Boston takes Silvertips’ Hamill

Published 12:15 am Saturday, June 23, 2007

Following the NHL draft combine at the beginning of June, the Boston Bruins flew Zach Hamill into town for a second look.

The Bruins obviously liked what they saw.

The impression Hamill left on the Bruins prompted Boston to select the Everett Silvertips star center with the eighth-overall pick in the NHL draft Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.

Hamill’s selection was announced by former Bruins great Cam Neely, a scoring forward who calls Vancouver, B.C., his home. The Bruins are hoping Hamill, himself a Vancouver suburbanite from Port Coquitlam, can take up that mantle.

“It’s unbelievable to be standing here right now with my family and friends and all the people who helped me along the way,” Hamill said in an interview posted on the Bruins’ Web site. “It’s tough to even describe it. I was pretty nervous sitting up there, and now standing here being a Boston Bruin is something I’ll remember forever. But it’s step one of many.”

Upon hearing his name called, the 18-year-old Hamill gave a big hug to his father, Scott, followed by hugs for the rest of his entourage. Then he headed down from the seats at Nationwide Arena to the stage to don the Bruins jersey and pose alongside the Boston brass.

But then Hamill started talking business.

“It’s great to get drafted this high and be a Boston Bruin,” Hamill said.

“But the draft is a draft,” Hamill added. “It’s fun, it’s a one-day thing and it’s exciting. You work for it all year and it does come, but the work starts tomorrow. If you’re not in the gym then the other guys are.”

It’s the second straight year a Silvertip was taken eighth overall in the NHL draft. Last year, the Phoenix Coyotes selected center Peter Mueller with the eighth pick. Hamill became the third Silvertip to be picked in the first round, following Mueller and goaltender Leland Irving (26th overall last year by the Calgary Flames).

Eighth was slightly higher than most prognosticators had Hamill. However, Boston was one of the two teams (along with St. Louis) that flew Hamill in for a second look following the draft combine.

“It was interesting because I was sitting here watching and St. Louis was trying to move up into Columbus’ spot (No. 7),” said Everett general manager Doug Soetaert, who attended the draft. “I thought they might be trying to move up to take Hamill because they moved their pick (No. 9) right after Boston took Hamill.”

Hamill already has had a storied WHL career. He was the first bantam draft selection in Evereett franchise history, taken third overall in 2003. As a 15-year-old, his first goal in the WHL was a playoff game-winner. He was the leading scorer among 16-year-olds as a rookie in 2004-05. Last season, he won the league’s scoring title with 93 points (32 goals, 61 assists) in 69 games. He’s already the Silvertip career scoring leader with 187 points.

“I’ve been in Everett for three or four years now, I was the first ever pick there, and there was a lot of pressure for me coming in to achieve right away,” Hamill said. “I think I handled it well. … I’ve handled pressure well being the go-to guy and hopefully one day I can do that with the Boston Bruins.”

There were two concerns expressed about Hamill going into the draft. The first was his lack of size (5-feet, 11-inches and 190 pounds). The second was his lack of breakaway speed.

However, Boston clearly decided Hamill’s superior stick handling, playmaking and hockey sense outweighed those concerns.

“I had three or four interviews with them and they were my toughest interviews, not just because they were tough, but because of the professionalism they had and the way they treated me,” Hamill said. “It’s going to be a good team in a couple years because of the young guys coming up.”

Hamill’s selection further validated Everett’s 2003 bantam draft. Everett took three players (Hamill in the first round, Mueller in the second, Irving in the fifth) in that draft who ended up being first-round NHL draft picks. In addition, right wing Brady Calla (fourth round in 2003), since traded to Moose Jaw, was Florida’s third-round pick last year, and defenseman Taylor Ellington (third round in 2003) is expected to be taken today.

Only the first round of the draft was conducted Friday. Rounds two through seven of the draft take place today. Ellington is expected to be taken early today. A pair of Everett forwards, Lukas Vartovnik and Dan Gendur, could be taken in the late rounds.