Junior and AHL Born in
Grand Centre (now part of
Cold Lake),
Alberta, Howatt played one season in the WCHL with the
Flin Flon Bombers in 1971-72. He amassed 79 points in 60 games. That year he was drafted into the NHL by the
New York Islanders at the
1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The following year he played with the
New Haven Nighthawks of the
American Hockey League, scoring 49 points in 65 games.
NHL Howatt started his
National Hockey League career with the
New York Islanders in
1972. Howatt enjoyed his greatest popularity with the Islanders, remaining on the team from their first season, through their formative years of steady improvement, right through to their first two Stanley Cup championships, in 1980 and 1981. Howatt, known along with teammate
Bobby Nystrom as a member of the "Dynamic Duo", was a fan favourite admired for his scrappy, energetic style of play. For this reason, Islander fans established a Howatt-Nystrom booster club, called the "Dynamic Duo Fan Club", which was active throughout the 1970s. When he left the Islanders in 1981, Howatt held the Islanders' career penalty-minutes record (1,466) and career playoffs penalty-minutes record (279). After squabbling with Devils' management, he played only sporadically before ending his career with the
Maine Mariners of the
American Hockey League (AHL), where he helped them win a
Calder Cup as their captain. On January 15, 1983, Howatt, as a member of the Devils, and
Mickey Volcan, as a member of the Whalers, became the only active players to officiate an NHL game, when a snowstorm prevented referee
Ron Fournier and linesman
Ron Asselstine from reaching the
Hartford Civic Center for a game between the two teams. The two players stepped down after the first period once the officials arrived. He retired after the
1983–84 NHL season. ==Personal life==