"It's been a while since I've been up here this early," Lou laughs. It's no secret that New Jersey hasn't had a top five pick since taking Scott Neidermayer third twenty years ago.
"With the fourth overall pick in this year's entry draft, New Jersey is proud to select, from the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey league, defenseman,
Dougie Hamilton." New Jersey continues in the Lou way, building from the back end out.
Raised in Toronto, Hamilton is a long time fan of former Devil, Scott Neidermayer. Emulating the future Hall of Fame defenseman, Hamilton is a two-way defenseman, who has become an impact player within the Ontario Hockey League quite early in his playing career.
"We play him an awful lot as young as he is," Niagara assistant coach, Mike Van Ryn remarked. "He plays in every situation, which is pretty huge for a kid his age."
Known for his big body, and long reach, Hamilton is considered a strong defender in his own end with a physical edge to his game. An intelligent defenseman, Hamilton moves the puck up the ice extremely well, whether with a strong crisp first pass or his long powerful strides to get it up the ice himself. Though room for improvement in his first step quickness, Hamilton shows a desire and commitment to always bettering himself. One of the first and last guys in the gym, Hamilton has become known as one of the most fit players in the OHL, which bodes well for his continued improvement. What impresses scouts most are his ability to stay as fresh as he is late in a game.
"I'm physical down low," Dougie explained. "I try to model my game after Jay Bouwmeester, or Brent Burns; you know, guys like that."
Without a true horse on the Devils blueline, do not be surprised to see Lou return to his roots, taking another rugged defenseman to compliment his strong group of young forwards.
Though this could be seen as an 'off the board' type of play for Lou to make, Dougie has really improved his stock coming into the draft, especially with how well the Ice Dogs have shown in the OHL Playoffs. Finishing his season with 12 goals and 46 assists in 67 games, Hamilton would finish off the year fourth in OHL D Scoring, behind only Ryan Ellis, Ryan Murphy and Josh McFadden.
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