UNIVERISTY PARK, Pa.- Jimmy Dowd Jr. grew up in a much different situation than many of his fellow teammates.
His dad had an NHL career that spanned over the course of 17 seasons. He played for 10 teams over that span, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, and even spent time in Germany amongst other teams. While Dowd was younger for the latter half of his dad's career, he still has some great memories.
"It's cool growing up and being able to go to the games and be in the locker room while seeing the professional lifestyle he had," Dowd said.
Dowd wasn't born yet when his dad hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils, but has heard plenty of stories from that run. Another cool one is that Dowd Sr. was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the expansion draft just two weeks before Dowd Jr. was born. Over the following years, he moved around with his dad, but finally settled down in New Jersey after retirement.
Another cool story Dowd remembers was from his dad's time in Philadelphia. He talked about spending time with some of the other player's kids.
"I got to hang out in the locker room after games with some of the other player's kids like Danny Briere's son," Dowd said. "It was really cool."
Dowd's father coached him a bunch growing up and following high school he went to play for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He spent two seasons there and was named an alternate captain last season.
Dowd and the Steel had just finished up a week of games and practice when the season got derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the news broke that they were being sent home. It was a long wait until he was finally able to put some work in to be ready for the 2020-21 season.
"When I got home, there were no rinks open, but I was able to work out," Dowd said. "When the rinks opened up, I was able to escape."
At the end of the summer, Dowd was able to make the trip to Penn State to kick off his freshman year. Dowd's from a small town in New Jersey, so he was excited to come to school and experience how big Penn State really is.
"I like a lot of students," Dowd said. "Where I'm from, there was only about 400 kids in my high school. So, I definitely wanted something bigger."
Now at Penn State, Dowd is continuing to adjust to life as a freshman. He has hung out a lot with his fellow newcomers and has played tons of golf. The adjustment to doing classes online is tough, but one that gets easier with time Dowd added.
On the ice, Dowd has enjoyed working in game-like situations and scrimmages. Early on, he worked mostly with freshmen, but recently the practice groups have grown. With that, Dowd has seen how the upperclassmen attack their roles.
One of those upperclassmen that he looks up to is Evan Bell, who Dowd said is his mentor. Bell has helped Dowd adjust to the college game and learn what it is like being a defenseman at Penn State. The way Dowd describes his defensive mentality makes it seem like he will adjust very well.
"I'm definitely an offensive defenseman," Dowd said. "I like to defend hard first, so then we can be on offense more."
He wasn't always a defenseman. In Dowd's early teenage years, his dad asked him to move back because his team was short on defense. Dowd gladly took the challenge and never looked back.
"Ever since then, I fell in love with defense," Dowd said. "To see the game, evolve in front of me is really cool."
Now, Dowd will look to use that experience and the wisdom from his dad to make an impact with the Nittany Lions. He wants to come in and be consistent. Ultimately, Dowd wants to be a player that the rest of the team can rely on defensively.
But, at the end of the day, Dowd remembers what the most important thing to do is.
"Work hard every day and have fun with it," Dowd said. "Never forget to have fun because that's the ultimate reason why you play."
