In the second full season of his WHL career, Kaden Hammell made a more concerted effort to get involved in the offence. After posting three goals and 11 assists through 57 games last year, the defenceman had five goals and five assists through 31 contests in the 2022-23 with the Kamloops Blazers.
With Kamloops being one of the top teams in the league around that time, and also set to host this year’s Memorial Cup, the team made the decision to pull off one of the famous multi-asset trades the Canadian Hockey League is known for. Along with three other players and 10 draft picks, Hammell was dealt to the Everett Silvertips for Ryan Hofer and Olen Zellweger, the latter of whom had just completed a standout gold medal performance for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
In Everett, Hammell’s offence took another step up, as he was a half-point-per-game player over the second half of the season, with 16 points in 31 games. Though he went pointless through the Silvertips’ five-game post-season run, he may have shown enough potential on the attack to catch the eye of an NHL team.
Birthplace: Langley, British Columbia
Date of birth: March 12, 2005
Shoots: Right
Position: Defence
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 181 lbs.
Team: Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Much of his offence comes from following the rush up the ice and presenting himself as a trailing option. This results in plenty of looks for him, and often from good positions as the opposing defence focuses on containing the forwards. He often has plenty of space to get a shot off, or make a pass to a teammate.
He also likes to use his 6’2″ frame to protect the puck while moving deeper into the zone, powering around his man to get a lane to the net. He’ll jump up to keep pucks in the zone to keep offensive plays going, rather than defaulting to a defensive stance with the puck approacihng the offensive blue line.
The team that is most impressed by his offensive game will also be happy that he has a decent defensive base to improve upon. He’s a physical player who constantly battles for pucks in his own zone, bringing the same intensity on each shift. Despite that style of play, he’s a disciplined defender, with just 34 penalty minutes in the regular season, and six through 22 playoff games over the past two years.
That defensive game is more of a work in progress than his offence, however, as he’s still learning how to play the position effectively. With a lumbering skating stride, his pivots aren’t as smooth as they need to be to lock down his side of the ice, and he gets targeted by opposition forwards off the rush because of that.
The connection between his defensive and offensive play is effective when he has time to find a teammate and make a pass up the ice, but he has difficulty making those passes under pressure or challenging forecheckers one-on-one. He isn’t a strong puck-handler, and therefore needs his teammates to handle the transitions through the neutral zone; one of the reasons why he’s often a trailer on the offensive rush rather than a direct participant.
Preliminary Rankings
Dobber Prospects: N/R in Top 50
Elite Prospects: N/R in Top 80
FCHockey: N/R in Top 100
Hockey Prospect: N/R in Top 75
Hadi Kalakeche: N/R in Top 75
McKeen’s: #49
Bob McKenzie (TSN): N/R in Top 80
NHL Central Scouting: #95 (North American Skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic) N/R in Top 34
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): N/R in Top 64
You won’t find Hammell high on many draft boards this summer, but as a big right-shot defenceman with some offensive skill, he’s bound to hear his name called at some point.
Whichever team drafts him will be taking on a long-term project who needs time to develop in all facets of his game. He will have a few more years to do that in the WHL, and will likely require several seasons in the AHL to hone his skills further. An NHL club that has the resources to dedicate ot improving his skating stride and confidence while handling the puck would get closest to unlocking Hammell’s potential.
