He played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues.

Bouwmeester was a member of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey championship team and won a gold medal with Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

[2] His father is a school teacher and coach in Edmonton, and played defence for the University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey team.

[11] Bouwmeester made his NHL debut with the Panthers at the start of the 2002–03 Season, and appeared in all 82 games for Florida, a franchise rookie record.

He joined the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, but experienced difficulties adapting to playing in the minor leagues.

[14] Despite struggling to generate offence, Bouwmeester participated in the AHL All-Star Game, and was loaned to the Chicago Wolves when it became evident the Rampage would not qualify for the playoffs.

Bouwmeester experienced a break-out season after the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, scoring 5 goals, 41 assists and 46 points in 82 games, all career highs,[7] and was invited to join Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in place of injured defenceman Scott Niedermayer.

[17] He made news that off-season in his hometown of Edmonton when he was arrested for driving under the influence, a charge he pleaded guilty to the following summer.

He played in all 82 games and succeeded Andrew Brunette as the NHL's ironman when the latter player was forced out of the Minnesota Wild line-up with injury.

[22] As the season approached its end, the Panthers were fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but were unable to convince Bouwmeester to sign a contract extension.

Despite numerous offers from other teams for his services, Florida general manager Jacques Martin chose not to trade Bouwmeester.

[26] The Flames struggled to score for much of the 2009–10 NHL season, and Bouwmeester was no exception—he finished the year with just three goals and rarely served as an offensive catalyst for Calgary.

[32] With the Flames entering a rebuilding phase, Bouwmeester agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accepted a trade on April 1, 2013.

[33] He described leaving Calgary as "bittersweet", calling the city a great place to play, but expressed hope he would finally reach the playoffs with the Blues.

[36] Bouwmeester's iron man streak ended early in the 2014–15 season after he missed the Blues' November 23, 2014, contest against the Winnipeg Jets.

On April 8, 2019, the Blues re-signed Bouwmeester (a pending unrestricted free agent) to a one-year, $3.25 million contract extension.

In November 2016, Craig Cunningham collapsed from cardiac arrest during a pre-game skate while playing for the Arizona Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

He finished second in scoring amongst defencemen with seven points,[50] and was named the tournament's best defenceman and an all-star as he helped Canada win the gold medal.

[53] He was a late addition to Canada's entry at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, invited to replace the injured Chris Pronger.

[59] Bouwmeester participated in Canada's summer camp in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics,[60] but his struggles in the weeks leading up the team being announced resulted in his being left off the final roster.

His coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Rick Carriere, said his ability to move the puck up the ice and score meant Bouwmeester could have played in the NHL at the age of 15.