Senators Article: Hamel honored by AHL; B-Sens' winger named to top All-Star team
April 2, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Scott Lauber of Press Connects.com

Hamel honored by AHL

B-Sens' winger named to top All-Star team

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

Denis Hamel almost never played for the Binghamton Senators. Left unprotected in the NHL waiver draft, he was scooped up by the Washington Capitals and had his bags packed to skate in the nation's capital when Ottawa made a last-minute deal to get him back.

Today, he is a First Team AHL All-Star.

"It's a big honor," Hamel said from the Senators' hotel in Norfolk, Va., after being voted the AHL's first team left wing by the league's coaches and media. "There are lots of great players in this league, and this means people think I'm one of them."

Hamel, 26, has always been a productive AHL winger, tallying 34 goals in 1999-2000 and 27 last season with Rochester and playing on the fringe of being an NHL regular.

But he is having his best pro season for the Senators, leading the club in all major offensive categories, including goals (28), assists (35), game-winning goals (six) and power-play goals (five) and surpassing his career-high with 63 points.

If there is any knock on Hamel's performance, it has been his inconsistency. After opening the season with 11 goals in 16 games, he went 15 games without scoring, a slump that probably cost him a place on the Canadian team at the AHL All-Star Game in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Hamel went on another scoring binge with seven goals in 10 games from Dec. 28 through Jan. 17, then netted three goals in his next 20 games.

"It's been tough to change organizations," said Hamel, who signed with Ottawa as a free agent July 5. "You don't know what to expect. It is always good to put some points on the board and show them what you can do."

Hamel also has been a model teammate and citizen with the Senators after stirring controversy last season by directing a racial slur at goalie Ray Emery. Hamel apologized to Emery during training camp in Ottawa, and the two have reconciled.

Six months after leaving him exposed in the waiver draft, the Senators have come to view Hamel as a centerpiece of their AHL team and a depth player on their NHL club.

"It was funny what happened," Hamel said. "I went (to Washington) for two days and came back right away. In the end, it was great because it meant the Senators really wanted me."

And it's hard to imagine where Binghamton would be without him.