Howald played in the Nationalliga A for SC Bern, HC Lugano and HC Fribourg-Gottéron. He won four NLA Championships with SC Bern and the number 22 jersey is retired by the team in his honour. He was drafted 276th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft but remained in Switzerland throughout his career and never played in North America. Howald was also a member of the Switzerland national ice hockey team and played in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.