After several years as an amateur player, he turned professional in 1916, joining the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA).

The NHA was replaced by the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917 to 1920, and Coughlin joined the Toronto Arenas for one season, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 1918.

Coughlin played amateur ice hockey starting in junior with Peterborough, Ontario in 1909–10.

He bounced around the NHL for the next few seasons with the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Canadiens, and Hamilton Tigers.

This biographical article relating to a Canadian ice hockey winger born in the 1890s is a stub.