Hammond looks to become next goaltender to rediscover old self with Wild

ST. PAUL -- The Wild has a long history of helping goaltenders get their careers back on track. Whether by circumstance, or by chance, a lengthy list of netminders has come to Minnesota looking to recapture a former form -- and often times -- has found it.
It's a list that goes back to the early days of the franchise and includes names like Dwayne Roloson, Jose Theodore and Ilya Bryzgalov.
Both could be the same of last year's goaltenders as well, as Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock each arrived in Minnesota with major question marks.

Andrew Hammond is hoping he can tack his name onto that list after signing a one-year contract with the Wild over the summer.
To be certain, Hammond knows nothing is guaranteed. Dubnyk is locked in as Minnesota's top goaltender while Stalock, last year's backup, returns as well.
But coming off a pair of injury-marred seasons -- mostly in the American Hockey League -- Hammond wanted an opportunity to do what so many have done here before him: Return to his previous form.
"Whether it be here or in the American Hockey League, wherever I may end up, this just kind of gives me an opportunity to establish myself again and prove that I still have a lot of game left in the tank," Hammond said. "That's what I'm coming here to do, to prove that I'm still a very capable goaltender."
Not long ago, Hammond was the talk of the League. The former Bowling Green University star was a late-season callup of the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15. At the time, the Sens needed a backup with Craig Anderson nursing a hand injury.
Hammond's season to that point was nothing special; he had a losing record with the Binghamton Senators in the AHL and a goals-against average well over 3.
Nine games into his tenure as Robin Lehner's backup, Lehner sustained a concussion. Suddenly, the Senators' crease was his.
At the time, Ottawa was nine points out of a playoff spot and Hammond hadn't seen a minute of game action in nearly a month.
What happened next was like something from a movie.
Hammond started the next 15 games, going 14-0-1 during that stretch. He allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of those games, including 12 in a row to start his NHL career, a mark that tied an NHL record (Frank Brimsek).
He finished the regular season a remarkable 20-1-2 that year with a 1.79 goals against and a .941 save percentage. The Senators rallied to make the postseson as the top wild card team in the Eastern Conference.
The "Hamburglar" was the toast of Ottawa.
"It was just incredibly awesome the way the fans embraced me and embraced the team as well," Hammond said. "We were a team that was in a bad spot and when I came in, we just went out and played hockey. Pretty quickly, we strung some wins together and we all kind of said, 'Why stop now?'"
Since that magical run three years ago, the bottom has fallen out.
Hammond was solid in 24 games for Ottawa the following season, posting a .914 save percentage and 2.65 goals against. The numbers weren't close to what they were the season prior, but those numbers simply weren't realistic to begin with.
"I don't know if that is completely sustainable for anyone over a long period of time," Hammond admitted.
After that, injuries hit. A hip injury nagged at Hammond for more than a year before he had it corrected with surgery prior to last season.
Overall, Hammond played in just 31 games over the past two seasons with both two organizations at the AHL and NHL levels.
Hammond was included in the Matt Duchene trade that sent the star forward to Ottawa and Kyle Turris from Ottawa to Nashville. A bunch of prospects and high draft choices went to the Avs, along with Hammond, who would play just one game with Colorado and one with its AHL affiliate in San Antonio.
But after injuries claimed both Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier, it was Hammond who would be tasked with extending Colorado's season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After Bernier's injury in Game 4 in Denver, Hammond made 44 saves in a Game 5 win at Bridgestone Arena.
Colorado went on to lose the series in Game 6, but the success Hammond had in that series showed he has what it takes to still compete at the highest level.
Now, Hammond wants to prove to Wild brass that he's capable of that as well. The team signed him on July 1 to compete directly with Stalock for the club's No. 2 job, with the loser of that competition expected to carry the load in Des Moines.
"I look forward to that competition. Anytime you have somebody pushing you from behind, I think it makes you play your best," Stalock told Wild.com last month. "You have to be at your best every day, every practice. I think it'll be good; I think it'll be good for me, good for Duby and good for Andrew."
While the competition is expected to heat up during the preseason -- Hammond is expected to get the start on Monday in the Wild's preseason opener in Winnipeg -- it hasn't made things awkward between Stalock and Hammond.
If fact, Hammond said Stalock has been one of the most welcoming members of the team.
If history has proven anything, especially in the case of Hammond, injuries happen and a team can never have too much depth in the crease.
Having Stalock and Hammond pushing each other, and Dubnyk will only make the Wild a better team.
"Ultimately, for me, I just want to go out there and put my best foot forward," Hammond said. "Everything else is out of my control, so if I get worried about that, I think it will make me play not as well. I need to focus on myself because at the end of the day, those decisions are out of my hands.
"At the end of the day, we're both going to be members of this organization and wherever everything ends up] at the end of this we're both going to be happy for each other and supportive. That's all you can ask for out of your goaltenders."
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