Al Hamilton

For the British journalist, see Al Hamilton (journalist).
Al Hamilton
Born (1946-08-20) August 20, 1946
Flin Flon, MB, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for New York Rangers
Buffalo Sabres
Alberta/Edmonton Oilers
National team  Canada
Playing career 1964–1980

Allan Guy Hamilton (born August 20, 1946 in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman, most notably with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association. He also played in the National Hockey League for the Oilers, as well as the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.

Playing career

Signed by the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League as a teenager, Hamilton spent his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He met with great success in juniors, being one of the rare players to play in the Memorial Cup tournament three consecutive years.[1] His final season in 1966 with the Oil Kings saw the team win the Memorial Cup, led by Hamilton's remarkable 82 points in 55 regular season and playoff games, drawing frequent comparisons with his junior contemporary Bobby Orr of the Oshawa Generals. In fact in Hamilton's Memorial Cup-winning final junior year, Hamilton and Orr highlighted the championship game by trading end-to-end rushes.[2]

Hamilton made a rather auspicious debut with the Rangers on a Wednesday night hockey broadcast. As Frank Mahovlich came flying down the boards at the old Maple Leaf Gardens as only the Big M could, 19-year-old Al suddenly entered the playing surface from the New York bench (allegedly) on a line change and decked the unsuspecting Mahovlich with a thundering shoulder check that required smelling salts to the prone Big M. While he played a few games for the Rangers in 1966, he toiled for the next three seasons in the minors, winning all-star accolades for the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League in 1967 and spending the two years thereafter with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League. Hamilton finally cracked the Rangers' lineup in 1969, playing in 59 games, but he had arrived at a time when the Ranger defence was stacked and a new kid named Brad Park was turning heads. Hamilton was left unprotected for the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft and was selected by the Buffalo Sabres as their third choice.[1]

However, when the World Hockey Association began in 1972, Hamilton jumped back to the fledgling league, signing with the Alberta Oilers for their first season. Named the team's captain at the age of 26, he immediately responded with a 61 point season, his best as a pro,[1] A superb defender and leader, he captained the Oilers for four seasons and was chosen to represent Canada in the 1974 Summit Series against the Soviet Union.[2] Overcoming injuries that frequently struck—and which cost him most of the 1975 season—Hamilton remained the leader of the Oilers' defence corps for the whole of the WHA's history.

Retirement

Hamilton finished his career back in the NHL, playing 31 games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979–80; however, beset by a lingering eye injury from the previous season, he retired at season's end. His number 3 jersey was the first retired by the franchise.[2] As of 2014, Hamilton is the only Oiler not to be a member of the 1980's Stanley Cup teams to have his jersey retired.

For the WHA all-time, he is 13th in games played, 15th in assists, 40th in points and 38th in penalty minutes. He was also the franchise leader for the WHA Oilers in games, assists and points, and second in penalty minutes.

Hamilton remains active with the Oiler alumni and community affairs in the Edmonton area.

Family

His son, Steve Hamilton (born 1973) has served as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League since the 2010–11 season.[3]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1963–64Edmonton Oil KingsCAHL14471126523515
1963–64Edmonton Oil KingsM-Cup—————19481215
1964–65Edmonton Oil KingsCAHL30101525——————
1964–65St. Paul RangersCPHL30220—————
1964–65Edmonton Oil KingsM-Cup—————204121640
1965–66Edmonton Oil KingsASHL281522379983101316
1965–66New York RangersNHL40000—————
1965–66Edmonton Oil KingsM-Cup—————199233229
1966–67Omaha KnightsCPHL68112536961243716
1967–68New York RangersNHL20000—————
1967–68Buffalo BisonsAHL729213082504423
1968–69New York RangersNHL16000810000
1968–69Buffalo BisonsAHL414141861604412
1969–70New York RangersNHL590555450002
1970–71Buffalo SabresNHL692283071—————
1971–72Buffalo SabresNHL7643034105—————
1972–73Alberta Oilers WHA7811506112410002
1973–74Edmonton OilersWHA78144559104411215
1974–75Edmonton OilersWHA251131442—————
1975–76Edmonton OilersWHA54232347840116
1976–77Edmonton OilersWHA81837456050444
1977–78Edmonton OilersWHA5911435446—————
1978–79Edmonton OilersWHA806384438134594
1979–80Edmonton OilersNHL31415192010000
1979–80Houston ApollosCHL40000—————
WHA totals 455 53 258 311 492 27 5 11 16 31
NHL totals 257 10 78 88 258 7 0 0 0 2

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1974 Canada SS 3 0 1 1 4

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Al Hamilton player profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Al Hamilton – Number 3 forever". Edmonton Oilers Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  3. ↑ http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=86789
  4. ↑ "Al Hamilton profile". Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  5. ↑ WHA Hall of Fame Members

External links

Preceded by
Position created		 Edmonton Oilers captain
1972–76 		Succeeded by
Glen Sather
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