If Jamie McGinn was a greatest hit, then Freddie Hamilton is a very deep cut.

Hamilton, like most late round picks, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose to little fanfare, and this site wrote at the time that he “could mature into a marginally offensive third line center.”

Hamilton ended up being one of the Sharks’ more successful picks from his draft class. Successful is a relative term, of course, because Hamilton was the only player in that class to suit up for the Sharks in the NHL. The only other pick to play in the NHL from that class is Charlie Coyle, who was traded as part of the deal for Brent Burns at the following draft.

Like McGinn, Hamilton was a familiar with the Worcester shuttle. Unlike McGinn, he was unable to earn a regular role with the Sharks, and played 12 games across two seasons in the NHL before San Jose traded him at the 2015 trade deadline for Karl Stollery. In 2014, he was surpassed by members of the Sharks’ latest youth movement, and was cut early from the team’s training camp.

He played 17 games for the Avalanche after Colorado acquired him, but was traded to the Flames that fall. His brother Dougie, a defenseman, also plays for the Flames, and Freddie played in his first NHL game alongside his younger brother at the end of last season. He scored two points in four games, and his play earned him a two-year, one-way contract with Calgary.

He’s only played in two games this season, and has mostly been the Flames’ 13th forward. But after spending most of his first four professional seasons in the AHL, I’m sure he doesn’t mind the limited role.

Statistical Profile

Hamilton has only played six NHL games this year and last year, so the largest sample of games from his career to create a HERO chart is from the 2014-15 season, where he played 18 games with the Sharks and Avalanche. Nothing to write home about, but there’s certainly some value in his shot suppression numbers, especially considering 17 of his 18 games in the 2014-15 season were with the Avalanche, who were the league’s second worst possession team that year. According to HockeyReference, he’s been a strong possession player relative to his team in Calgary, albeit in an extremely limited, six game sample size.

From the Archives

As he continues to be, Jon Allred was our man to read on the Sharks’ minor league efforts, and wrote a lot about Hamilton when he was with the Worcester Sharks, where he scored 99 points across three seasons.

Hamilton may not play, but will make his first trip to the SAP Center playing on the same team as his brother tonight, so it’s fitting we also look back on his first game against his brother in 2013, when he stayed in the Sharks’ lineup thanks to forward…Brent Burns? Take it away, Neutral:

The silver lining to all this, of course, is that rookie Freddie Hamilton gets to remain in the lineup and, in just his second career NHL game, will face his younger brother Dougie of the Bruins. It should make for a fun storyline and a great moment for the Hamilton family, who might even decide to start calling their 21- and 20-year-old sons normal adult names like Fred and Doug after this one.

The Hamilton’s names haven’t changed, but Burns’ position sure has.