Hamilton was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2010 entry draft, behind Pitlick and Martin Marincin. Not all draft sources had the three players in that order and it looks like Bob McKenzie's conversations with various amateur scouts is proving to be a better predictor than the draft itself:
- #31: Tyler Pitlick: ISS20; Redline30; Bob McKenzie25
- #46: Martin Marincin ISS40; Redline 50; Bob McKenzie71
- #48: Curtis Hamilton ISS60; Redline 121; Bob McKenzie57
- CENTRAL SCOUTING: "He has very good upside with all the tools. He's not an aggressive player by penalty minutes, but he finishes his checks in all areas and is very effective. Good size and skates very well, also. He's strong on both the penalty kill and the power play. You see him and just like what he brings to the table."
- STU MACGREGOR: "An extremely smart player, a great two way player. Strong, has good size, works hard along the boards. Very strong on the puck, has good vision, very good penalty killer. A guy who plays hard and smart."
Hamilton projects as a strong candidate for the Barons next season. The big club has Taylor Hall, Magnus Pääjärvi, Ryan Jones and JF Jacques at the big league level and Liam Reddox in the mix on both wings. When you factor in Teemu Hartikainen's strong showing at the end of the regular season, it's extremely likely Hamilton will spend at least a year in the minors.
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With the season finished it's interesting to see the progress of the Oilers 2010 entry draft class. It's common for one or more players to fall off the pace by season's end, hell we knew about Abney on draft day and Hesketh was lagging soonafter.
This 2010 group has a tremendous number of positive arrows. Taylor Hall enjoyed a solid NHL debut, and the 2nd rounders impressed in the WHL this season (Pitlick 56gp, 27-35-62; Marincin 67gp, 14-42-56; Hamilton 62gp, 26-56-82). Beyond that, Ryan Martindale enjoyed a fine season on one of junior hockey's best scoring lines, Jeremie Blain impressed a lot of people once he got healthy in the Q, Tyler Bunz was strong in the regular season and epic in the playoffs. Brandon Davidson played well in Regina, Drew Czerwonka took a big step forward playing much of the season on a skill line and Kristians Pelss improved a lot in the second half of the season. Kellen Jones had a good season in Quinnipiac.
That's a lot of progress in one season for a draft. Not all of these kids are going to turn out and it's anyone's guess as to how many will spend seasons in the NHL as regulars. However, there doesn't appear to be a Troy Hesketh, no Cameron Abney, not a William Quist in sight.
As we look forward to the 2011 draft, it'll be a good idea to pay attention to the list of kids who are invited to the NHL's combine. Last season, 7 of the Oilers 11 selections attended the combine.
I remember how everyone was like "Who the hell is this coke machine? Terrible."
ReplyDeleteAnd I set them all straight, because I'm dumb enough to watch junior hockey.
There were quite a few amateur scouting reports from Blades' fans on various forums that spoke glowingly about Hamilton. They must be feeling pleasantly vindicated right now.
ReplyDeleteI like Hamilton a lot. I look forward to seeing how he does next year for the Barons. 45 points in 65-70 games seems reasonable, no?
Still expect they will sign Marincin and Lander.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they wait on Martindale and the rest of the 2010 draft.
Anyone think they will sign Abney, Hesketh or Dee? If not, all of these guys will be freeagents.
I wouldn't be surprised if they signed Abney. They can let him patrol in OKL for a few years and see if he develops into a scrapper who can skate.
Dee seems to fall in the same class as VDV, Omarra, and Tanner House. Not sure there is room at the inn.
Does Hesketh even have a team?
I think Abney may have saved himself with a late run. Hesketh finally got a point in the USHL but he's got as much a chance of making the NHL as JOE Hesketh at this point. NP, I'd guess.
ReplyDeleteThe Oilers haven't mentioned Dee in forever AND they signed his teammate without a word about him. I'd bet he's not signing either.
LT: Good eye on Abney, he did have some decent games towards the end of the season. He had a strangely passive season, but he did suffer some sort of hand injury (fist injury?) that cost him some time and probably crimped his style for quite a while after his return. Plus everybody in the league is reportedly scared shitless of the guy.
ReplyDeleteECHL, here we come.
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ReplyDeleteIf they don't sign Abney, you have to wonder what they were expecting of him, because I don't think he's fallen short of reasonable expectations.
ReplyDeleteAnd Smarmy, I certainly see the part where you spoke highly of Hamilton, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the "terrible" bit: Hamilton's draft thread, Marincin's (because these things tend to run together even when the players aren't only two picks apart).
(Interesting note from the latter thread: the Oilers wanted Marincin in the AHL last year. What happened with that?)
And he wears black rimmed hipster glasses too.... strapping young chap.
ReplyDeleteSSS: Abney got some bad press when he went dozens of games without fighting or really showing any signs of aggressivenes (is that spelled right? looks weird) for a long spell.
ReplyDeleteThere were rumblings.
Thanks, LLTT.
ReplyDeleteSS: Oh my. I MEANT FSS. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the malcontent on the Torres hit. 2 years ago that would not have even been a penalty, and probably considered a great play. Everyone would have concluded "You gotta keep you head up". For those of you who have played, the game is fast, and at the NHL level, it must be lightning fast. To expect a player to debate in midflight whether a target of a bodycheck is going to notice him coming or not is unrealistic. In addition, I doubt Torres wants to catch Seabrook blind there, and probably thought he would look up by the time he made the hit as most players receiving a bodycheck usually do. How is he supposed to stop himself just before he is going to make the hit when Seabrook fails to take a look? If a player went around the ice worried about whether the target of a body check was going to notice them coming they would never make a check. Every player is not looking when you start your run. Once you get there, they have usually noticed you unless you are hitting from behind which is a blatant penalty and should be. Also there was no head shot on that hit. "Colon" Campbell mades the right call there I think.
ReplyDeleteAshley: Times are changing. 30 years ago players didn't wear helmets.
ReplyDeleteTorres is a little shit as far as I'm concerned. There was no need to blow Seabrook up. There was another Canuck forchecker in on the play, Seabrook didn't know Torres was there, all Torres needs to do is cut off the outlet pass and pin Seabrook to the boards. If he does that the Canucks have a two on one behind the net and likely generate a turnover and a scoring chance.
^And thank God times are changing. "This wasn't penalized a few years ago" is one of the weakest justifications in the book given what we've learned from medical science about head trauma.
ReplyDeleteIt was bad when Torres was head-hunting as an Oiler, and it's bad today.
Steve don't harsh my mellow!!!
ReplyDeleteBut that thread does seem laid back, but I think the Coke Machine comments were in another thread that day and some of the disdain may have came from other Oiler centered websites or something.
How Oilers fans can be pissed at Torres in 2011 after cheering Torres as he belted that Shark halfway into outer space in 2006, is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteThat's another reason why the Canucks are probably going to win the west. They have filthy dirty players who don't care, while loser teams(eg Oilers) seem to have nothing but victims(eg Smid v Avery).
I know, I know. We're all jealous that the nucks are serious contenders.
Hilarious how some use the sport of ice hockey to preach some watered down version of morality.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Dave Hodge the guy who started this pointless trend?
I think I likely have Hamilton ahead of the rest of the 2nd rounders right now. I wonder what kind of season he would've delivered if he had had Schenn all season. And the fact he delivered quality before that arrival is a nice touch.
ReplyDeleteHe went as far down as he did due to the injury that killed nearly a whole development year, but he was worth the risk while obviously off a lot of scouts' radar. Well done, Stu.
There's a Vish Throttler avatar?
ReplyDeleteC'mon Dennis, is that you?
Phoenix getting schooled. Must be tough to stay focused with all the unknowns flitting around their future.
ReplyDeletePeople do seem a little suspension hungry, lately.
ReplyDeleteLT Abney is a bum and shouldn't be considered as a prospect. We should be looking at Drew Czerwonka, this guy is a spark plug and will fight or hit anything with hair on it. He also holds his own with players a lot taller then he is.
ReplyDeleteI'd take Torres over a shitload of current Oilers. You know, if he's no longer allegedly on the pipe or whatever.
ReplyDeleteSo after the NHL doing nothing to Torres good old Steve Downey launches himself into a Pens d-man tonite.Same hit he got 20 games for a couple of years ago,but it's ok now,it happened in the "hit zone"
ReplyDeleteHe could slot in at #4 LW on my fantasy team that includes a healthy Forsberg and, to steal some thunder from Matt Fenwich, a sober Doug Harvey and a unicorn.
ReplyDeleteWord was that Abney got in a bar fight way past curfew and was in the dog house for a long time.
ReplyDeleteBusted his hand up pretty good in the process.
LT Abney is a bum and shouldn't be considered as a prospect. We should be looking at Drew Czerwonka, this guy is a spark plug and will fight or hit anything with hair on it. He also holds his own with players a lot taller then he is.
ReplyDeleteAbney 6'5" 210 lbs
Czerwonka 6'2" 195 lbs
Czerwonka is a decent prospect but is not in the same weight class as Abney.
I know fuck all about these prospects, other than what I read online. Abney should bear watching, since everyone is afraid of him.
ReplyDeleteTorres is a mini beast. Like the Walt Disney Tasmanian Devil, he simply wreaks havoc wherever he goes.
Canucks show all the signs of a Stanley Cup champion. They're arrogant, and all-asshole.
Looking back at my life, I have to wonder what effect the auld Oilers had on the rest of the league, as they pussy whipped everyone year after year after year.
The kids who read this blog simply will never understand, hahaha.
People who want to pile hate on Raffi Torres need to check out Glenn Anderson's "moments" lol
Okay I'm drinking.
I almost want to cheer for the little Jets that could. This has been a heckuva period of hockey.
ReplyDeletei've always been a proponent of Mayan basketball...you know...when the captain of the losing team gets beheaded.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what the Oilers need to be thinking about...because hockey(ice) is one of those weird fucked up games tjat promotes ultra-violence...yanow?
Smarmy Boss
ReplyDeleteThink comments were more like...... High Risk, High Reward and CH had a great year. Absolutely great year. Big body, smart player but he has had a history of injuries. Or, we can call Hemsky injury prone but Horcoff and Hamilton have simply had injuries :-))
That definition requires one to look at the ignoramus that signed that injury ridden centre:Horcoff(Lowe) or StewieM taking a chance on CH despite injuries whereas Hemsky is a flawed piece of clay.
As off season goes on Millhouse, Beef Stuffer and J Matheson will all comment on Hemsky's injury history as a reason to move him. Anyone here stupid enough to compare Souray's history to Hemsky's history? What GM signed Souray to a long term contract......LOWE.......
But Hemsky must be moved
I went to the Marincin link in LT"s article and saw people complaining that all the Oilers could get for a 21st overall was a 46th overall. Well 4 years after his draft year that 21st overall got 32 points in 78 games so I don't think we missed out on much. Shouldn't have drafted him, no doubt about it, but getting Marincin for him, well that almost makes up for it!
ReplyDeleteTurris has come a long way.
ReplyDeletePersonally I'd love to see a single fucking Oiler finish his career here.
ReplyDeleteBut that's just me.
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ReplyDeleteYeah no sympathy from me regarding Riley Nash's vehement struggles. Have negligible respect for that guy. He had the raw talent (Freshman year was decent) - then proceeded to wasting time in key development years by playing in a shitty conference - one of the key reasons at Cornell was to play with his brother. Forced the Oilers to move him because he didn't his chances with the Oilers depth chart down the middle.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no competitive streak in him. Good riddance.
Pacioretty, Blum, and Perron were available. Lets hope Marincin (61 points in 71 games) becomes the textbook illustration of "recovery." Akin to Niinimakki yielding us Petry.
All evidence seems to be that Nugent-Hopkins is the Oilers guy.
ReplyDeleteGood.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/04/18/its-gotta-be-the-nuge
Datsyuk is Russian for undeniable force. Something else. Bobby Clarke but better.
ReplyDeleteTurris has come a long way.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. He's gonna be an excellent player. I wonder if the Yotes will be willing to part with him in a deal involving Hemsky.
I seriously doubt they would.
ReplyDeleteFrom Matty putting one foot in the RNH camp this past Saturday and to such a confidently emphatic article by Jones, I'd say the cat is outta the bag.
They're taking the Nuge for their 1C.
Im just gonna leave this here for you Lowetide; http://sourcefeddotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/scarlett-johansson-boobs.gif
ReplyDeleteGotta commend the Canucks for totally getting into the Hawks heads.
ReplyDeleteSurely Vancouver has the better team, but all the hitting getting to the Hawks and affecting their play is the big story of the series.
Hamilton is a great prospect - just what I like in a player.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the collarbone breaks, that can be a problem with no solution. He won't be able to take many more and play pro level.