NEWARK − For the first time in nearly 20 years, a Devils jersey with the last name Dowd took to the ice for the organization.
Despite following in the footsteps of his famous father, Jimmy Dowd Jr. has paved his own trail before entering the NHL back in his home state.
“It’s super cool to be here around these guys,” Dowd Jr. said following development camp on July 1.
Dowd Jr., who turns 25 years old on July 9, is the oldest player attending the Devils’ development camp by nearly a year. It has allowed him to take on a leadership role in camp with many of the invitees recently drafted by the Devils days earlier in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
“I’m just setting an example for the younger guys, especially after being at Penn State for half a decade,” Dowd Jr. said.
Dowd Jr. is fresh off a five-year stint at Penn State, where he finished with one of the highest career point totals for a defenseman in the program’s history. He had 12 goals and 61 assists for the Nittany Lions across five seasons to rank in the top five all-time in goals, assists and total points.
Dowd Jr. also saw Penn State reach new heights with the program’s first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four this past season.
“Last year was amazing with our comeback,” said Dowd Jr. “From being 0-9 in the Big Ten and then going on that run in the second half really showed the resiliency.”
Jim Dowd and the family’s hockey legacy
Dowd Jr. is the eldest son of Jim Dowd, one of the greatest hockey players ever born in New Jersey. Dowd set state records at Brick Township High School before being drafted in the eighth round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils.
Dowd, who played in over 700 NHL games for 10 different teams across 17 seasons, became the first New Jersey-born player to play for the hometown Devils.
Dowd’s biggest moment as a pro came with the Devils, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final. Two games later, the Devils completed a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings for the franchise’s first championship. Dowd became the first New Jersey-born NHL player to win the Stanley Cup.
What Jimmy Dowd Jr. brings to Devils camp
Jim Dowd was a center. Jimmy Dowd Jr., on the other hand, is a sure-handed defenseman using finesse and puck handling skills to frustrate opponents. Dowd Jr. is listed at 5-foot-9, four inches shorter than his father during his playing days and among the shortest players at development camp.
“[I use] my hockey sense, for sure, the way that I see things,” said Dowd Jr., who played high school hockey at Manasquan High. “I need to defend and take care of my zone and the rest can take care of itself.”
Dowd Jr. was involved in physical rivalries in the Big Ten, but now shares the locker room with some of the players he faced off with in college.
“We all just hate each other,” Dowd Jr. joked. “It just breeds competitiveness every single night no matter where you are in the standings.”
Ethan Edwards played at Michigan and was a fierce rival of Dowd Jr. while at Penn State, but both are now at development camp with the Devils.
“It’s funny that we are both here now,” said Dowd Jr. “I can learn things from him even though he’s younger than me. He’s an unbelievable player that sees the ice super well. We were beating the heck out of each other in the playoffs and now we are here together.”
Edwards was selected by the Devils in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and signed a two-year entry level deal with the Devils following his college career on March 25. Edwards went to the team’s AHL affiliate in Utica following the end of his season at Michigan.
“When you play against a guy and you’re going at it for four years, there’s a rivalry on the ice,” said Edwards. “Now we are together and he’s a great guy off the ice. I never got to see this side of him and that goes for a lot of players in the hockey community.”
Dowd Jr. is one of five players at development camp not signed to the Devils and invited for a tryout. Dowd Jr. has been featured heavily in practice sessions as coaches are trying to see what the son of a former NHL player can bring on the ice.
“Individually, it’s about always improving,” said Dowd Jr. “I’m an undersized, underrated defenseman, and to play at the next level, I really need to work on my defensive part of the game and the rest will come.”
It’s unclear what will be next for Dowd Jr., but if it does come with the Devils, it will mirror the path to the pros taken by his father.
Jim Dowd played one season in the AHL for the Utica Devils before heading to the NHL. The franchise moved in 1993 and minor league hockey would not return to Utica for two decades until the Utica Comets returned in 2013 and became the AHL affiliate for the Devils in 2021. Dowd Jr. hopes to make similar stops to his father on his NHL journey.