Al Hamilton

Al Guy Hamilton (born August 20, 1946 in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman, most notably with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association.

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. 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.

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 was left unprotected for the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft and was selected by the Buffalo Sabres as their third choice. He immediately became the Sabres' mainstay on defence, leading the team in defence scoring both of his seasons with the team.

However, when the World Hockey Association began in 1972, Hamilton jumped back to familiar ground in Edmonton, signing with the Alberta Oilers (owned by Bill Hunter, the owner of the Oil Kings) 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, 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. 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.

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.

Awards & achievements

*Memorial Cup Championship (1966)
*CPHL Second All-Star Team (1967)
*WHA Second All-Star Team (1974)
*Member of Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series
*WHA First All-Star Team (1978)
*“Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

Career statistics

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1964-65 St. Paul Rangers CPHL 3 0 2 2 0 -- -- -- -- --1965-66 New York Rangers NHL 4 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --1966-67 Omaha Knights CPHL 68 11 25 36 96 12 4 3 7 161967-68 New York Rangers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --1967-68 Buffalo Bisons AHL 72 9 21 30 82 5 0 4 4 231968-69 Buffalo Bisons AHL 41 4 14 18 61 6 0 4 4 121968-69 New York Rangers NHL 16 0 0 0 8 1 0 0 0 01969-70 New York Rangers NHL 59 0 5 5 54 5 0 0 0 21970-71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 69 2 28 30 71 -- -- -- -- --1971-72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 4 30 34 105 -- -- -- -- --1972-73 Alberta Oilers WHA 78 11 50 61 124 1 0 0 0 21973-74 Edmonton Oilers WHA 78 14 45 59 104 4 1 1 2 151974-75 Edmonton Oilers WHA 25 1 13 14 42 -- -- -- -- --1975-76 Edmonton Oilers WHA 54 2 32 34 78 4 0 1 1 61976-77 Edmonton Oilers WHA 81 8 37 45 60 5 0 4 4 41977-78 Edmonton Oilers WHA 59 11 43 54 46 -- -- -- -- --1978-79 Edmonton Oilers WHA 80 6 38 44 38 13 4 5 9 41979-80 Houston Apollos CHL 4 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --1979-80 Edmonton Oilers NHL 31 4 15 19 20 1 0 0 0 0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHA Totals 455 53 258 311 492 27 5 11 16 31 NHL Totals 257 10 78 88 258 7 0 0 0 2

External links

*hockeydb|00002111
*legendsofhockey|12829
* [http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/WHA_players_alhamilton.html Oiler's Heritage entry]
* [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/players.html?category=9&id=96 Al Hamilton's biography] at [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/index.html Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame]