The Jim Dowd Tribute

#34 / Center / Chicago Blackhawks / 6'1" / 181 lbs. / Shoots Right

James Thomas Dowd was born on December 25, 1968 in Brick Township, New Jersey. As a junior, Dowd helped Brick Township High School capture the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ice hockey title for the 1985/1986 season. In his senior year, he broke the national scholastic scoring record, finishing with a four year tally of 375 points: 189 Goals, 186 Assists (stats below are incomplete). Dowd was the 8th round pick by the New Jersey Devils (Devil's 7th pick, 149th overall) in the NHL Entry Draft on June 13, 1987. He went to Lake Superior State University (CCHA) in the fall of 1987. In his four years with the Lake Superior Lakers, Dowd was a prolific scorer, earning selections to the NCAA West Second All-American and CCHA Second All-Star Teams in 1990 and the NCAA West First All-American and CCHA First All-Star Teams in 1991. He was also named the CCHA's Player of the Year in 1991.

After college, Jim Dowd joined the AHL's Utica Devils (New Jersey's minor league affiliate). He became the first New Jersey native to play for the New Jersey Devils when he made his NHL debut during the 1991/1992 season. He spent the 1991/1992 and 1992/1993 seasons in the AHL, with single-game NHL appearances in both seasons. As a top scorer with the AHL's Albany River Rats (the Devils' new affiliate) in 1993/1994, Dowd made an impressive appearance with the Devils, collecting 5 goals and 10 assists in 15 regular season games and 2 goals and 6 assists in 19 games during their playoff run. The strike shortened 1994/1995 NHL season was furthered shortened for Dowd when a shoulder injury and surgery caused him to miss 35 games. However, the highlight of Dowd's career with the Devils came in Game Two of the 1994/1995 Stanley Cup Finals: With 1:24 left in regulation, he notched the game-winning goal giving the Devils a 2-0 series lead over Detroit to take back home to New Jersey. The Devils completed the sweep at home for their first Stanley Cup Championship earning Dowd a treasured spot on the Stanley Cup.

Less than six months after helping the Devils capture the Cup, Jim Dowd was traded with a 2nd round 1997 draft pick to the Hartford Whalers (December 19, 1995) for Jocelyn Lemieux and a 2nd round 1998 draft pick. Later that same day, Hartford traded Dowd with Frantisek Kucera and the 2nd round 1997 draft pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Jeff Brown and a 5th round 1998 draft pick. Dowd would only play 38 regular season games and one playoff game for the Canucks. On September 30, 1996, the New York Islanders claimed Dowd from the Canucks in the NHL Waiver Draft. He only played in three games for New York, spending the rest of the 1996/1997 season with the IHL's Utah Grizzlies and AHL's Saint John Flames. Dowd signed with the Calgary Flames on July 10, 1997 as a free agent. In the 1997/1998 season, he played in 48 games with the NHL Flames and another 35 regular season (and 19 playoff) games with the AHL Flames.

On June 27, 1998, Dowd was traded by Calgary to the expansion Nashville Predators for future considerations. For the second time in his career, he was traded before playing a single game, this time to the Edmonton Oilers with Mikhail Shtalenkov on October 1, 1998 for Eric Fichaud, Drake Berehowsky, and Greg deVries. Dowd appeared in one game with the Oilers during the 1998/1999 season, spending the rest of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. As a group two free agent, he re-signed with Edmonton on September 7, 1999 and enjoyed the 1999/2000 season with the Oilers (appearing in an NHL career high 69 games).

The latest chapter in Jim Dowd's career began on June 23, 2000 when the Minnesota Wild selected him during the NHL Expansion Draft. A couple of weeks later, Jim's wife Lisa gave birth to their first child: James Thomas Dowd Jr., 8 lbs. 10 oz., 21", shoots right? After nearly 4 seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Dowd was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on 3/4/04 for a 4th round 2004 draft pick. After the season, Dowd became an unrestricted free agent and signed with Germany's Hamburg Freezers during the 2004/2005 NHL lockout. With the lockout over, Dowd signed with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks on 8/5/05.

Jim Dowd created the Shoot for the Stars Foundation, which holds High School All-Star Hockey Games in New Jersey in addition to other fundraising efforts, and has raised thousands of dollars for local families in need due to catastrophic illnesses and other children-related charitable causes.