Dowling looks to make most of chance with Dallas

Oct 22, 2018

by Mark Stepneski | Inside Edge

FRISCO, Texas – With a roster spot at the forward position open, the Dallas Stars recalled center Justin Dowling from the AHL on Monday and Dowling will play Tuesday night when the Stars take on the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center.

In morning practice at StarCenter Frisco, Dowling skated as a wing on a line with center Jason Spezza and Devin Shore.

"It's a privilege playing with those two players," Dowling said. "I looked up to Spezza lot growing up as a player. It's pretty surreal to start there just in practice today. It was definitely a treat."

A roster spot opened this weekend when Dallas assigned Roope Hintz to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Dowling has played well in Texas this season, recording six points (two goals, four assists) in seven games while centering the teams' top line. He also made a good impression during Dallas' training camp and the preseason, drawing praise from Dallas coach Jim Montgomery.

On Monday, Montgomery said Dowling earned the call-up to the NHL.

"Like his hockey sense, like his skillset, like his understanding of the game of hockey," Montgomery said. "He was really good for us in the exhibition season, and he's been really good down there. When you ask who their best player has been, it's been him."

The 28-year-old Dowling was called up to Dallas four times during the 2016-17 season and played nine games with the Stars, recording two assists. He's looking to make the most of this latest opportunity.

"I've just got to play my game. I know it's cliché, but at this point in my career and at my age, I am not getting any younger," Dowling said. "I am not a guy coming off my entry-level (contract) or in my entry-level. I don't have that time and all those opportunities left. It's kind of now, bear down, stick to it and do what I do best, make the most of my opportunity. There's only so many.

"I am not going backwards here, so I've got to make the most of it."

That previous NHL experience, in which Dowling played well, is something he can lean on as he hits the ice Tuesday.

It's a lot different game. There are Hall of Famers up here -- there are superstars, elite players," he said. "There are really good players in the American (Hockey) League, but the way people think the game up here -- the way people possess pucks, the things they do off the ice, the video, their mannerisms, how professional they are -- it's a level of its own.

"The last time I came up here and finished the year here in '16-17, it was kind of eye-opening. Looking back at that and taking away from it, that's going to help a lot."

Dowling has played almost 450 professional games in his career, including 380 in the AHL -- most of those with Texas where he won a Calder Cup in 2013-14. That's pretty good for a guy who was never drafted.

And now, he's set for another crack at the NHL.

"I think about it all the time. I was talking to my old man, and he seems to always get a little emotional when we talk about it, coming undrafted," Dowling said. "I wasn't even drafted in the Bantam draft, and everyone gets drafted. There's 15 rounds and I didn't even get drafted.

"I've come a long way; it's a lot of hard work put into it. It's nice to see that it pays off. "

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.