LAS VEGAS — His first brush with the Stanley Cup didn’t end the way Nic Dowd or the Vegas Golden Knights hoped.
However, looking back, the former St. Cloud State standout couldn’t have been happier about the chance to play in the Finals.
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Golden Knights 3-0 on Sunday, June 14, to win the best-of-7 championship series, 4 games to 2.
In 22 playoff games, Dowd had three goals, an assist, eight penalty minutes, was minus-2, averaged 13:30 of ice time and won 51% of his faceoffs.
Las Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) collides with Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker (26) during the second period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 14, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Lucas Peltier / Reuters Connect
“Obviously, we came up short and that’s disappointing,” Dowd said. “But to get there and just realize how much work it takes and how fortunate you have to get and how many things have to come together with players and coaches and teams to get that far — it has got to be the hardest trophy in sports to win.
“It requires so many wins, so many bounces and so many guys playing well all at the same time. It’s such a long grind. It was tough to go that far and lose at the end. But it was a great experience.”
Dowd, a center, was traded to Vegas from the Washington Capitals on March 5. He had been an alternate captain and played 7-1/2 seasons with Washington.
With the Capitals last season, he played 55 games and had four goals, 12 assists, 63 penalty minutes, won 48.7% of his faceoffs, averaged 15:33 of ice time and was minus-6.
Las Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) during a press conference for the 2026 Stanley Cup Final on June 3, 2026, at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
Nathan Ray Seebeck / Reuters Connect
In 20 regular-season games with the Golden Knights, Dowd had a goal, four assists, 20 penalty minutes, won 51% of his faceoffs, averaged 11:46 of ice time and was plus-2.
“It was good,” he said. “Hockey wise, it was awesome. The organization is top notch. The players were great people. Coaches were great and really helpful. Hockey wise, it was a smooth transition. Logistically with the family, it was really tough. Two kids and a pregnant wife and dog. That was challenging, but we made it work. It almost turned out to be an amazing story.”
Dowd and his wife, Paige, have a 6-year-old son, Louie, and a 3-year-old daughter, Ruby, and Banks, a boy who was born June 12 — an off day after the Knights’ 4-2 Game 5 loss at Carolina. Moving across the country was not easy, but once he got there, he felt like he fit in on the ice with Vegas.
“I think I was brought in there to help their bottom six and do the things I was doing in Washington on a daily basis,” Dowd said. “They said it worked out and that I was as advertised. I felt like I could help out with some stuff leadership wise. They already had a really good group of leaders and people. I didn’t have to do much there. I had to follow their lead. Guys that had been there for awhile have already won stuff. I played with some really good players. I had a great opportunity and played some big minutes, big faceoffs and everything I could ask for from an opportunity standpoint.”
The St. Cloud State men’s hockey team celebrates with the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season champion on March 16, 2013, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Brace Hemmelgarn / SCSU ATHLETICS
Dowd, 37, has one year left on a contract that is paying him $3 million. It feels like a long time ago that he played for
from 2010-14. His first two seasons, he had 16 goals and 42 points in 72 games. As a junior, he had 14 goals and 25 assists in 41 games and helped the Huskies win the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular-season champions. Then they reached the Frozen Four. Both were firsts in SCSU history.
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) celebrates with center Nic Dowd (26) after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second overtime in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Stephen R. Sylvanie / Reuters Connect
His senior year, Dowd was named captain and had 22 goals, 40 points and was plus-17. He was NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year and a top-three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. The Huskies won the first NCHC regular season title and reached the NCAA West Regional championship. He scored the winning goal as the Huskies beat Notre Dame, 4-3, in overtime, in the opening round, but Minnesota defeated SCSU, 4-0, in the region final.
Dowd immediately signed with the Los Angeles Kings and joined the AHL Manchester Monarchs. He was property of the Kings until 2017, when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Jordan Subban. The following year, Dowd signed with the Capitals, for whom he played until he was traded to Vegas for Jesper Vikman.
In 657 regular season NHL games, Dowd has 89 goals, 108 assists, 380 penalty minutes, is plus-18, has won 50.7% of his faceoffs, has 18 game-winning goals, two power-play goals, nine short-handed goals and has averaged 13:12 on the ice.
Last August,
St. Cloud native Nate Schmidt brought the Stanley Cup to the Municipal Athletic Complex
after he won it with the Florida Panthers.
One of Dowd’s college teammates was
Nick Oliver, who was recently named the head coach for the Huskies.
They played together for three seasons and Dowd was not exactly shocked when he heard that Oliver had been hired.
“Nick was a lead by example kind of guy,” Dowd said. “He was a really hard worker and always did the right thing, even when it was the hard thing to do. He was an assistant captain and captain there for a reason. He was an individual that knew how to do things the right way. It made him a really good college hockey player and it’s made him a really good coach at all levels. That’s why I think he’s been successful.
“We were close friends and we still are,” Dowd added. “We still talk. Our lives are busy, but we’re able to congratulate each other on big things. We still keep in touch when we can. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to spend some time with him this summer for a minute. I’d say we’re pretty easy to fall back into where we left off. We were close in college and lived next to each other. He was only a class below me and a good friend of mine.”
Las Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) carries the puck against Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker (26) and defenseman Jalen Chatfield (5) during the first period in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 11, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
James Guillory / Reuters Connect