In the end, hockey player Justin Dowling didn’t have to wait long at all for the call he’s been waiting for since he was a teenager.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been waiting so long to get the opportunity,” said Dowling, who was called up to the Dallas Stars’ NHL team Monday after being moved down to the minor league affiliate just a little more than two weeks ago.
“It’s amazing how fast things can change.”
After spending time at the Dallas Stars’ training camp this summer, Dowling was put on waiver Oct. 6 and had just settled in with the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars development team in Austin when his coach pulled him aside after Monday’s practice and told him to pack his bags: the Big Show had called, and he was moving up.
“It was instant excitement,” said the 26-year-old forward. “I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face – it was kind of stuck there.”
Next, it was Dowling’s turn to get on the phone, and the first person he dialed was his fiancée Megan Whitney. When she didn’t answer, he called his dad in Cochrane – and he picked up. It was a surreal moment for proud papa Glen.
“(Justin) said, ‘Hey guess what? I got called up.’ And I said, ‘You’re lying,’” Glen remembered with a laugh. “I was calling his bluff … but he wasn’t bluffing.”
Tuesday night, Glen and a big group of family and friends – including mom, Sherry, brother, Jaeden, and Whitney – gathered in front of Dowling’s television set, eager for his debut in Dallas.
The crowd was not disappointed. They first saw Dowling in the pre-game skate, then cheered as he played a total of 11:05 against the Winnipeg Jets. They went bananas when he logged an assist on a power play in the second period.
“It was phenomenal. Everybody was hooting and hollering,” said Glen yesterday. “He didn’t look out of step. He looked like he fit right in.”
Glen recorded the game and planned to watch it again last night. He and a few others are also trying to make it to Winnipeg on Thursday to see Dowling play in person.
Glen said growing up, every parent watches their kids play sports and wonders quietly and waits to see if they might, just might, ever make it. Now – just like his son – he doesn’t have to wait any more.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for the big chance,” he said. “This is his chance.”
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