Nicholas Dowd (born May 27, 1990) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

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

in the 7th round (198th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. A native of

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, Dowd is the third NHL player (after

Jared Ross Jared Ross (born September 18, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey center. When he debuted with the Philadelphia Flyers at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, he became the first player born and trained in the state of Alabama ...

and

Aud Tuten Audley Kendrick Tuten (January 14, 1914 – May 7, 1994) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 39 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1941–42 and 1942–43 seasons. The ...

) who is from the state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Playing career

Amateur

Dowd grew up in

where he played junior hockey. Dowd moved to

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...

to play for the

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Wenatchee, Washington, and playing in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice, the franchise was known as the Winnipeg Ice from 2019 until 2023, wh ...

in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL). The following season he played for the

Indiana Ice The Indiana Ice was a Tier I junior ice hockey team and member club of the United States Hockey League (USHL) that was formed in 2004 when the Danville Wings were purchased and moved from their location in Danville, Illinois, to Indianapolis, ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, before joining the

St. Cloud State Huskies The St. Cloud State Huskies are the athletic teams for St. Cloud State University. The university is primarily a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and currently sponsors 18 NCAA Division II teams. SCSU also sponsors a ...

in the NCAA Men's Division I

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a ...

(NCHC). In his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year, Dowd's outstanding play was rewarded with a selection to the inaugural 2013–14 All-NCHC First Team as well as being a finalist for the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

. He finished his college career with 52 goals and 69 assists for 121 points in 155 games played.

Professional

Los Angeles Kings

On April 1, 2014, the

of the

(NHL) signed Dowd to an entry-level contract, assigning him to their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 ECHL season, 2015–16 season. Bas ...

. During the 2015–16 season, he made his NHL debut on March 22, 2016, and played 5 games before returning to the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

. He recorded his first career NHL goal the following season on October 20, 2016, against the

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

Vancouver Canucks

In the 2017–18 season, on December 7, 2017, the

traded Dowd to the

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

in exchange for

Jordan Subban Jordan-Carmichael Subban (born March 3, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Vanco ...

. He remained on the Canucks roster to play out the season, posting 3 goals in 40 games.

Washington Capitals

As a free agent from the Canucks, Dowd agreed to a one-year, $650,000 contract with reigning Stanley Cup champions, the

, on July 1, 2018. On April 11, 2019, he signed a three-year contract extension with the Capitals. Dowd played on the Capitals fourth line with

Garnet Hathaway John Garnet Hathaway (born November 23, 1991) is an Americans, American professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Hathaway was born in Naples, Florida, but ...

and

Carl Hagelin Carl Oliver Hagelin (born 23 August 1988) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, and Washin ...

throughout the

2020-21 NHL season The symbol , known in Unicode as hyphen-minus, is the form of hyphen most commonly used in digital documents. On most keyboards, it is the only character that resembles a minus sign or a dash, so it is also used for these. The name ''hyphen-min ...

. On November 14, 2021, Dowd signed a three-year, $3.9 million contract extension with the Capitals. He later signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension with the Capitals on April 16, 2025.

Personal life

Dowd was born on May 27, 1990, in

, U.S. to British-born parents Alan and Liz Dowd. He married his wife Paige Dowd (formerly Kraemer), whom he met while studying at

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

, on August 11, 2017.

Career statistics

Awards and achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowd, Nic 1990 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers American people of English descent Ice hockey players from Alabama Indiana Ice players Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Ontario Reign (AHL) players Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey players Vancouver Canucks players Washington Capitals players Culver Academies alumni AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 21st-century American sportsmen