Tomáš Hamara

Tomáš Hamara: Insider Video | Spotlight Article

Hamara comes to Kitchener after recently signing a three-year NHL entry level contract with the Ottawa Senators after being drafted by Ottawa in the third round (87th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft this past July. A six-foot, 185-pound, left-shot defenceman, Hamara is a native of Prague, Czech Republic and spent last season in Tampere, Finland playing in both the Finland’s premiere junior hockey league and their top men’s professional hockey league.

He recorded 25 points (6G, 19A), including a plus-5 rating, in 32 games for Tappara in the U20 SM-sarja (Under-20 Finnish Championship Series), which is the premier junior hockey league in Finland. As a 17-year-old, Hamara impressively played in 24 professional games, recording two points and a plus-2 rating, for Tappara in Liiga (Finnish Elite League), the top men’s professional hockey league in Finland. A champion this season, Hamara was a member of Tappara’s professional team when the Battle Axe clinched the 2021-22 Liiga championship.

On the international level, Hamara played for the Czech Republic men’s national ice hockey team in the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championships this month. He also recorded eight points in six games for Czechia in the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championships this past April and May in Germany. Hamara, now 18, was one of just two defencemen to be named to the tournament All-Star Team and earned the ‘Most Assists by a Defenceman’ award.

Hamara was selected by Kitchener in the first round (26th overall) of the 2022 CHL Import Draft 

In his first season with the Rangers, Hamara put up two goals and fifteen assists for 17 points in 56 games.