Dougie Hamilton Named to All-Star Game Roster

It’s official: Dougie Hamilton is an All-Star.

The 26-year-old native of Toronto will appear in St. Louis on January 24-25 for All-Star weekend. It will be Hamilton’s first All-Star appearance.

Hamilton is on pace for a career-best season, with 36 points through 39 games played. He’s tied for second among defensemen in goals (13), tied for third in points (36), and is tied for first in the NHL in plus/minus rating (+29).

Since being traded to Carolina in the summer of 2018, Hamilton has recorded 75 points in 121 games. His 31 goals are the most by any defensemen in the NHL during the last two seasons.

A fan-favorite and popular in the locker room, the shout-outs are rolling in on social media:

Also, Teuvo Teravainen, for the second year in a row, will be the Hurricanes’ Last Man In nominee. Teravainen, the Canes’ leading scorer, will be up against seven other players from the Metro, one from each team, to claim the final spot on the division’s roster. Voting for the Last Man In begins Wednesday at noon.

Included on the roster was erstwhile captain Alex Ovechkin, who has announced that he will not participate in this year’s game. That opens up a spot for a Metro forward, one that could be earmarked for either Sebastian Aho or, in what would be a glorious bit of irony, Andrei Svechnikov.

The release from the team is below.

DOUGIE HAMILTON NAMED TO NHL ALL-STAR GAME
Defenseman has recorded 36 points in 39 games this season

The National Hockey League today announced that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton will represent the Metropolitan Division at the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend, to take place from Jan. 24-25 in St. Louis. This marks Hamilton’s first appearance at the event.

Hamilton, 26, has registered 36 points (13g, 23a) through 39 games this season. Among NHL defensemen, he ranks tied for second in goals, tied for third in points, seventh in assists and first in shots on goal (148). The 6’6”, 227-pound blueliner is tied for the NHL lead among all skaters in plus/minus rating (+29) and leads all Hurricanes skaters in average time on ice (23:31). Hamilton’s 36 points through 39 games mark the most points by a defenseman through the first 39 games of a season in team history (since relocation). He has recorded a pair of six-game point streaks this season (10/16-11/1 and 11/7-11/19), which mark the two longest point streaks of his NHL career, and he earned his 200th career NHL assist on 12/21 vs. Florida.

Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, Hamilton has tallied 75 points (31g, 44a) in 121 games with the Hurricanes. He has scored more goals than any other defenseman in the NHL during that span, and his average of 0.26 goals per game with Carolina is the highest mark by a defenseman in franchise history. Hamilton has registered 295 points (95g, 200a) in 544 career NHL games with Boston, Calgary and Carolina. He is one of two NHL defensemen, along with Nashville’s Roman Josi, who have scored at least 10 goals in each of the last six NHL seasons. Hamilton has recorded at least one shot on goal in 286 consecutive games played, which is the longest active streak in the NHL. He has also posted 18 points (5g, 13a) in 38 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including seven points (3g, 4a) in 15 games during Carolina’s run to the 2019 Eastern Conference Final.

The Toronto, Ont., native was drafted by the Bruins in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2011 NHL Draft. Traded from Boston to Calgary on June 26, 2015, Hamilton was acquired by the Hurricanes from the Flames along with Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox in exchange for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm on June 23, 2018. He represented Canada at the 2012 and 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning bronze and leading tournament defensemen in points (6) in 2012. Hamilton posted 187 points (40g, 147a) in 213 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games with Niagara from 2009-13. He was named the Canadian Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year in 2011-12 after leading all OHL defensemen in assists (55) and points (72).