Colorado Avalanche Freddie Hamilton: Grade

Freddie Hamilton is Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton‘s big brother. Scratch that — Freddie is the older brother. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Freddie is the smaller of the two.

Freddie is also the one who currently plays on the fourth line for the Colorado Avalanche.

Tidbits About Freddie Hamilton

So, we already know Freddie is Dougie’s older brother. Why both boys go by the child-version of their names I can only speculate. Their father is named Doug, which might explain “Dougie” as a distinguisher. That doesn’t explain Freddie, but… must be a family thing.

Both boys are lanky and have, let’s face it, a rather sleepy look on their baby faces. Dougie’s is enhanced by his ginger hair.

But, enough about Dougie — let’s focus on the Hamilton that plays for the Avalanche. (Note, though, that their parents are also athletic, having both competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics — Doug in rowing and mom Lynn in basketball — with explains the lankiness.)

Freddie Hamilton, who told Avalanche TV that he is not superstitious “at all,” says he wears the number 13 because Swedish-born center Mats Sundin was his favorite player growing up, and Sundin wore number 13. (Hamilton wore 13 for the Ice Dogs but had to make due with other numbers in San Jose.)

In case you’re wondering, Freddie has not seen any of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies, which feature his fellow Freddie. In general, he doesn’t like horror films, preferring comedy and drama. (The Avalanche TV piece was a Friday the 13th special.)

Moving on to hockey.

Call Up

Nathan MacKinnon blocked a shot with his foot against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It hurt afterwards, but an X-ray revealed nothing. MacKinnon proceeded to get a broken nose in the Minnesota Wild game before blocking another shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time he underwent an MRI, which revealed a fracture. He was slated to be out the rest of the regular season.

Enter center Freddie Hamilton, who had been kicking it with the Lake Erie Monsters. In that time he played two games and earned an assist.

MacKinnon had been spending some time on the third line, but he’d earned his spot back on the top line with center Ryan O’Reilly and captain Gabriel Landeskog. Head coach Patrick Roy, though, placed Hamilton on the fourth line with Marc-Andre Cliche and Cody McLeod.

Playing Style

According to a press release put out by the Niagara Ice Dogs, his major juniors club, Hamilton is known for being a finesse player with a composed style of hockey. He has an accurate shot and good puck handling skills. He’s also capable of playing both center and wing.

Hamilton played only 11 games with the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him 129th overall in 2010. In his time with the NHL, he’s show some two-way skill with decent hockey smarts. He stays pretty cool under pressure. The 23-year-old is more lanky than beefy, which is OK for a forward, but it does limit his physical play.

Stats for the Avalanche

Freddie Hamilton has played in five games for the Colorado Avalanche so far, all of them big ones. He’s averaged under nine minutes of ice time per game, so his stats are somewhat limited (from the Avalanche website):

Stats for Freddie Hamilton’s five games with the Colorado Avalanche. From the Colorado Avalanche website.

According to those stats, he seems to be a wash when on the ice, not causing the Avs problems, but not really generating much either. Sporting Charts adds a little depth to the picture:

Statistics for Freddie Hamilton from Sporting Charts.

He’s had one shot on goal, in the game against Calgary. He’s taken the puck away once and not turned it over at all. He’s blocked shots twice and delivered nine hits. He’s done well on the few faceoffs he’s taken.

One of his hits was in the big game against the Minnesota Wild in Minnesota, and that was also the game in which he was a plus-1.

So, he’s doing some basic work for the Avs as an F4 forward. Interestingly, coach Roy has shuffled line combinations again, putting Hamilton on a line with fellow youngster Jordan Caron and veteran Daniel Briere.

C+. . C. Colorado Avalanche. FREDDIE HAMILTON

Next: Mitchy Pulls a Dutchy

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