Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs is the 2011-12 recipient of the Max Kaminsky Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman of the Year.
Hamilton led all OHL defencemen in scoring with 72 points in just 50 games and tied for third in the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-37. He scored 17 goals and finished tied for third overall in the league with 55 assists which included a league-high 30 assists recorded on the power play. Third in voting for this award last season, Hamilton becomes the first winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy in IceDogs’ team history.
“This year has been a ton of fun and it is a huge honour to win this award,” said Hamilton. “I spent the last couple of years watching the best defencemen in the league and then trying to get myself to that point and it is exciting to be here now and receive this award. A lot of past winners have gone on to NHL careers and hopefully I can follow suit.”
An 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, Hamilton was selected by the IceDogs 27th overall in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection. This season he was recognized as OHL Defenseman of the Month four of the six times the award was presented including October, November, February, and March.
Hamilton was selected by the Boston Bruins with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and represented the OHL on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship earning a bronze medal. Last season he earned the Bobby Smith Trophy for combining high standards of play and academic excellence before being named the CHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year.
“We couldn’t be prouder of Dougie,” said IceDogs’ General Manager and Head Coach Marty Williamson. “The on ice stuff, it is easy to see how good he is, but he has leadership abilities off the ice and is a great role model not just for younger players on our team but in the community, we just can’t say enough good things about what he brings to the team.”
The Max Kaminsky Trophy is awarded each year to the Most Outstanding Defenseman as selected by OHL General Managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for their own nominee. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.
Hamilton received an impressive 80 of a maximum 95 points in the voting process ahead of Scott Harrington of the London Knights who finished in second place with 36 voting points, and Cody Ceci of the Ottawa 67’s who finished in third place with 28 voting points.
Other notable winners of the Max Kaminsky Trophy include Al MacInnis (Kitchener 1982-83), Chris Pronger (Peterborough 1992-93), Brian Campbell (Ottawa 1998-99), James Wisniewski (Plymouth 2003-04), Marc Staal (Sudbury 2006-07), Drew Doughty (Guelph 2007-08), and Ryan Ellis (Windsor Spitfires 2008-09 and 2010-11). Ron Meighan (1981-82), and Bryan Fogarty (1988-89) both received the honour as members of the Niagara Falls Thunder.
The award is named in recognition of Max Kaminsky, who enjoyed a 10-year professional playing career that included four years in the NHL with Ottawa, Boston, and Montreal. After he retired from playing, Kaminsky enjoyed a 15-year coaching career that was capped by winning the Memorial Cup with the St. Catherine’s Teepees in 1960.
Hamilton will be formally presented with the Max Kaminsky Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place on Tuesday June 5, 2012, at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He will also be the OHL’s nominee for CHL Defenseman of the Year.
- From OHL news release
