Dan Hamhuis had a couple good reasons to take an interest in Vancouver Canucks prospect Tate Olson at this past weekend's training camp at CN Centre.
As a part owner of the Prince George Cougars, the team which provided Hamhuis a springboard to the NHL, he has a personal stake in watching the 18-year-old Olson continue to blossom as a defenceman trying to help the Cougars reel in their first WHL championship.
There's also a chance, a few years from now, Olson and Hamhuis could be playing together on the Canucks blueline. The Canucks drafted Olson in the seventh round in 2015 and he was good enough in rookie camp to get invited to the main camp in Prince George and did not look out of place.
"I had a chance to be partnered up with him in some of the drills and he's done well," said Hamhuis. "He's a big guy and smart D-man who moves around the ice quite well. I think it's a great pick for the Canucks to be able to get him and this camp will be a great experience for him to take back to the Cougars.
"He's got a lot of the tools to make it. Getting drafted is one small step and it doesn't matter now if you're a first-rounder or a seventh-rounder, the fact is you're in the camp and you've got a chance to make an impression. No one cares what round you were drafted in, if you're a good enough player the coach will want you here."
Hamhuis was picked 12th overall in 2001 by the Nashville Predators and played just one more season with the Cougars before breaking in as a pro in the AHL.
"First training camps are a bit intimidating with all the pro players - you're playing against seasoned veterans and men and it's tough as a young D-man but (Olson was) holding his own out there," Hamhuis said. "Given the chance to play with pro players you gain valuable experience and it's a good mix of humility, knowing there's lots of work to be done yet, and also a sense of confidence that you have played with these guys at that pace."
At 32, Hamhuis is set to begin his 12th season in the NHL as the undisputed leader of a rebuilding Canucks defence corps, still adjusting to life without veteran Kevin Bieksa. Chris Tanev, Alex Edler, Yannick Weber and Luca Sbisa and former Bruin Matt Bartkowski will oversee a group of youngsters - Alex Biega, Frank Corrado, Ben Hutton, Taylor Fedun and Andrey Pedan - still with the team in a preseason battle for roster spots.
Known for his skating ability and his mastery of the lost art of the hip check, Hamhuis has long been one of the top defencemen in the NHL. He helped Canada win Olympic gold in 2010 and last year captained Canada's team to gold at the IIHF world hockey championship.
Hamhuis is in the final year of six-year $27 million contract he signed when he joined the Canucks as a free agent in 2010. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2016.
He spends part of the off-season at his home in Smithers and his presence at the weekend training camp at CN Centre attracted a large following from his hometown. He reacquainted himself with Cougar fans in Prince George who watched him develop over a four-year WHL career, which started when he joined the Cougars as a 15-year-old in 1998.
"I'm excited for my teammates just to see the passion and enthusiasm that Canuck fans have up here and it's a great setting for us to come together as a team to start to build on the foundation we laid last year to have another successful regular season," said Hamhuis.
Hamhuis is an avid golfer and was the tour guide for a group of about 20 Canucks players who spent a rainy Friday afternoon testing their swings at Aberdeen Glen Golf Course.
"I love that course, we had a lot of fun up there," said Hamhuis. "The weather wasn't great but the course was fantastic."
For many of the players, it was the last round of golf they'll have this season until they have some downtime when visiting NHL winter hot spots in Florida, Arizona or California. Hamhuis's wife Sarah and her family are from Prince George and their eldest daughter Anna was born in the city. With his P.G. connections he became the camp's social director, arranging the team's off-ice activities. On Saturday, the players skeet shooting at the Prince George Rod and Gun Club.
Now, after spending three days in the city, his teammates know how much the Canucks mean to hockey fans in the region.
"It's really special for me, obviously - four years of junior hockey here and I met my wife here, we have a lot of roots in this community," said Hamhuis. "I've come back here every year since I played (for the Cougars) for a charity golf tournament, just to give back to the community that's given me so much. One of the reasons I had such a successful junior career here was the community and the people in this city who made it such an enjoyable place to be.
"We've had such a warm welcome - every time we go to a restaurant, everyone tries to kind of help us out and make sure we're taken care of. People come up and say, 'I thought I'd never have the chance to see any of you guys in person,' and that's what this is all about."
This is the 50th anniversary of the WHL and Hamhuis was the only Prince George Cougar who made the list of the top 125 players in league history, dating back to its inception in 1966. Players were picked based on the impact they had while playing in the WHL and after graduating the league. An online poll of fans in October on whl.ca will determine the top 50 players. The league will release that list in January.
