Carolina Hurricanes: The Year of The Ham(ilton)

Carolina Hurricanes defender Dougie Hamilton is set to return.

Dougie Hamilton had an exceptional 2019-2020 campaign for the Carolina Hurricanes until a gruesome injury in mid-march. But now the fan-favorite could be slated to return when the NHL does.

Dougie Hamilton has been in the NHL for 8 seasons now and has rather slid under the radar until now. Hamilton has been a teammate for Boston (unfortunately) and Calgary. Up north Dougie stayed out of the spotlight having only one season with 50 points.

There were also roomers that Dougie was a “locker room cancer”, only to be traded around from team to team. As Caniacs we soon found this to be the opposite of true. Of course, the teams that said that were Boston and Calgary. I think all reading can find that Dougie was not the problem.

From storm surging to banana phones, it was clear that Dougie was happy with his teammates and fans here in Raleigh NC since the trade-in 2018. But outside of Dougie’s fun-loving antics with best friend, Andrei Svechnikov, Dougie was having an amazing year this season.

The Break Out

With 13 goals and 24 assists in just October-December this year Dougie quickly rose to be one of the NHL’s highest-scoring defensemen. Trailing at one point only Tom Wilson, Dougie was becoming a top candidate for the Norris Trophy this season.

Back in December Dougie was named the Carolina Hurricanes All-Star, making his first-ever appearance.

Dougie also had 14 power-play points before the halt of the season, a very reliable asset for special teams. Dougie was in all of the right places at all of the right times during this season. He was the best blueline scorer on the Canes and arguably the best in the NHL.

Dougie was relied on by his teammates and fans to bring the energy on and off the ice. He is always having fun and scoring goals.

The Fall

The fall of Dougie Hamilton was quite literally that, a bad fall. January 16th, 2020 was a sad day for all Canes players and fans everywhere. After a hard hit with a Columbus player and the wall, Dougie was slow to get up form the ice and was later found to have broken his leg.

Devastation kicked in and it showed on the ice. The Hurricanes struggled to find their defensive identity. Rod switched lines, moved power-play units, and from January to March. Late into March, the Canes began to finally figure everything out at the blue line, other than having Slavin cover everyone’s mistakes, the season was halted.

The Return of The Ham

With now 2 months off, and not an expected return to hockey until late July at the earliest, Dougie is back! Dougie has been cleared to skate with the Canes and will be game ready when the season does resume.

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So what does this mean? This is Dougie’s chance to prove his name. To not settle for the incredible season that he had before the injury. The injury was not a setback, Dougie is still an asset and a forced to be reckoned with.

Dougie has missed being out there fighting for his team and this city, expect a whole new man out there in the return. The Fans will rejoice and the goals will fall.

My prediction; he comes out blades of glory and scores more points than any NHL defenseman during the postseason as the Canes make it to the ECF. Dougie is back and it will be rough for anyone who tries to get in his way.

Question for CC Readers: Who else will make the health return when we come back?