The past five months for Dougie Hamilton have been quite the ride.

The third-year IceDogs defenceman was selected 9th overall by the Boston Bruins in June’s NHL Entry Draft, spent a week in August wooing Team Canada brass in an attempt to be named to the national under-20 team, and ended the summer playing alongside NHL superstar Zdeno Chara at the Bruins’ training camp.  By October, he was back in Niagara where he was named the Ontario Hockey League’s top defenceman for the month of October after scoring 7 goals and 13 assists in only 12 games.  His accolades continued in November when he was named to the Team OHL roster for the Subway Super Series, playing alongside brother Freddie and teammates Ryan Strome and Mark Visentin.  Hamilton was given the captaincy for one of the two contests he played in. 

For the Toronto-born Hamilton, spending time with the Bruins this summer was an invaluable experience: “It was definitely a special experience, playing out there with the guys you look up to and you watch on TV.”  Given an invite to Boston’s Stanley Cup Final games, Hamilton witnessed the team raise the cup, “At that time, I didn’t know where I was going.  It was pretty special for me to be with them and learn from them.” 

And while his NHL career may just be getting off the ground, his OHL career has been thriving. Leading the team in assists (19) and plus/minus (+7), Hamilton has scored nearly one-and-a-half points-per-game this season and currently leads all OHL defencemen in scoring with 28 points. He attributes his strong start to his experience in Boston, “I had confidence coming back from Bruins camp and coming into your third season, I think you have the confidence now that you can make plays and be able to do things right on the ice.  We had a hot start with our power play and just kept it going from there.”

The Brock University student was given the opportunity to display his confidence at last week’s Subway Super Series in Sault Ste. Marie and Ottawa.  One of five players to take part in both of the OHL’s games versus Team Russia, Hamilton recorded three assists during the two-game mini-series.  He described his feelings regarding the tournament, saying that it was “definitely a cool experience.  (Last year) I played with guys like <a  href="http://ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/player.php?lang_code=en&id=4892">Ryan Ellis</a> and guys that have done really well in the league and have moved on, so this year I had a little bit more of a role on the team and I enjoyed that.”

“I got to play with Strome, Freddie (Hamilton) and Vizzer (Mark Visentin) and it’s always fun when you get that opportunity with your teammates.”

Dougie has been fortunate enough to learn from his older brother Freddie, who has traveled a similar career path.  After Freddie was drafted by the IceDogs in 2008, the entire Hamilton family moved to St. Catharines.  Then, after playing the 2008-09 season with the St. Catharines AAA Falcons, Dougie was selected by Niagara in the second round of the 2009 OHL Priority Selection.  The younger Hamilton has played his entire OHL career with his brother Freddie, who is a year-and-a-half older.  Now, the two are looking to become the first set of brothers on the Team Canada Under-20 roster in 30 years after attending the Team Canada summer development camp in Alberta.  “Obviously, we have pretty good chemistry and we like each other,” he said. “We know where each other are on the ice and I kind of got used to it playing in Niagara with him.  It’s a lot of fun and it was a good opportunity for us.”

And while it seems that everything is going right for Hamilton, there’s still one achievement he has yet to attain: representing Canada at the World Junior Championships. To be named on the U-20 roster, Hamilton noted that he has to keep “doing what I’m doing right now and just try to play my best and work my hardest. Hopefully when the time comes, I’ll try to fill that role and hopefully that’s what they’re looking for.”

“I just have to play like I’m trying to play and do the little things right.”