Going into the 2015-16 season, former Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton has a lot to prove to his new team. Hamilton, with his new six-year, $34.5 million dollar contract is now the biggest cap hit for the Calgary Flames. There are a lot of expectations on the 22-year old, but Hamilton believes he’s seen this kind of pressure before and is ready for the new challenge in Calgary.
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“I think the expectations are going to be higher,” said Hamilton of his new ‘responsibilities‘ in Calgary. “But I think in Boston there’s a lot of scrutiny from fans and expectations for me when I came in, being a top-10 pick.”
He’s certainly got his work cut out for him. He’ll be expected to exceed his ten goal, forty-two point performance he had last year as part of the Black and Gold. While the Flames front office still classifies Hamilton as a ‘developing talent’, the pressure to perform may get to the young defenseman.
Hamilton has to get used to the Western Conference. The teams are better on average than they are in the East, and they’ll be playing them far more often. He’s going to need to find chemistry with a new defensive partner, and he’s going to need to be one of the Flames best players. Not much to ask of someone who has about sixty days to put that all together.
Puck Prose
This upcoming season will say a lot about Dougie Hamilton. It will also say a lot about Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins. Keeping Hamilton was one of Sweeney’s goals going into this season, and it’s his biggest misstep to date. The Bruins still haven’t found someone to be that solid top four defenseman (at least in many fans’ eyes).
Hamilton knows what is expected of him, but he tries to not let all the expectations weigh him down. “You can’t really put too much pressure on yourself, better to just do your best and try to be as consistent as you can,” said Hamilton. “It’s interesting. I’m still 22 and there’s a long future ahead, so I think there’s a lot of development. I think I have that ceiling that hasn’t been hit and hopefully do my best to reach my potential.”