Al Hamilton

Al Guy Hamilton (born August 20, 1946, in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian defenceman, most notably with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association.

Playing Career
Signed by the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League as a teenager, Hamilton spent his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He met with great success in the juniors, being one of the rare players to play in the Memorial Cup tournament three consecutive years. His final season in 1966 with the Oil Kings saw the team win the Memorial Cup, led by Hamilton's remarkable 82 points in 55 regular season and playoff games, drawing frequent comparisons with his junior contemporary Bobby Orr of the Oshawa Generals.

While he played a few games for the Rangers in 1966, he toiled for the next three seasons in the minors, winning all-star accolades for the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League in 1967 and spending the two years thereafter with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League.

Hamilton finally cracked the Rangers' lineup in 1969, playing in 59 games, but was left unprotected in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft and was selected by the Buffalo Sabres as their third choice. He immediately became the Sabres' mainstay on defence, leading the team in defence scoring both of his seasons with the team.

However, when the World Hockey Association began in 1972, Hamilton jumped back to familiar ground in Edmonton, signing with the Alberta Oilers (owned by Bill Hunter, the owner of the Oil Kings) for their first season. Named the team's captain at the age of 26, he immediately responded with a 61 point season, his best as a pro, A superb defender and leader, he captained the Oilers for four seasons and was chosen to represent Canada in the 1974 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Overcoming injuries that frequently struck -- and which cost him most of the 1975 season -- Hamilton remained the leader of the Oilers' defence corps for the whole of the WHA's history.

Retirement
Hamilton finished his career back in the NHL, playing 31 games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979–80; however, beset by a lingering eye injury from the previous season, he retired at season's end. His number 3 jersey was the first retired by the franchise.

For the WHA all-time, he is 13th in games played, 15th in assists, 40th in points and 38th in penalty minutes. He was also the franchise leader for the WHA Oilers in games, assists and points, and second in penalty minutes.

Hamilton remains active with the Oiler alumni and community affairs in the Edmonton area.

Awards and Achievements

 * Memorial Cup Championship (1966)
 * CPHL Second All-Star Team (1967)
 * WHA Second All-Star Team (1974)
 * Member of Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series
 * WHA First All-Star Team (1978)
 * Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

Career Statistics
--- Regular season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1964-65 St. Paul Rangers            CPHL    3    0    2    2    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1965-66 New York Rangers            NHL     4    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1966-67 Omaha Knights               CPHL   68   11   25   36   96  12   4   3   7  16 1967-68 New York Rangers            NHL     2    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1967-68 Buffalo Bisons              AHL    72    9   21   30   82   5   0   4   4  23 1968-69 Buffalo Bisons              AHL    41    4   14   18   61   6   0   4   4  12 1968-69 New York Rangers            NHL    16    0    0    0    8   1   0   0   0   0 1969-70 New York Rangers            NHL    59    0    5    5   54   5   0   0   0   2 1970-71 Buffalo Sabres              NHL    69    2   28   30   71  --  --  --  --  -- 1971-72 Buffalo Sabres              NHL    76    4   30   34  105  --  --  --  --  -- 1972-73 Alberta Oilers              WHA    78   11   50   61  124   1   0   0   0   2 1973-74 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    78   14   45   59  104   4   1   1   2  15 1974-75 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    25    1   13   14   42  --  --  --  --  -- 1975-76 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    54    2   32   34   78   4   0   1   1   6 1976-77 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    81    8   37   45   60   5   0   4   4   4 1977-78 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    59   11   43   54   46  --  --  --  --  -- 1978-79 Edmonton Oilers             WHA    80    6   38   44   38  13   4   5   9   4 1979-80 Houston Apollos             CHL     4    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1979-80 Edmonton Oilers             NHL    31    4   15   19   20   1   0   0   0   0 --        WHA totals                        455   53  258  311  492  27   5  11  16  31 NHL totals                       257   10   78   88  258   7   0   0   0   2