NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Tigers captain James Hamblin leads his team back to the bench after scoring the opening goal in a Western Hockey League game against the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Canalta Centre in this November 2919 file photo. Hamblin has signed an entry-level deal with the Edmonton Oilers.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
“I don’t think there’s a guy who has worked harder and put more time in.”
“It’s awesome to see a guy like that, he deserves it … he deserves everything he’s getting.”
Both Medicine Hat Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer and head coach Willie Desjardins shared the same message when asked about James Hamblin signing an NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old former Tiger said it’s hard to put into words what the deal means to him but said he’s thankful to the Oilers and those who helped him get to this point. One of those people is his mother Gina, who passed in 2017 from cancer. Hamblin says she’s always with him and says he was emotional thinking about her.
“She was definitely the first person I thought of when I finally confirmed I was signing,” Hamblin said. “When I talk about people I’m thankful for, she’s No. 1 on the list, and she always will be.”
The Edmonton product says his mom would have been playing up the signing more than he has been and would have told everyone he made it.
“I know she always told people that I would play in the NHL one day so this is a step towards that and hopefully I can make it a reality for her,” Hamblin said.
Hamblin says his close friend Parker Tobin, who was killed in the Humboldt Broncos crash which took 16 lives and injured 13 more on April 6, 2018, would have been a guy to reach out to congratulate him and be as happy for him as he is.
The former Tiger has battled a lot of adversity throughout his career. On top of losing his mother and his friend in back-to-back years, Hamblin has battled multiple injuries throughout his career. His final year in the WHL was cut short by COVID-19, something Hamblin says he stayed optimistic about throughout.
“It definitely didn’t help, the COVID shutdown, but I never looked at it as I was out of the race, and I think that was kind of the right mindset to have to get to this position,”Hamlbin said.
He finished his five-year career in Medicine Hat with 115 goals and 283 points in 323 games played, putting him sixth all time in games played in the orange and black. Hamblin is one of few WHLers to be named a captain for two seasons, doing so in his last two years.
Hamblin is in his second season with the Oilers AHL affiliate, Bakersfield Condors. He has 14 goals and 22 points in 40 games this year. The two-year deal he signed with Edmonton goes into effect in the upcoming season.
He says leadership was one of the biggest things he learned from his time in Medicine Hat, adding he’s followed the Tigers a little bit and is very appreciative of the organization and his former teammates.
“From Shaun Clouston to Willie Desjardins, not to mention Joe Frazer, they’re guys that helped me get to where I am today,” Hamblin said. “The Masers helped me out a lot as well, everyone in the office is the best in the world … I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about my billets … Amber and Justin Scott, I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support. Just great memories every time I think back about Medicine Hat.”
When asked about Hamblin, Desjardins lit up and said Hamblin wasn’t the most gifted player the Tigers had but was one of the best at trying to find a way to be his best.
“His routine was unbelievable,” Desjardins said. “He’d come home and shut his phones off and computer and everything would be off by 10 p.m. He was just hockey.”
Desjardins says he’s proud of Hamblin and how he has battled through the adversity he’s faced.
There’s a thing about how much can you take and keep moving forward,” Desjardins said. “Sometimes it’s so much that you just can’t go forward and yet you go back … Jimmy was able to do that …There might be that day where you just fought things off and maybe didn’t move, but he didn’t go back. He didn’t give up on his dreams.”
