Huntsville native Nic Dowd now playing in the Stanley Cup

It’s true that Huntsville is the “Hockey Capital of the South,” as the city has a rich history of fandom, youth programs and successful local hockey teams that support that moniker.

Here’s another item to add to that resume: this year’s Stanley Cup finals series includes Huntsville native Nic Dowd on the ice, as he was a late addition to the Vegas Golden Knights roster.

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Nic Dowd within reach of his first Stanley Cup

Nic Dowd was born in Huntsville and played his youth hockey here in the Rocket City. He attended Huntsville High School for one year before finishing high school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana.

Dowd played college hockey at St. Cloud State in Minnesota and was subsequently drafted into the National Hockey League by the Los Angeles Kings in 2009.

His NHL career has spanned 11 years during which he has played in 657 games with the Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and now the Golden Knights. He spent eight seasons with the Capitals before being traded to Vegas in March—just in time for a playoff run.

This is the first time Dowd has played in a Stanley Cup final. In fact, Dowd is the first Alabama native to play in a Stanley Cup final series, and just the third Alabama native to ever play in the NHL (Jared Ross and Aud Tuten being the previous two).

Vegas won Game 1 over Carolina 5-4, and will play Game 2 this evening at 7PM.

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