Monday night we talked about Ben Eager and how he could fill a role in the Oilers bottom six. There are a few spots open down there, and it goes without saying that multiple players will get shots at the Oilers roster.
An extremely interesting candidate is the guy that went under the radar on July 5th, and that guy is former Toronto Marlies captain Ryan Hamilton. He got lost in the shuffle of major moves among the fans, but Hamilton could very well find himself wearing an Oilers jersey on October 1st holding down a bottom six roll.
Ryan Hamilton is a big bodied player coming at 6’2” 230 lbs and has some solid upside to his game and his style. Hamilton plays a power-forward game and is a solid player on the walls and in the corners. That is something the Oilers desperately need. He plays a physical game too, and has been a leader at most levels he has played at.
He’s got some pretty decent hands too, as he scored 30 goals for the Toronto Marlies in just 58 AHL contests this season, in fact he has scored 55 goals in the past two AHL seasons total. Those are pretty solid offensive numbers. When you couple that with his style of play, Ryan Hamilton appears to be a decent option.
While he’s decent in the dirty areas and appears to have hands, another thing he seems decent at is being a smart player. He got into ten games for the Leafs this season and took zero penalty minutes while still playing his physical game. To me, that signifies he did his job and didn’t hurt the team like most bottom six bangers do.
He has a few faults, mainly skating and consistency, but those things can be ironed out. Dallas Eakins trusted him with the Marlies, and clearly sees something in him. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have brought the big winger with him to Edmonton.
Ryan Hamilton’s combination of style, size and trust with the head coach are all pretty big pluses for the forward and could go a long way towards landing him an NHL roster spot. The Oilers need bottom six players with size, physical ability, and the ability to play hockey. From a far, it looks like Ryan Hamilton could be a candidate to fill one of those roles.
He’s finally going to get a shot at the big leagues, and if Hamilton can take the bull by the horns here, Craig MacTavish might have found himself a pleasant bottom six surprise. This one is going to be interesting to watch during training camp.
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