February 26, 2008

Hurricanes Assign Hamilton to Albany

RALEIGH, NC -- Ron Francis, Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Development for the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has assigned former Yale forward Jeff Hamilton to its top minor-league affiliate, the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Hamilton, 30, is in his first season with the Hurricanes, having signed with Carolina as a free agent on July 1, 2007. The Englewood, Ohio native has played in 52 games for the ‘Canes this season, scoring 19 points (6 goals, 8 assists) and recording six penalty minutes. In his sixth year of pro hockey, Hamilton has played in 136 career NHL games, recording 66 points (26 goals, 40 assists) and 36 PIMs. Of his 416 career Pro games, 233 games have come in the American Hockey League, all with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and he has 207 career AHL points (112 goals, 95 assists) to his credit.

Hamilton played Division I college hockey for Yale University of the ECAC (1996-2001). He appeared in 127 career NCAA games for the Bulldogs, scoring 174 points (80 goals, 94 assists) and was named an ECAC First Team All-Star three times and an NCAA East Second Team All-American twice. Hamilton's college career lasted five total seasons because he missed a majority of his fourth year (1999-2000) after suffering a season-ending abdominal injury in his second game of the season.