The Calgary Flames were said to be very aggressive leading up to the NHL Draft which will begin tonight and though they didn’t reel in any of the rumoured targets, they got an even better one by grabbing Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins just hours before the first pick of the draft is set to be announced.
Hamilton was the 9th overall selection by the Boston Bruins in the 2011 NHL Draft, and has developed into a top pairing defender in the past four years. He really broke out his season, scoring ten goals and 42 points for the Bruins. showing tremendous promise for his future in the league.
Hamilton has just turned 22 year old and is a right shot defenseman who has the chance to blossom into a potential Norris Trophy candidate in the future. Adding Hamilton to a group of defensemen let by Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie gives the Flames an incredible group of defenders. Given that Brodie just turned 25 a few weeks ago, a Brodie-Hamilton tandem could be one of the league’s best duos for many years to come.
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The Flames were said to be in on players such as Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins and David Backes of the St. Louis Blues, but both of those players will be unrestricted free agents next year. Hamilton is a restricted free agent right now and will need a large contract, but he is under control by the Calgary Flames for the next five seasons before he is even eligible to be a UFA.
Hamilton is an extremely large defenseman at 6’5″ and 215 pounds which adds the size that Flames management said they were desperate to acquire after being outmuscled by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. With all due respect to Dennis Wideman, the Flames are now much better equipped to play against the likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry.
The Flames entered this draft with six of the first 83 picks after dealing Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals for a second and third round pick and also sent Sven Baertschi to the Vancouver Canucks for a second round pick.
The return for Hamilton was the 15th overall pick as well as the 45th and 52nd overall pick in the second round. At first glance, this looks like an absolute steal for the Calgary Flames to add a budding superstar defender for a package of selections in the draft.
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