Denis Jean Hamel (born May 10, 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who last played semi-professionally in the LNAH. A former star in junior, Hamel was not able to translate his scoring success in junior to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), although he had success at the AHL level, being named an AHL All-Star 3 times. After a serious knee injury in 2000, Hamel's skating speed was diminished and his ability to contribute in the NHL was limited. He was known as a fan favorite with the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

, and is known for his contributions to the community, for which he won the 2008 AHL Man of the Year award.

Playing career

Hamel was drafted 153rd overall by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

. Before he graduated from junior hockey, the Blues traded his rights to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. After 3 seasons with the Sabres' AHL team, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

, he played two full seasons with the Sabres in 2000–01 and 2001–02. During the 2000–01 season, he suffered a serious knee injury which limited his play to 41 games and affected his skating speed. He split the 2003–04 season between Buffalo and Rochester. For the 2003–04 season, Hamel signed with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

organization and played a majority of his games with the

, Ottawa's AHL affiliate. In the 2005–2006 season, Hamel set the Binghamton team record for most goals in a season with 56. In addition, he was the captain of Binghamton Senators for the 2005–2006 season. In 2006–07 he returned to the NHL as a regular forward with the

, and played 43 games with the club. After the Senators suffered injuries to Mike Fisher and

Jason Spezza Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Spezza played 19 career seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2002 to 2022, and is currently a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs' front ...

, the club traded for

Mike Comrie Michael William Comrie (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his 13-year National Hockey League (NHL) career he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators ...

who would take Hamel's place after the injured players returned. On February 10, 2007, the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

claimed Hamel off waivers after Ottawa wanted to assign Hamel to Binghamton. After playing three games for Atlanta, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

on February 27, 2007, where he finished the season. On July 6, 2007, Hamel returned to the Senators organization, signing a three-year American Hockey League contract with the Binghamton Senators. He chose to sign with Binghamton, as he intended to have stability in his career. He played the entire 2007–08 season with Binghamton, scoring 32 goals in 67 games. He played there through the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season before being released as a UFA in the 2010 offseason. He was signed by the Adirondack Phantoms on October 30, 2010, one month into the AHL season.

Personal

Hamel married Julie Brisson, a figure skater, on July 18, 2015 in

Casselman, Ontario Casselman is a village in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. Situated on the South Nation River about southeast of downtown Ottawa, along the Trans-Canada Highway 417. It is served by a station on the Montre ...

Records

Holds the following

franchise records: *Most goals in a single season (56 in 2005–06) *Most career goals and points in franchise history (124 and 236)

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Denis 1977 births Adirondack Phantoms players Atlanta Thrashers players Binghamton Senators players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) players Ice hockey people from Quebec Living people Ottawa Senators players People from Lachute Sportspeople from Laurentides Philadelphia Flyers players Rochester Americans players St. Louis Blues draft picks French Quebecers