The New Jersey Devils announced today the signings of two forwards, Kyle Criscuolo and Justin Dowling, to two-way contracts. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.
Criscuolo, 31, signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $330,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level for 2023-24. The undrafted skater made his NHL debut on Nov. 17, 2017, with the Buffalo Sabres and has totaled 16 career NHL games. He played in six contests with Detroit in 2021-22 and appeared in one game with San Jose last season.
The 5'9", 175lbs. forward played in 28 contests in the AHL last season with Grand Rapids, and 32 games with the San Jose Barracuda. He totaled 29 points (17g-12a) in 2022-23. Criscuolo made his professional debut in 2015-16 with Grand Rapids and has recorded 206 career points (89g-117a) in 367 AHL regular-season games with Grand Rapids (194 GP), Rochester (94), Lehigh Valley (40) and seven games played with San Diego. He was also a Calder Cup champion with Grand Rapids in 2017.
Before turning pro, the Southampton, NJ native completed four seasons at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) level with Harvard from 2012-13 to 2015-16. He was named team captain for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns, totaling 113 points (53g-60a) in 124 career games. Criscuolo was a 2014-15 ECAC champion at Harvard and two-time ECAC Student-Athlete of the Year (2014-15 & 2015-16).
Dowling, 32, signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $500,000 at the AHL level. The forward spent the last two seasons with the Vancouver organization, appearing in 22 NHL games during the 2021-22 campaign. He logged his NHL debut on Oct. 25, 2016, with Dallas and has played in 98 career NHL contests between the Stars and Vancouver totaling 18 points (6g-12a).
The 5'10", 180lbs. forward logged his professional debut in the AHL during the 2010-11 campaign with the then Abbotsford Heat. He played in 509 career AHL contests and recorded 115 goals and 249 helpers for 364 points, playing for the Heat (30 GP), Texas Stars (408 GP) and the Abbotsford Canucks (71 GP). He was also a member of Texas when the team won the 2014 Calder Cup and finished fourth on the Stars with 14 points (4g-10a) in the postseason. Texas named Dowling team captain for the 2018-19 campaign.
Before his professional experience, the Cochrane, AB, native played in parts of five seasons with the Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2006-07 to 2010-11. He was also named team captain for the Broncos in his final season and finished his WHL career with 240 career points (81g-161a) in 280 contests.
