Hamilton falls to Bruins at No. 9

By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com Bruins InsiderFollow @hackswithhaggs
ST PAUL, Minn.The Bruins have made their big selection at the No. 9 spot in the first round, and it was a little bit of a surprise with 6-foot-4 defenseman Dougie Hamilton falling to them.
Hamilton is a junior hockey player that played for Niagara and was the Scholastic Player of the year in the OHL with a potentially brilliant future as a doctorbut the young blueliner said he hopes to be playing for the Bruins over the next few years rather than curing any diseases.
The Bruins brought him to Boston for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

We got to go into the room and meet a bunch of the guys . . . people like Tyler Seguin, said Hamilton. We got to watch the game. We got to watch the pregame skate. The fans were awesome. The fans were standing the entire time screaming and cheering for their team. Thats the vision thats in my head right now and that was really exciting."

The 6-foot-4, 187-pounder is an excellent skater for his size that needs to fill out a bit, but hes got a booming slap-shot and a good feel for the point position on the power play.

Hes a physical player, but Hamilton wont be a guy dropping the gloves all that much in his NHL future. Hamilton finished fourth in the OHL in scoring among defenseman during the 2010-11 season with 58 points (12 goals, 46 assists) in 67 games for Niagara.

When asked to name the NHL players he most models his game after, Hamilton quickly spit out Jay Bouwmeester, Brent Burnsand Rob Blake among othersa pair of physically bigger defenseman with some offensive upside.

Athleticism runs in the Hamilton family: Dougies father, Doug, was an Olympic rower for Canada while winning a bronze medal in 1984 and also competing in 1988.

Dougies mother, Lynn, competed on Canadas basketball team at the 1984 Olympics and won World Championship gold and bronze medals. Hamiltons parents actually met while both competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Hamiltons older brother, Freddie, was selected 129th overall by San Jose in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and also played for Niagara in the OHL where he faced off against Tyler Seguin two years ago.When it came time to make their pick, the Bruins had their choice between three defensemen they liked among the first round draft class: Hamilton, Ryan Murphy and Nathan Beaulieu. They ended up selecting the one they never thought would still be available for them picking ninth overall.