Al Hamilton

2025-07-13T00:45:40Z

2405:6E00:243E:464A:E4EA:7889:E251:2738: /* Family */

{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{for|the British journalist|Al Hamilton (journalist)}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image =
| image_size = 230px
| position = [[Defenceman|Defence]]
| played_for = [[New York Rangers]]<br>[[Buffalo Sabres]]<br>[[Edmonton Oilers|Alberta/Edmonton Oilers]]
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 195
| ntl_team = CAN
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|8|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Flin Flon]], [[Manitoba]], Canada
| draft =
| draft_year =
| draft_team =
| wha_draft =
| wha_draft_year =
| wha_draft_team =
| career_start = 1964
| career_end = 1980
}}
'''Allan Guy Hamilton''' (born August 20, 1946) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] former [[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]] (NHL) 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 for three consecutive years.<ref name="LOH">{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12829 |title=Al Hamilton player profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2010-01-27}}</ref> 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.<ref name="EOH">{{cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/WHA_players_alhamilton.html |title=Al Hamilton – Number 3 forever |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage Foundation |accessdate=2010-01-27| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100121221626/http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/WHA_players_alhamilton.html| archivedate= 21 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Hamilton made a rather auspicious debut with the Rangers on a Wednesday night hockey broadcast. As [[Frank Mahovlich]] was skating down the boards, Hamilton entered the playing surface from the bench on a line change and knocked out the unsuspecting Mahovlich with a thundering shoulder check that required smelling salts to help him retain consciousness.{{Citation needed|reason=highly editorialized and subjectively worded with no quote attributed. Reworded in the abscense of attribution.|date=December 2017}}. While he played a few games for the Rangers in [[1965–66 NHL season|1966]], he toiled for the next three seasons in the minors, winning all-star accolades for the [[Omaha Knights (1963–1965)|Omaha Knights]] of the [[Central Professional Hockey League|Central Hockey League]] in 1967 and spending the two years thereafter with the [[Buffalo Bisons (AHL)|Buffalo Bisons]] of the [[American Hockey League]]. Hamilton finally cracked the Rangers' lineup in [[1969–70 NHL season|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.<ref name="LOH" />

However, when the [[World Hockey Association]] began in [[1972–73 WHA season|1972]], Hamilton jumped over 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,<ref name="LOH" /> A superb defender and leader, he captained the Oilers for four seasons and was chosen to represent [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]] in the [[1974 Summit Series]] against the [[Soviet Union national ice hockey team|Soviet Union]].<ref name="EOH" /> Overcoming injuries that frequently struck—and which cost him most of the [[1974–75 WHA season|1975 season]]—Hamilton remained the leader of the Oilers' defence corps for the whole of the WHA's history. When the Oilers joined the NHL for the [[1979–80 NHL season]], Hamilton had set the record for most games played (455) and most points scored (311) by [[List of Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players|any player while a WHA Oiler]].

==Retirement==
Hamilton finished his career back in the NHL, playing 31 games with the Edmonton Oilers in [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]; however, beset by a lingering eye injury from the previous season, he retired at season's end. His number 3 was the first retired by the franchise.<ref name="EOH" /> As of 2024, Hamilton is the only Oiler not to be a member of the 1980s Stanley Cup teams to have his number 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 (ice hockey)|Steve Hamilton]] (born 1973) is the current head coach with the [[Everett Silvertips]] of the [[Western Hockey League]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=86789 |title = Steve Hamilton - Elite Prospects}}</ref>

His other son, Andrew Hamilton, currently plays semi professional hockey for the Adelaide Adrenaline of the Australian Ice Hockey League.

==Awards and achievements==
*[[Memorial Cup]] Championship (1966)<ref name="EOH" />
*[[Central Professional Hockey League|CPHL]] Second All-Star Team (1967)<ref name="LOH" />
*[[World Hockey Association|WHA]] Second All-Star Team (1974)<ref name="LOH" />
*Member of Team Canada in the [[1974 Summit Series]]<ref name="EOH" />
*[[World Hockey Association|WHA]] First All-Star Team (1978)<ref name="LOH" />
*"Honoured Member" of the [[Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/players.html?category=9&id=96 |title=Al Hamilton profile |publisher=Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2010-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215142609/http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/players.html?category=9&id=96 |archive-date=2012-02-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Inaugural member of the [[World Hockey Association Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.whahof.com/hofmembers.html |title=WHA Hall of Fame Members |access-date=2013-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826175702/http://www.whahof.com/hofmembers.html |archive-date=2018-08-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Jersey #3 retired by the [[Edmonton Oilers]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/edmonton-oilers-history-team-retires-al-hamiltons-no-3-oct-10-1980 |title=Hamilton's number retired |access-date=2024-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126125403/https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/edmonton-oilers-history-team-retires-al-hamiltons-no-3-oct-10-1980|archive-date=2021-01-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="5" | [[regular season|Regular season]]
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="5" | [[Playoffs]]
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP
! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]]
! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]]
! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]]
! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| 1963–64||[[Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)|Edmonton Oil Kings]]||[[Central Alberta Hockey League|CAHL]]||14||4||7||11||26||5||2||3||5||15
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1964 Memorial Cup|1963–64]]||Edmonton Oil Kings||[[Memorial Cup|M-Cup]]||—||—||—||—||—||19||4||8||12||15
|-
| 1964–65||Edmonton Oil Kings||CAHL||30||10||15||25||—||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1964–65 CPHL season|1964–65]]||[[St. Paul Rangers]]||[[Central Professional Hockey League|CPHL]]||3||0||2||2||0||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1965 Memorial Cup|1964–65]]||Edmonton Oil Kings||M-Cup||—||—||—||—||—||20||4||12||16||40
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| 1965–66||Edmonton Oil Kings||[[Alberta Senior Hockey League (1965–78)|ASHL]]||28||15||22||37||99||8||3||10||13||16
|-
| [[1965–66 NHL season|1965–66]]||[[New York Rangers]]||[[National Hockey League|NHL]]||4||0||0||0||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1966 Memorial Cup|1965–66]]||Edmonton Oil Kings||M-Cup||—||—||—||—||—||19||9||23||32||29
|-
| [[1966–67 CPHL season|1966–67]]||[[Omaha Knights (1966–1975)|Omaha Knights]]||CPHL||68||11||25||36||96||12||4||3||7||16
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1967–68 NHL season|1967–68]]||New York Rangers||NHL||2||0||0||0||0||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1967–68 AHL season|1967–68]]||[[Buffalo Bisons (AHL)|Buffalo Bisons]]||[[American Hockey League|AHL]]||72||9||21||30||82||5||0||4||4||23
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1968–69 NHL season|1968–69]]||New York Rangers||NHL||16||0||0||0||8||1||0||0||0||0
|-
| [[1968–69 AHL season|1968–69]]||Buffalo Bisons||AHL||41||4||14||18||61||6||0||4||4||12
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1969–70 NHL season|1969–70]]||New York Rangers||NHL||59||0||5||5||54||5||0||0||0||2
|-
| [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–71]]||[[Buffalo Sabres]]||NHL||69||2||28||30||71||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1971–72 NHL season|1971–72]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||76||4||30||34||105||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1972–73 WHA season|1972–73]]||[[Alberta Oilers]] ||[[World Hockey Association|WHA]]||78||11||50||61||124||1||0||0||0||2
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1973–74 WHA season|1973–74]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||78||14||45||59||104||4||1||1||2||15
|-
| [[1974–75 WHA season|1974–75]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||25||1||13||14||42||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1975–76 WHA season|1975–76]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||54||2||32||34||78||4||0||1||1||6
|-
| [[1976–77 WHA season|1976–77]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||81||8||37||45||60||5||0||4||4||4
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1977–78 WHA season|1977–78]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||59||11||43||54||46||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1978–79 WHA season|1978–79]]||Edmonton Oilers||WHA||80||6||38||44||38||13||4||5||9||4
|- style="background: #f0f0f0;"
| [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||31||4||15||19||20||1||0||0||0||0
|-
| [[1979–80 CHL season|1979–80]]||[[Houston Apollos]]||CHL||4||0||0||0||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | WHA totals
! 455 !! 53 !! 258 !! 311 !! 492
! 27 !! 5 !! 11 !! 16 !! 31
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 257 !! 10 !! 78 !! 88 !! 258
! 7 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 2
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:50em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [[1974 Summit Series|1974]]
| [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]]
| SS
| 3
| 0
| 1
| 1
| 4
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{icehockeystats|legends=12829}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = Position created | title = [[Edmonton Oilers#Team captains|Edmonton Oilers captain]]| years = [[1972–73 WHA season|1972]]–[[1975–76 WHA season|76]] | after = [[Glen Sather]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Al}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Buffalo Sabres players]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players]]
[[Category:Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players]]
[[Category:Edmonton Oilers captains]]
[[Category:Edmonton Oilers players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from Flin Flon]]
[[Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers]]
[[Category:New York Rangers players]]
[[Category:St. Paul Rangers players]]

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Al Hamilton