LA Kings Trade Nic Dowd to Canucks for Jordan Subban
- Updated: December 8, 2017
The Nic Dowd era in Los Angeles is over. Conversely, the Subban era in Los Angeles has begun.
Early Friday morning, the Kings had traded Dowd to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Jordan Subban.
The trading of Dowd marks a disappointing day for Kings fans as the 27-year-old was slated to be a cog in the team’s future at one point. However, after recording just one assist in 16 games for the silver-and-black this season, the Kings brass felt that it was time for a change.
Coming to the City of Angels is the aforementioned Jordan Subban. He may be most recognized by his surname, is the younger brother of Predators defenseman P.K. and Golden Knights netminder Malcolm.
A native of the Toronto suburb of Rexdale, Subban was drafted in the fourth round (115th overall) by the Canucks back in 2013.
After finishing up his junior career with the OHL’s since-relocated Belleville Bulls, the 22-year-old spent the next two seasons with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, registering 36 points in both seasons. This season, Subban has five assists in 16 games for Utica.
While his skill set may not be on the elite level of his brothers, Jordan nonetheless brings plenty to the table.
Standing at 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, Jordan Subban is definitely on the smaller side among blueliners. With that said, Subban brings with him a heavy shot and solid skating abilities to go in hand with a physical side that makes him fearless against opponents who are much bigger in stature. Additionally, Subban is an offensively-inclined defenseman, although he will need to work on his defensive game a bit more if he wants to compete with the big club. All in all, though, Subban’s game will make him exciting to watch regardless if it’s in Los Angeles or Ontario.
As for Dowd, despite being a very late pick in 2009 (seventh round, 198th overall), he was able to turn plenty of heads in the minors before joining the Kings in 2015-16. In 91 career games with the club, Dowd, a native of Huntsville, AL, scored six goals and 17 assists to go along with 39 penalty minutes. Dowd now joins a rebuilding Canucks team looking to contend sooner than most would have predicted.
Nic Dowd will be missed in Los Angeles but the acquisition of Jordan Subban certainly does bring some intrigue to the Kings franchise.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time
Steve
December 8, 2017 at 10:45 am
If you think about it, the Kings were probably on the verge of losing Dowd to waivers anyway, so they decided to get an AHLer for him instead of getting nothing. With the acquisition of Torey Mitchell (for a draft pick), and the return of Andy Andreof to active status (today); when Kyle Clifford returns, Dowd was headed back to Ontario, but only if he could pass through waivers. So they offered him up as trade bait and got at least one bite. At least he stays in the NHL.