The Stanley Cup is the pinnacle of hockey greatness, it’s the biggest goal for hockey players young and old, but next to Lord Stanley’s Cup, there is the Calder Cup.
It took 97 games between the regular season and playoffs, but on June 17, the Texas Stars and Cochranite Justin Dowling managed to win the American Hockey League title.
On August 16, almost two months to the day after the win on ice, Dowling and the Calder Cup had their second date. This time however, it was on Justin’s terms, at home in Cochrane, with the family and friends that supported his dreams to go for the pros.
“You always dream about getting to lift a trophy like this over your head,” said Dowling. “I’m very privileged to get the opportunity to be on a team with a great group of guys and put together a championship winning season.”
Asked what he was going to do with the Calder for his Day with the Cup, Dowling was honest in his reply.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to have a few beers out of the cup, I might have some cereal too. For today, I just can’t wait to share the cup with Cochrane, my friends, and most of all, my family,” said Dowling as he stood overlooking Cochrane.
Dowling, a signed NHL prospect of the Dallas Stars took to Glen Eagles Golf and Country Club, where a large group of childhood friends and former hockey teammates came together to celebrate a fantastic Overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets farm team in the best way possible, with a round of 18 holes.
Dowling said there will be no “Cup hangover” as he’s already hard at work in the gym and getting on the ice whenever he can. It’s about continuing to improve and keep aiming higher.
“You look at this as a step in the right direction, not only for myself but for the Stars organization,” he said. “Now you want to achieve even bigger and better things.”
As Dowling looked down at the Cup, some of the oldest and most notable name plates on the cup have already been retired to the AHL Hall of Fame but names like Jeff Carter, Carey Price, Patrick Sharp and Mike Richards, all current NHL players, still adorn one of the oldest trophies in Hockey.
“A lot of these guys have made solid careers for themselves. I want to work hard and become a regular in the lineup in the NHL (for the Dallas Stars) first and foremost. And then the step after that would be to work towards a Stanley Cup win.”
Teams that have had a Calder Cup win have very often gone on to have success at the NHL level and that’s what Dowling is hoping for.
Frank Calder, the namesake of the Calder Cup was the first ever President of the National Hockey League.
