Legends of Team Canada: Darren Lowe

Darren Lowe was a speedball out of the University of Toronto who came out of nowhere to make the 1984 Canadian Olympic team. Never really scouted by the NHL, Lowe made scouts notice him when he cracked the National team and Olympic team lineups. 

The 1984 Canadian Olympic team was full of young but solid NHL prospects - such as Dave Gagner, Pat Flatley, Carey Wilson, Russ Courtnall, Kevin Dineen, Kirk Muller, Dave Tippett, Bruce Driver, James Patrick, Doug Lidster and JJ Daigneault. In fact only 3 of the players who appeared in at least one Olympic game failed to play a game in the NHL. 

Lowe, who is believed to be the first Black Canadian to play hockey at the Olympics for Team Canada, had a decent year with the Nats, scoring 16 goals and 29 points in 60 official games. He was on the bubble when it came time to make the final cuts for the Olympic squad, but in the end head coach Dave King liked his explosive speed so much that he kept the small right winger 

Lowe had a good Olympic tournament, chipping in 2 goals and 1 assist to finish 7th on the team in scoring. He finished ahead of several guys who played more NHL games than he ever did, most notably Kevin Dineen and Dave Tippett. 

Despite the promise that the young Canadian squad showed, they came home empty-handed from that Olympic experience, finishing in 4th place behind the USSR, Finland, and Sweden. 

Upon completion of the Olympics, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Lowe to a contract for the remainder of the NHL season. The Pens gave Lowe a good look, playing him in 8 games as he scored once and added two assists. 

Lowe opted to persue overseas interests the following two years. He played in Austria and later Finland before returning to play 3 seasons of IHL minor league hockey. 

Lowe, who earned degrees in Physical Education and Education at school, returned to the University of Toronto in 1992 as the long time coach of his alma mater.