Al Hamilton

For the British journalist, see Al Hamilton (journalist).

Al Hamilton
Born	(1946-08-20) August 20, 1946 Flin Flon, MB, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	New York Rangers Buffalo Sabres Alberta/Edmonton Oilers
National team	Canada
Playing career	1964–1980

Allan Guy Hamilton (born August 20, 1946 in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman, most notably with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association. He also played in the National Hockey League for the Oilers, as well as the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.

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. In fact in Hamilton's Memorial Cup-winning final junior year, Hamilton and Orr highlighted the championship game by trading end-to-end rushes.

Hamilton made a rather auspicious debut with the Rangers on a Wednesday night hockey broadcast. As Frank Mahovlich came flying down the boards at the old Maple Leaf Gardens as only the Big M could, 19-year-old Al suddenly entered the playing surface from the New York bench (allegedly) on a line change and decked the unsuspecting Mahovlich with a thundering shoulder check that required smelling salts to the prone Big M. 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 he had arrived at a time when the Ranger defence was stacked and a new kid named Brad Park was turning heads. Hamilton was left unprotected for the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft and was selected by the Buffalo Sabres as their third choice.

However, when the World Hockey Association began in 1972, Hamilton jumped back to the fledgling league, signing with the Alberta Oilers 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. As of 2014, Hamilton is the only Oiler not to be a member of the 1980's Stanley Cup teams to have his jersey retired.

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.

Family

His son, Steve Hamilton (born 1973) has served as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League since the 2010–11 season.

Awards and 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
• Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1963–64	Edmonton Oil Kings	CAHL		14	4	7	11	26		5	2	3	5	15
1963–64	Edmonton Oil Kings	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		19	4	8	12	15
1964–65	Edmonton Oil Kings	CAHL		30	10	15	25	—		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	St. Paul Rangers	CPHL		3	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Edmonton Oil Kings	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		20	4	12	16	40
1965–66	Edmonton Oil Kings	ASHL		28	15	22	37	99		8	3	10	13	16
1965–66	New York Rangers	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Edmonton Oil Kings	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		19	9	23	32	29
1966–67	Omaha Knights	CPHL		68	11	25	36	96		12	4	3	7	16
1967–68	New York Rangers	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		72	9	21	30	82		5	0	4	4	23
1968–69	New York Rangers	NHL		16	0	0	0	8		1	0	0	0	0
1968–69	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		41	4	14	18	61		6	0	4	4	12
1969–70	New York Rangers	NHL		59	0	5	5	54		5	0	0	0	2
1970–71	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	2
1973–74	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		78	14	45	59	104		4	1	1	2	15
1974–75	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		25	1	13	14	42		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		54	2	32	34	78		4	0	1	1	6
1976–77	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		81	8	37	45	60		5	0	4	4	4
1977–78	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		59	11	43	54	46		—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		80	6	38	44	38		13	4	5	9	4
1979–80	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		31	4	15	19	20		1	0	0	0	0
1979–80	Houston Apollos	CHL		4	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

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1974	Canada	SS		3	0	1	1	4

External links

• Al Hamilton's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Al Hamilton's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Al Hamilton's biography at Legends of Hockey

Preceded by Position created

Edmonton Oilers captain 1972-76

Succeeded by Glen Sather