This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the Carolina Hurricanes this season. This article will focus on Dougie Hamilton.

I don’t think Hamilton could have possibly had a better year before his injury. He had become one of the top defensemen in the NHL and had taken huge steps in his offensive game, scoring 14 goals and 40 points in 47 games. He was jumping into the rush more but was also more reliable defensively and overall, he had become an extremely well-rounded player.

After his injury, the Hurricanes struggled to replace him and it became even more apparent how valuable he was to Carolina’s defense. With Justin Faulk gone, Hamilton had assumed a larger role on the power play and his average ice time per game jumped by three and a half minutes this season. It’s tough to say where the Hurricanes may have been when the season was put on pause if Hamilton hadn’t been injured.

Hamilton is heading into a contract year and you have to think Carolina will do everything they can to re-sign him long-term. If Hamilton has a year that comes close to the one he did last year, you have to think he’ll be in for quite the pay day. Regardless, it was a breakthrough year for Hamilton and at just 26 years old, he could be a star with the Hurricanes for a long time to come.


Check back tomorrow for a player profile on Jordan Martinook.


For more, follow @BenShelley_20 on Twitter.


OTHER HURRICANES ARTICLES FROM MARCH

Reviewing the season (so far): Jake Gardiner

Reviewing the season (so far): Warren Foegele

Hurricanes sign David and Jason Cotton

Reviewing the season (so far): Haydn Fleury

Reviewing the season (so far): Joel Edmundson

Reviewing the season (so far): Ryan Dzingel

Reviewing the season (so far): Sebastian Aho

The good and the bad of the Hurricanes’ season (so far)

Mrazek (likely) returning, Geekie makes case to stay with Hurricanes

The Forsberg/Nedeljkovic tandem is off to a rough start

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