DUBNetwork sat down with Bruce Hamilton on November 30th in his office at Prospera Place, home of the Kelowna Rockets.
In an exclusive one-hour interview, the discussion covered many topics, including his career as a player and professional scout, the decision to pursue Western Hockey League franchise ownership in Tacoma, Washington, relocation of the franchise to Kelowna, B.C., the culture and winning tradition, challenges in his role as the WHL Chairman of the Board, the current state of Rockets and the anticipation of the 2020 Memorial Cup.
In Part One, we pick up our interview with Hamilton when he took us back to his brief experience as an NHL player, his hockey road map in the scouting fraternity, and how he became the owner of a WHL franchise.
What many current WHL followers may not be aware of is the path the 61-year-old Hamilton has traveled to arrive at this juncture, in what will be undoubtedly be viewed as a storied junior hockey career once he chooses to step aside.
The Hamilton family is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where its roots were firmly planted on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in the Buena Vista area. The family resided walking distance away, across the Victoria Street Bridge, from the old Arena Rink in downtown Saskatoon, which was home to the Saskatoon Blades from the team’s WCHL inception in 1966-67 until a new facility opened in February of 1988.
Back in the day, for minor hockey players in the Saskatoon area, playing for the Blades was a big deal.
For three seasons, Hamilton suited up for the Blades. During his second year, the 1975-76 campaign, he skated alongside Bernie Federko, who compiled a then single season points scoring record of 72 goals and 115 assists for 187 points in 72 games.
Federko, selected seventh overall by the St. Louis Blues at the 1976 National Hockey League Amateur Draft, went on to enjoy a prolific NHL career and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
Hamilton put up respectable WHL numbers, collecting 100 goals and 87 assists in 214 regular season and playoff games. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fifth round, 81st overall at the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, when the league consisted of 18 teams.
Hamilton was unable to crack the Blues lineup and bounced around the minors for a few seasons before settling on a career that combined life as a fire fighter in Saskatoon and regional scouting positions with the Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals.
These days, many junior hockey players, even bantam hockey players, are connected to their cell phones or the Internet on draft day. In fact, many take the day off from school. For Hamilton on draft day in 1977, he was busy at work in Saskatoon as, back in the day, NHL teams drafted 19-year-old players.
Later, when DUBNetwork publishes “Part Two”, Hamilton dives deeper into the process of acquiring the Tacoma Rockets and the subsequent move to Kelowna, B.C.
