Column: Bowman only reason to like Red Wings

The West Coast has really taken off when it comes to hockey. Or so I thought.

I was at a local establishment the other night, where I was approached by a hockey fan. I told the patron what I did for a living and was acknowledged in a normal manner. Next thing I knew, I was being given the business about what I had written about in the past (mainly about the Detroit Red Wings).

It is amazing what kind of people that you find in Carson City that have an interest in hockey. I have always thought that what I have written would be accepted, but not with any great effort.

Let's face it. The Red Wings are a team that 99 percent of society dislikes. If it wasn't for their future Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, nobody would like them.

Therefore, I gave you a capsule of what the greatest hockey coach in history has done.

Bowman is known around the league simply as a winner. During his 25-year career, Bowman has won the Stanley Cup eight times. His playoff record is an amazing 206-116. Not bad for a guy with a metal plate in his head.

When Bowman is asked about his accomplishments he is concerned with only one thing - the losses.

True, Bowman has had his share of superstars throughout his career, but I can't help but think that he had a great deal to do with forming players like Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and Steve Yzerman.

Bowman has his Red Wings set to win their third Stanley Cup in four years. It is his to lose. Thus far during the season, the Red Wings have looked unbeatable.

Bowman has the hockey smarts to teach his players what they are capable of doing, and then getting them to do so on a game-by-game basis.

Any team around the league would love to have third and fourth lines like Detroit has. Players like Kris Draper and Doug Brown are grinders that know their roles and play them better than anyone.

Bowman is a model of coaching, with a calm presence on the bench that translates into the way his players play for him.

This may be Bowman's last year, and if he does quit he should go out the way John Elway and Michael Jordan did - as the best at what they did.

Trevor Smith is the Nevada Appeal hockey columnist.