You have to commend Dougie Hamilton for what he has shown up and done for the New Jersey Devils this season. He went through a ton of trade rumors last season, and everyone penciled Luke Hughes in as the new power-play quarterback heading into the season. It would've been easy for the veteran to mail it in or tell management that he wanted a fresh start.
Hamilton didn't do that. He showed up at training camp, put in the work, and while the season is still young, he looks like he is turning back the clock to when he was a dominant offensive defenseman. He and Hughes are now tied for the lead in points among defensemen, with four each.
Hughes hasn't backed down in the battle to be the team's offensive defenseman; in fact, his three goals this season give New Jersey hope that he actually is their defenseman of the future, and they might not be so desperate for someone like his brother. Having Hamilton there for support might actually be helping Hughes, as he doesn't have to shoulder the whole load, which is what we are seeing over the past three games.
The Devils have been on the man advantage more frequently over the past few games, as we've seen in both Hughes' and Hamilton's power-play minutes. However, with Hamilton being more of a threat offensively at five-on-five, head coach Sheldon Keefe is trusting him with more minutes there per game, as he has two extra minutes per game over the last two games, with Hughes' five-on-five minutes dropping by three in those contests.
Dougie Hamilton's underlying numbers
The Devils are now one of the forward-thinking teams in the league with Sunny Mehta at the helm, so should it really be surprising that Hamilton is now playing more minutes at five-on-five? With the analytics department feeding Keefe information, the head coach is seeing that the veteran defenseman is statistically one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
Hamilton currently sits second in the league in xGF at 5v5 with 9.38 according to Natural Stat Trick. He is right behind Kevin Bahl, his former teammate. It would only make sense if the front office is telling Sheldon Keefe to give Hamilton more opportunity, as the analytics are telling them that he is producing as well as Hughes and has the potential to contribute much more.
In fact, he is ahead of both Theodore and Hughes in xGF/60. Hamilton sits second in that category, close behind Damon Severson. Until the right-shot defender slows down, expect to see him get even more chances.
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