Justin Dowling (born October 1, 1990) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and members of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the AHL affilia ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Early life

Dowling was born on October 1, 1990, in

Cochrane, Alberta Cochrane ( ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The town is located west of the Calgary city limits along Highway 1A. Cochrane is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, and with a population of 32,199 ...

, Canada to parents Glen and Sherry. He also grew up alongside his brother Jaeden. Growing up in Alberta, he played one season with the Airdrie Xtreme before joining the UFA Bisons from 2005 to 2007. Dowling attended

Bow Valley High School Bow Valley High School is a public secondary school located in the township of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. The school falls under the jurisdiction of the Rocky View Schools. The school's enrollment is approximately 800 to 900 students, in grades ...

Playing career

Not selected in any

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, Dowling played major junior hockey in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) with the

Swift Current Broncos The Swift Current Broncos are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. Founded during 1967 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the Broncos played seven seasons before relocating to Lethbridge from 1974 to 1986 as the Lethbridge Broncos ...

. In his final season with the Broncos in 2010–11, he served as team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and contributed 20 goals and 67 points in 63 games. Unable to lead the Broncos to the playoffs, Dowling made his professional debut in the

(AHL) after initially signing an amateur try-out contract with the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

on March 25, 2011. Justin Dowling - Texas Stars (2)

Dowling started the 2012–13 season in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

with the

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, th ...

, but midway through the season, the AHL's

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the t ...

signed Dowling to a standard AHL contract. In his first full season with Texas, Dowling continued to impress at the AHL level and was rewarded with a two-year contract with the team's NHL affiliate, the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

, on March 26, 2014. Dowling cemented his offensive role with Texas, contributing amongst the teams leaders with 50 and 46 points over the tenure of his initial contract with the Stars. While on the team Brandon Defazio is contributed as the vessel accountable for Dowlings NHL career. On May 31, 2016, Dowling signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Dallas. He began the 2016–17 season in the AHL, but after an offensive flourish in his first five games, he received his first NHL call-up by Dallas on October 25, 2016. He made his NHL debut that same night, contributing one assist in a 3–2 victory over the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

. After two games with Dallas, Dowling was returned to Texas on October 29, 2016. On May 8, 2017, Dowling signed a two-year, two-way contract extension with Dallas. He scored his first career NHL goal on November 13, 2019 in a 3–1 win over the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. As a free agent from the Stars after completing his ninth season within the organization, Dowling was signed to a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021.

Career statistics

Awards and achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Justin 1990 births Living people Abbotsford Canucks players Abbotsford Heat players Canadian ice hockey centres Dallas Stars players Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players People from Cochrane, Alberta Swift Current Broncos players Texas Stars players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) players Vancouver Canucks players