Former Minnesota Wild player Jim Dowd is under fire after a report that he kicked one of his high school hockey players.
NorthJersey.com has the report out of Wall Township, New Jersey, where Dowd is a first-year high school varsity hockey coach at Manasquan/Point Pleasant Beach.
News 12 New Jersey says a simple assault charge was filed against Dowd by a parent, claiming Dowd kicked a 16-year-old athlete in the back during a game last Wednesday.
This embed is invalid
Dowd was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning for arraignment, but it was adjourned until a later date, likely next week, the report notes.
The New York Daily News says the school has suspended Dowd during the investigation.
Bill Bredin, a junior hockey teammate of Dowd’s in 1987, as well as a competing coach in New Jersey, was stunned to hear the news of Dowd’s suspension.
“I think we all need to take a step back and let the facts come out. No one should jump to any conclusions,” Bredin said in an interview with the Ashbury Park Press. “Knowing him for as long as I have, I find it hard to believe that he stepped out of bounds. I just don’t see that.”
The Wild claimed Dowd from the Edmonton Oilers in the 2000 Expansion Draft. In 2004, Minnesota traded him to the Montreal Canadiens for a fourth-round draft pick, according to Pro Hockey Reference. He had 32 goals and 89 assists in 283 games with the Wild.
In 2010, Wild.com recognized some of the team’s all-time “Ultimate Dudes.” Dowd made the cut.
“This guy only wore pads because he had to. His shoulder pads, breezers and shinnies were ridiculously too small. His Mini-Mite size gear was tied together with strings and prayer. Dowd also took his gregarious dudeifiedoff-ice personality and applied it to his game.”
Dowd played six seasons for the New Jersey Devils and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1995. He is a native of Brick Township, New Jersey.
