about the 5-foot-9-inch Björck centered on his size. He's short for a high-end NHL center. The 6-foot-5 Lowry seems to think otherwise. He told The Athletic in a recent wide-ranging interview that he understands he has a role to play in Viggo Björck's development.
"The way I look at it this year, with the potential of Viggo (Björck) coming into the lineup, it's 'How can you help him transition to the NHL as fast as possible?' One of the ways you'd like to help is if you can soften his matchups a little bit — if you can get him some offensive-zone time, make it so he doesn't have to go 200 feet to generate offence, it can have a huge trickle-down effect."
Adam Lowry certainly seems to think that's part of what will help him rebound in 2026-27. The massive matchup center labored through 70 games last season following hip surgery. The Winnipeg Jets lost Lowry's minutes for the first time in three seasons. He acknowledged there's plenty of work to do to improve after last season's disaster in Winnipeg.
One of those areas is depth scoring, which is where Viggo Björck's development can help immediately. Lowry, obviously, isn't as desperate to fill that role, though certainly a little extra offense wouldn't hurt. The issue in Winnipeg, as Ates outlines, came from the lack of depth behind Mark Scheifele's line. The Jets labored away from Scheifele, scoring just 96 goals all season without him. It represented a massive workload and massive responsibility for a 33-year-old player with plenty of miles already logged.
Viggo Björck's development represents a chance to change that . The issue is how quickly the Jets can bring Björck along. If he appears to be ahead of a typical 18-year-old drafted eighth overall, that's already a start. Ben Kindel played critical minutes for a playoff team last season in Pittsburgh, proving it can be done. If his development is quicker than a typical player of his draft status, that would be an even bigger boon for the Jets.
Adam Lowry is clearly a believer in the undersized Swede. He's not penciling Björck into the lineup. He believes Björck's development indicates an everyday player as an 18-year-old.
"I think he'll play the whole year with us. He might not dominate every night and that's OK. At 18, his development is not done. There's still untapped potential and we're all super excited."
Admittedly, the Jets shouldn't be rushing a premium prospect. Still, Lowry believes there are multiple ways you can give a young player positive, matchup-friendly deployments while still trying to develop them for the long haul. Lowry sounded a bit like a coach, which is probably in part what makes him an effective captain. The apple, apparently, doesn't fall far from the tree. His dad, Dave Lowry, is now with his fifth NHL team as an assistant coach. He'll begin his second stint as a Calgary Flames assistant this season.
Viggo Björck's development is critical to the long-term success of the Jets. If Adam Lowry has his way, it'll be critical to their short-term success too.
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