Last year, it was a game-changing forward the Bruins took early in the first round when they grabbed Tyler Seguin with the No. 2 pick. This year, the Bruins took one of the top defensive prospects in the draft.
The B's selected defenseman Dougie Hamilton with the No. 9 pick in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday night in St. Paul, Minn.
Boston used the pick, the final piece in the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto, to draft Hamilton, an 18-year-old Ontario native. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said that the B's were pleasantly surprised that Hamilton fell to Boston at nine.
"He's a big, strong kid with good offensive instinct," Chiarelli said on the TSN broadcast of the draft.
Hamilton registered 12-46-58 totals and 77 PIM in 67 games this season with Niagara of the OHL.
The 6-foot-4 blueliner is an incredibly bright kid, and only good things have been said about his work ethic.
"Especially at this level, you find guys that are awkward or don't have a lot of explosion. You're 6-foot-4, you don't have a lot of explosion [but] the jump off his skates is phenomenal," Niagara coach Marty Williamson said for Hamilton's NHL.com draft profile.
"When he sees those opportunities to jump into the rush or lead the rush, I really believe it's untapped what he can do. He's a very special defenseman in our league. He just has to understand the details and he's going to be a very good pro … Dougie gets himself very prepared for hockey games. He's very diligent preparing himself. He goes about it very business-like. He's mature beyond his years.”
