Dougie Hamilton missing 4 Nations Team Canada roster is a blessing in disguise

Dougie Hamilton was left off the Team Canada roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off that's taking place in February of next year. Full rosters were announced on Wednesday, and Hamilton was kept off the list completely. It's interesting after seeing the Canadian defensemen who did make the roster on the right side, especially the biggest head scratcher in St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, who hasn't had a good season.

We saw this coming. While there were some predictions like Scott Wheeler at The Athletic and Ryan Lambert at Elite Prospects who had Dougie Hamilton on their rosters, Hamilton was left off the roster by many of those "in the know."

Another quizzical decision by Team Canada general manager Don Sweeney was to go with four left-handed defensemen over four righties. It's well known that right-handed defensemen are more valuable, but this situation is actually a blessing in disguise for the New Jersey Devils. Letting Dougie Hamilton sit out for those two weeks instead of playing intense hockey is helpful to his first season back from major surgery.

Hamilton had a somewhat slow start to the season, and many blamed the fact that he was coming off surgery for a torn pectoral muscle. He was also playing with a new partner in Brenden Dillon, and the team was playing a new system under head coach Sheldon Keefe. There was a lot going on for Hamilton, but he was still producing.

He's eighth among defensemen in total points with 21 in 28 games, and he is tied for the league lead at his position in shots on goal with 90. Some might argue that he's been pretty unlucky with his 5.6% shooting percentage, and he should have another two or three goals on his statline.

Hamilton has had some issues this season, but for the most part he's made serious strides in them after the previously discussed rough start. He's third in the league in giveaways at all strengths with 47, but he has 21 since November 1st, which is 26th in the same stat. He also has eight penalties this season, but he has just two since the end of October.

Hamilton is getting better and better with time, and the Devils don't need what is essentially an exhibition to blow Hamilton's momentum. We could also talk about the possibility of an injury, which would be devastating. We're already worried about Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Jacob Markstrom, and Erik Haula. We don't need more injury risk at this tournament.

This could also be a motivating factor for Hamilton. We could see him show Team Canada why they made a mistake in the second half of the season. Hamilton would have been overlooked on Team Canada because of the massive stars at forward and the extreme issues in goal. There wasn't a ton of positives for him other than individual praise, but the positives that come from his snub will have real impact on him moving forward.