Over the past four seasons, Dougie Hamilton has morphed into one of the top offensive defenders in the NHL. Since the 2014-15 campaign, Hamilton has reached the 40-point mark in every season.
If you consider his size, age, and handedness, you'll be left scratching as to why a 25-year-old who shoots right, stands 6'6" but can skate like the wind, and can run a power play with the best of them is already on his third NHL team.
This past off-season, the Calgary Flames sent Hamilton to Carolina along with Michael Ferland and prospect Adam Fox for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm.
The speculation around the Flames organization is that they needed a personality change to spark their team, and Hamilton was thought to be someone that didn't exactly fit in with the traditional hockey culture.
Reports started to surface that Hamilton would pass up opportunities to hang out with his teammates at restaurants and would prefer to expand his brain by going to museums. According to The Athletic's Scott Burnside, a source told him that Hamilton opted to skip out at the Flames year-end party.
“In today’s NHL, you’re not rushing to trade a defenseman that’s going to get you 50 points a year unless there’s something behind the scenes,” said Burnside's source.
Whatever the case was, Hamilton is no longer in Calgary and is off to greener pastures, and his new teammates seem to be embracing Hamilton's personality.
Talking with Scott Cruickshank of The Athletic, Jaccob Slavin, Hamilton's defensive partner in Carolina, opined that he'll be hanging out with him no matter how unconventional the place might seem for a hockey player.
While we'll likely never know what went down in Calgary, and even Boston for that matter, it's encouraging to see one of Hamilton's teammates showing some companionship.
If you'd like to know more about Hamilton's personality and how he’s fitting in with his new club, we encourage you to read Burnside's article in The Athletic.
