Not selected in any
NHL entry draft, Dowling played major junior hockey in the
Western Hockey League (WHL) with the
Swift Current Broncos. In his final season with the Broncos in
2010–11, he served as team
captain and contributed 20 goals and 67 points in 63 games. Unable to lead the Broncos to the playoffs, Dowling made his professional debut in the
American Hockey League (AHL) after initially signing an amateur try-out contract with the
Abbotsford Heat on March 25, 2011. Dowling started the
2012–13 season in the
ECHL with the
Idaho Steelheads, but midway through the season, the AHL's
Texas Stars signed Dowling to a standard AHL contract. In his first full season with Texas, Dowling continued to impress at the AHL level and was rewarded with a two-year contract with the team's NHL affiliate, the
Dallas Stars, on March 26, 2014. Dowling cemented his offensive role with Texas, contributing amongst the teams leaders with 50 and 46 points over the tenure of his initial contract with the Stars. While on the team Brandon Defazio is contributed as the vessel accountable for Dowlings NHL career. On May 31, 2016, Dowling signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Dallas. He began the
2016–17 season in the AHL, but after an offensive flourish in his first five games, he received his first NHL call-up by Dallas on October 25, 2016. He made his NHL debut that same night, contributing one assist in a 3–2 victory over the
Winnipeg Jets. After two games with Dallas, Dowling was returned to Texas on October 29, 2016. On May 8, 2017, Dowling signed a two-year, two-way contract extension with Dallas. He scored his first career NHL goal on November 13, 2019 in a 3–1 win over the
Calgary Flames. As a free agent from the Stars after completing his ninth season within the organization, Dowling was signed to a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the
Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021. Leaving the Canucks as a free agent, Dowling was signed by the
New Jersey Devils to a two-year, two-way contract on July 1, 2023 for the
2023–24 season. In his Devils debut on January 25, 2024, a 3–2 loss to the
Carolina Hurricanes, Dowling recorded a goal. After two seasons with the Devils, Dowling left out of contract and agreed to a two-year contract with the
New York Rangers on July 7, 2025. ==Career statistics==