Hamilton an eager pupil during late-season stint with Rebels
Growing up no stranger to the Western Hockey League, Beckett Hamilton is enjoying every bit of his first taste of ‘Dub Life’ as a player.
His great uncle is Bruce Hamilton, owner/president/general manager of the Kelowna Rockets, and his dad, Lee Hamilton, played for Lethbridge and Kelowna from 1993-97. So Beckett very much had a good book on the league before being Red Deer’s first round pick, 18th overall at last year’s WHL Prospects Draft.
Still, his time with the Rebels since being called up earlier this month has been eye-opening.
“It’s a bit different from what I’m used to,” Hamilton admitted prior to practice on Friday, “and it’s a little tougher schedule. It’s a lot busier. But I’ve enjoyed it, and it’s super fun here.”
Hamilton says the differences between U18 AAA, which he played this year as a 15-year-old, and the WHL aren’t hard to spot.
“I noticed that position-wise, everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to. And the pace is quicker, and everyone’s bigger and stronger. So that’s just the one thing, the main thing that I’ve noticed coming here.”
He doesn’t turn 16 until next week, but that didn’t stop Hamilton from being an impact player for the Warman Wildcats this season. He netted an impressive 54 points in 44 games to finish tied for sixth in league scoring in the Saskatchewan U18 AAA circuit.
Offence, clearly, is a strength for Hamilton. Now he’s working hard on the other aspects of his game.
“As I’ve been here longer, I’ve noticed and made some changes in my game, and I think I’m getting more comfortable with it. So yeah, I think I’m doing pretty good.”
Dave Struch, Rebels interim head coach, has seen Hamilton coming up through ranks and says he has what it takes to be a special player for Red Deer.
“The last game he played (in Swift Current), he could have played a regular shift,” Struch noted.
“A big game against a real good team, older guys, experienced guys. But I thought that from his first game to that game, he took a big step. And that has a lot to do with his work ethic, what he’s done in practice, his commitment level to getting better. It allowed him to play some good minutes, and we’re hoping to get more minutes out of them again this weekend.”
Hamilton has so far suited up for two games with the Rebels, his first coming March 15 in Lethbridge followed by Wednesday’s outing in Speedy Creek. He played in one preseason game last fall, scoring a goal versus Calgary.
He’s looking forward to more game action this weekend versus Edmonton and being around the team for playoffs for valuable experience he can take into training camp next fall.
“I think it could be super useful for me just to see what it’s like to play here. And hopefully, I can play here next year.”
NOTES – The Rebels could have veteran forward Carson Latimer back in the lineup this weekend . . . the 21-year-old has had brutal luck this season with injuries and has been out since suffering a broken jaw in practice on Feb. 15 . . . Elias Carmichael (lower), Matteo Fabrizi (upper), and Frantisek Formanek (upper) will not play this weekend . . . The Rebels will hand out their 2023-24 year-end awards prior to Saturday’s home game versus Edmonton (7 p.m. puck drop at the Peavey Mart Centrium) . . . The regular season wraps up Sunday when the Rebels visit the Oil Kings for a 4 p.m. contest at Rogers Place . . . Rebels home game tickets for their opening round playoff series versus Medicine Hat are on sale now. Single-game, 8-game and ‘pay as you go’ options are available. Visit ticketsalberta.com or call Shaun Richer at the Rebels office at 403-341-6000.