Dougie Hamilton preseason stats show he is ready to be Devils number one defenseman

The New Jersey Devils have not had a good preseason. Whether that matters or not is up in the air, but the fact that we haven’t seen much from the Devils in an important first few preseason games is at least slightly concerning. Jack Hughes and Timo Meier are not working as a pairing, even if they do have Jesper Bratt with them. Jake Allen had a stinker already, and that’s a worry with two older goalies. 

However, despite the results on the schedule being all losses, the Devils actually have some positive results on the ice. Dawson Mercer does not look like he missed a step despite signing his contract after training camp already started. The defense hasn’t been bad at all (outside Simon Nemec) despite missing Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce.

Speaking of defense, the best news Devils fans have is the relative success of Dougie Hamilton. He’s coming off a torn pectoral injury that he suffered in early December 2023. He’s had plenty of time to recover, and some even believed he could return at some point in the playoffs had the Devils made it, but through three preseason games, Hamilton hasn’t shown any impacts of the injury.

The reason for the worry is the previous history of defensemen who suffered the same injury. Matt Dumba is the most obvious example, as he looked like a young stud before his injury and was a bottom-line defenseman with an upside after it. The Devils can’t afford to pay Hamilton $9 million to be on the third line. They did that already, and it didn’t work. 

Yet, Hamilton looks like the guy who started last season. He’s been dominating on the ice so far this preseason. He’s been on the ice for 10 high-danger chances and just seven high-danger chances against at 5v5. He has been on the ice for four goals against, which seems like an anomaly. Allowing four goals on seven high-danger chances is unsustainable, even with last year’s Devils goaltending. 

Hamilton is doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s suppressing chances. His defensive numbers haven’t dropped at all, and he looks like he’s still avoiding being a minus defender, which is important since he usually is such a positive on the offensive side.

Dougie Hamilton looks like he is back to full health after missing most of last season.

Speaking of offense, Hamilton is the same exact guy on that side of the ice. Despite the injury, he hasn’t shied away from shooting the puck. That was the concern with the pec injury. Some were worried he’d be hesitant to shoot the puck since he was testing the newly-connected muscle. 

In three preseason games, he has seven shots at 5v5 according to Natural Stat Trick, and he’s created five rebounds with those shots. That’s more than double the rebounds created by any other Devils’ player. This is exactly what the Devils need from him. He needs to create opportunities with his shot. It needs to be as effective as a Jack Hughes pass. 

The power play is a different story, but there’s a lot of time to figure that out. In eight minutes with the man advantage, Hamilton only has two shots. That will change as the Devils get more used to Sheldon Keefe’s system. 

Overall, the Devils head to Prague with an interesting mindset. Losing all four preseason games takes away any over-confidence the Devils might have. This could focus this team more than ever. Hamilton clearly having the physical ability to still be at his best allows the Devils to do so much more around him, and he might be the key player this season.