BOSTON — Dougie Hamilton already has played his former Bruins teammates once this season, when they traveled to Calgary, but facing them in Boston is an entirely different situation.
Hamilton, whom Boston traded to Calgary on draft day last year, will return to TD Garden for the first time Tuesday night. He said he has “no clue” what kind of reception Bruins fans will give him.
“We’ll see. (The previous meeting) was maybe a little bit tougher, just the first time playing against them and stuff,” Hamilton said Tuesday morning, sporting a Mike’s Pastry hat. “I think now, it’s more just about coming back to the city and the rink and the fans and stuff. Like I said, I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Hamilton spent three seasons in Boston and developed from a rookie who received limited minutes in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs to the team’s best defenseman last season when captain Zdeno Chara missed a lot of games with a knee injury.
Coming back to the city has been a trip down memory lane for the 22-year-old.
“It’s definitely a different experience for me,” Hamilton said. “It brought back a lot of memories getting off the plane at the airport and driving through the streets I walked around all the time in the past couple years. It’ll be cool to go to the Garden tonight and see what it’s like as a visitor.”
The Flames played Monday night and lost 5-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers, so Hamilton didn’t have any time to see former teammates. Calgary also didn’t have a morning skate Tuesday and instead stayed at the Ritz Carlton for a meeting.
“It would have been nice maybe to come in and have dinner with the guys last night, be able to see old friends,” Hamilton said. “I don’t control that, so I’m going with the flow today and getting ready for the game.”
Thumbnail photo via Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports Images
