Look Back: Dougie Hamilton

Throughout the summer of 2023, we'll take a glance back at some of the Devils players and their 2022-23 season. This week we focus in on Dougie Hamilton.

NHL SEASON: 11th NHL Season, 2nd with New Jersey

2022-23 STATS: 82 GP, 22 G, 52 A, 74 PTS

LOOKING BACK:

Dougie Hamilton's eleventh season in the National Hockey League was his best offensive year to date. It was also a big rebounding year for Hamilton who broke his jaw during the 2021-22 season and missed substantial time. The defenseman set career-highs in all scoring categories and had 14 more points this year than his previous high. His 22 goals were fifth most on the Devils while his 52 assists ranked him second. With 74 total points Hamilton had the third most point on the team.

The defenseman was one of the most relied on skaters throughout the 2022-23 campaign. Hamilton led all skaters in the regular season with an average of 21:46 of ice time, while averaging the second most ice time in the playoffs with just shy of 21 minutes a game. Hamilton picked up significant minutes on the power play and his eight power play goals were tied for second on the Devils.

When it came to stepping up in big moments, Hamilton was one of the best at it on the Devils. He had seven game winning goals in the regular season, only second on the team to Captain Nico Hischier. Hamilton also had a monumental game winning goal in the playoffs. The defenseman scored in overtime of Game 3 against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden which was New Jersey's first victory of the series after dropping two straight games at home.

In his second season with the Devils, Dougie Hamilton was an impactful player offensively and defensively. His abilities to score in moments his team needed him the most was one of several bright spots to his season. But for Hamilton he's never satisfied and shared in his exit interview he's determined to keep improving so every season is better than the last.

NOTEWORTHY:

Hamilton tied some history while making some Devils history over the 2022-23 season. His 22 goals in a single season are tied for the most by a defenseman in franchise history but a new Devils record. The blueliner's seven game winning goals from 2022-23 are a new franchise record, as Hamilton passed Scott Niedermayer's six from the 2001-02 campaign.

One of Hamilton's most noteworthy impacts is from off the ice this season. In November, after the Devils picked up their 10th straight win, the Devils revealed their social media admin …

He received great feedback for his memes and tweets he's dropped but most impressively, Hamilton has tweeted during games?

QUOTE 'EM:

"I think we were one of the worst teams last year and one of the best teams this year, so that doesn't happen normally. I think they talked about being ahead of schedule even. I knew when I signed here guys were young and going to be really good players and already were. I was signing a long-term deal I wanted to be on a good team for my whole contract and year two for me and we're already one of the best teams in the league so there's no reason why we can't continue to grow."