The Dallas Stars have inked Justin Dowling to a two-year, two-way contract extension that will run through the 2018-19 season. No financials were released. Dowling was set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer, because of his age and relatively few NHL games to this point in his career.
The 26-year old Dowling made his NHL debut this season, suiting up for nine games. Recording two assists, he has still yet to score his first NHL goal, but he has been a stalwart offensive producer for the Texas Stars of the AHL. The undrafted forward is a testament to hard work in hockey, as he spent time in the ECHL early in his career before finding a home in Texas.
Dowling shouldn’t feature regularly into the Dallas lineup next season, but does provide some depth at forward should they experience a rash of injuries. While both extremely small samples, his success in the faceoff dot and strong possession metrics show that perhaps he’s even capable of even more than he has shown thus far in his professional hockey career.