WILMINGTON, Mass. — Zach Hamill was part of the inaugural Bruins development camp back in 2007, and returned in each of the following two years.
He's not on hand for this week's fifth edition of the camp, but he's also not much closer to realizing his NHL potential than the youngsters who are in Wilmington. Despite his pedigree as the eighth overall pick of the 2007 draft and three full seasons in the American Hockey League on his resume, Hamill has not progressed as anticipated and remains a long shot to land a job in Boston as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract.
Hamill will likely spend the bulk of that season once again in Providence, where new head coach Bruce Cassidy will try to get the playmaking center back on the path to the NHL. But Cassidy, who is overseeing the prospects in this week's development camp, didn't try to hide the fact that Hamill's progress so far has been disappointing when asked about him on Friday.
"He hasn't developed as well as we all hoped," said Cassidy, who has spent the past three seasons as an assistant in Providence before being named the club's head coach late last month. "OK, so we all know that up front. Part of that has to fall on the coaching staff and part of that has to fall on the individual. Now as we move forward, Zach gets an opportunity to work with a new coaching staff per se. Maybe that motivates him."
Cassidy is also contemplating more drastic moves to motivate Hamill, including possibly moving him from center to the wing, where he might stand a better chance of moving up the organizational depth chart with the Bruins' logjam up the middle.
"Maybe we look at moving him around in a different position," Cassidy said. "He's been a center iceman, [there's] not a lot of room there [in Boston], so sometimes maybe try him on the wing. I know it's a little unorthodox, thinking outside the box, but maybe that gets his game up to another level, putting him with some players that can make him a better player also."
A position change alone won't get Hamill to the NHL though. It's up to Hamill to force the issue and start outperforming some of the players ahead of him.
"At the end of the day, when you're in your fourth year in the same organization, it falls upon yourself just to push people," Cassidy said. "I think the individual has to recognize what's going on around him. A few people have passed him and it's time for him to start passing a couple of younger guys that have come in the last couple of years. And whether he's ready to do that, we'll find out in September."
Hamill had just 9-34-43 totals in 68 games in Providence last year, a drop from 14-30-44 the previous season. That continued a decline from when he led the WHL in scoring with 32-61-93 totals in his draft year, only to slip to 26-49-75 the following season at the same level. He has performed adequately in his brief call-ups to the big club, collecting an assist in three games last season. Overall, he has 0-2-2 totals and is a plus-2 in four games with Boston over the last two seasons.
Hamill is also still just 22, with his 23rd birthday not coming until Sept. 23. Cassidy certainly isn't giving up on Hamill, but the Providence coach recognizes the challenge his new charge faces, and admitted that Hamill may need a fresh start elsewhere to reach his full potential.
"He is unique," Cassidy said. "He was a top pick and sometimes there's no room. When you win a Stanley Cup there's obviously good players and there might not be room. But for him, part of his process could be, 'Hey there's 29 other teams, maybe if I show other people I can play then …' He's still an asset to the Bruins, but it gets other teams to start thinking about him in their lineup, [teams] that are weaker up front.
"And that's sort of how Zach has to approach it," Cassidy continued. "I think both at a personal level that, 'Hey I've got to find a home somewhere else, if it's not here by playing well, or I've got to make space for myself here and they will move someone currently in the lineup.' That's kind of what falls upon the depth players. That's how they push. Brad Marchand, he pushed guys out of the lineup, let's face it. So guys have done it. It's just not that easy."
