Versatility helping Hamilton shine in sophomore season
By DANNY RODE – For the majority of 17-year-olds in the WHL it takes a little time for them to find their stride.
That’s the case with Red Deer Rebels forward Beckett Hamilton, who’s beginning to give the Rebels what they expected out of their 2023 first-round draft pick from Saskatoon, SK.
He’s put together a six-game point streak, scoring five times and adding five assists.
“I’m having some good success, but a lot of credit goes to the guys around me. Our power play has also been good so that helps me a lot,” he said.
The five-foot-11, 175-pound forward is playing a major role in that success as he has 10 assists with the man advantage, among the league leaders.
“I’ve been comfortable and good to see it’s working and hopefully we can keep it going,” he added.
He believes the success of the power play comes from being patient.
“Obviously it was going to get going at one point. It’s just practice and reps which got us going and seeing what works and sticking to it.”
Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid feels Hamilton is playing a major role in that success.
“He’s helped the power play a lot as he sees the ice really well and has good vision on the top.”
Overall Hamilton has eight goals and 13 assists this season for 21 points, tied with Jaxon Fuder for the team lead and only four back of what he accumulated in 67 games last year when he had 14 goals and 11 helpers.
OKAY SPIN-O-RAMA😵💫
Beckett Hamilton is on FIRE tonight.🔥@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/WccQXo3eLo
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 16, 2025
“I have taken a step up this year, but once again a lot of credit goes to the other guys. They help a lot there as well. I think last year I learned a lot and this year I’m using that to be a better player.”
He also feels the three games he played in the 2023-24 season were a benefit.
“It was super eye-opening,” he said. “I was pretty nervous going in there, but it was a super cool experience and got me even more excited about coming in the next season for my 16-year-old year and to develop even more.”
Beckett, a ‘C’ rated prospect by NHL Central Scouting, is pleased with his development.
“I can see that on both sides of the puck, on offence and defence, but obviously I’m taking strides offensively which is my focus … what I like to do.”
He’s also physically moving in the right direction.
“I’m definitely getting bigger and using my body more which is important in this league … definitely trying to do as much as I can.”
One strength of his game is versatility.
“He’s really played well of late, we’ve tried him at a new position, centre, and we like him there,” said Habscheid.
“He can play all three forward positions and now we have him on the point on the power play, maybe we’ll try him in the net next,” he said with a laugh.
“But it’s good to be multi-dimensional.”
Habscheid does like the fact Beckett is only 17 and taking major strides forward.
“It’s a difficult league with the age difference, but playing against 19- and 20-year-olds is a big step for him. He’s a good player and those guys want to make the big jump, so you have to perform against older players and he’s done that so far.”
Hamilton likes the way things have been going for himself and the team.
“It’s nice to get back on track recently and obviously it helps a lot when winning.
“Early in the year with the coaching change there was a lot of difference from what we were doing last year. It took us a while to get used to it, but now we have the hang of it and see it’s working.
“As a team we need to keep going in this direction and keep it going step by step.”
The Rebels, 7-11-1-2, have been playing better of late with points in 8 of their last 11, although they need to continue that trend in order to move up in the standing. They sit tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with Swift Current and Lethbridge with 17 points. The Rebels have one game at-hand on the Broncos and three on the Hurricanes.
They have just one game this weekend as on Friday they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Marchant Crane Centrium. They then have another week off before hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings on November 28.
