"It was tons of fun," Hamilton said after Monday's final scrimmage at Ristuccia Arena. "Obviously it's tough going on the ice in the middle of the summer, your body's not really used to it. But for me, I kind of wish it would keep going. I'm disappointed it's over."
The Bruins weren't disappointed in what they saw from their most recent first-round pick.
"Obviously, Dougie Hamilton is a tremendously skilled player," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "He has to get stronger, but you can see, as each day went on, his skill came out and his confidence came out.
"Each day I thought he played better, was more comfortable," Chiarelli added. "He walks the line so well, he's got the poise. I thought he carried the puck a lot in [Monday's] session with strength and confidence. He just has the poise, the vision and his passing is good and he's got size. So by the time he's ready to play he'll be 200-plus [pounds], so to get a defenseman who's tall, rangy and can make those fine offensive plays and still have the range and the ability to play shutdown because I believe he will have that, obviously it’s a great type of player to have."
Hamilton, the ninth overall pick in last month's draft, turned 18 less than a month ago on June 17. He still has plenty of work to do to build strength and fill out his 6-foot-4 frame, as he came into this camp weighing just 193 pounds. But he's willing to put in the work necessary to compete at the next level, and was appreciative of the chance to test himself against some quality competition in this week's camp.
"A lot of the guys here are older than me, so they're a lot stronger and faster," Hamilton said. "I'm going to have to work on that a bit. It's kind of the same thing [as when] you go through the OHL and you get drafted and you have to adjust to that. So it's just another adjustment here.
"I want to learn and get better and try to crack the club," Hamilton added. "I'm going to take it all in and try to get better."
Chiarelli has stated that Hamilton is unlikely to make the leap directly to the NHL this year. The Bruins aren't going to rush their prized prospect, who is expected to get more seasoning with at least one more year in the junior ranks.
Hamilton will be back in Boston for the main training camp in September, which will give him an even better gauge of what he needs to work on to reach the NHL. He already got one up-close look at what he'll be facing when Bruins captain Zdeno Chara paid a visit to the development camp over the weekend.
"[Sunday] Chara was here, walking around and stuff, so that kind of just puts a smile on your face," Hamilton said. "That's an idol of mine, so it would be pretty awesome to get the chance to skate with him."
Hamilton didn't get a chance to pick Chara's brain too much in this meeting, which he said was limited mostly to congratulating the captain on winning the Cup, while Chara in turn congratulated Hamilton on getting drafted so high. Hamilton did get a chance to speak more at length with one of the veterans in camp after rooming with Boston College defenseman Tommy Cross.
"He helped me a lot," Hamilton said of Cross. "Obviously he's a really good player and one of the leaders here. He just kind of leads the way and does the right thing, so you kind of look up to him and follow him."
Cross, a second-round pick in 2007, has attended all but one of the Bruins' five development camps and participated in three. He went out of his way to help the newcomers this year, but was far from the only member of the organization Hamilton started building a relationship with.
"You just get to know all the staff, all the players," Hamilton said. "When you come back here, you're going to have friends here. For me, coming in, I really didn't know anyone, so obviously that makes it a little tough. You've got to make friends right away and I think I made a few. You try to get the guys to like you and try to make friends, so it's going to be fun coming back."
