TOP 100 OILERS: ROMAN HAMRLIK (66)
7 years ago
When Phil Esposito and the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning stepped to the podium and made Czech defenceman Roman Hamrlik the first overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, they were looking for a cornerstone player they could build a franchise around. They were looking for greatness. What the Bolts got instead was very good.
That pretty much sums up the entire NHL career of Hamrlik, for whom the bar was set incredibly high, including the 196 games he spent as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Greatness was a height Hamrlik never managed to attain, but for his three seasons in Oiler silks, at least, Hammer Time was a lot of fun to watch.
Roman Hamrlik
Defense — shoots L
Born Apr 12 1974 — Zlin, Czech Rep.
Height 6.01 — Weight 207 [185 cm/94 kg]
Drafted by Tampa Bay Lightning
Round 1 #1 overall 1992 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% | ATOI |
1992-93 | 67 | 6 | 15 | 21 | -21 | 71 | 5.3 | ||
1993-94 | 64 | 3 | 18 | 21 | -14 | 135 | 1.9 | ||
1994-95 | 48 | 12 | 11 | 23 | -18 | 86 | 9.0 | ||
1995-96 | 82 | 16 | 49 | 65 | -24 | 103 | 5.7 | ||
1996-97 | 79 | 12 | 28 | 40 | -29 | 57 | 5.0 | ||
1997-98 | TOT | 78 | 9 | 32 | 41 | -15 | 70 | 4.5 | |
1997-98 | 37 | 3 | 12 | 15 | -18 | 22 | 3.5 | ||
1997-98 | 41 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 3 | 48 | 5.4 | ||
1998-99 | 75 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 9 | 70 | 4.7 | 23:49 | |
1999-00 | 80 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 1 | 68 | 4.4 | 25:18 | |
2000-01 | 76 | 16 | 30 | 46 | -20 | 92 | 6.9 | 25:12 | |
2001-02 | 70 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 7 | 78 | 6.5 | 25:32 | |
2002-03 | 73 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 21 | 87 | 6.0 | 26:34 | |
2003-04 | 81 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 2 | 68 | 3.8 | 24:35 | |
2005-06 | 51 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 8 | 56 | 7.9 | 21:51 | |
2006-07 | 75 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 22 | 88 | 5.6 | 24:52 | |
2007-08 | 77 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 7 | 38 | 3.9 | 23:08 | |
2008-09 | 81 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 4 | 62 | 4.2 | 21:55 | |
2009-10 | 75 | 6 | 20 | 26 | -2 | 56 | 6.0 | 23:26 | |
2010-11 | 79 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 6 | 81 | 3.9 | 22:17 | |
2011-12 | 68 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 3.4 | 19:13 | |
2012-13 | TOT | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 8 | 0.0 | 11:29 |
2012-13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 0.0 | 15:36 | |
2012-13 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 0.0 | 10:06 | |
6 yrs | TBL | 377 | 52 | 133 | 185 | -124 | 474 | 5.1 | |
4 yrs | MTL | 312 | 22 | 97 | 119 | 15 | 237 | 4.4 | 22:40 |
4 yrs | NYI | 300 | 43 | 110 | 153 | 10 | 325 | 5.9 | 25:27 |
3 yrs | EDM | 196 | 22 | 81 | 103 | 13 | 186 | 4.7 | 24:35 |
2 yrs | CGY | 126 | 14 | 50 | 64 | 30 | 144 | 6.5 | 23:39 |
2 yrs | WSH | 72 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 36 | 3.3 | 19:01 |
1 yr | NYR | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 0.0 | 10:06 |
Career | 1395 | 155 | 483 | 638 | -49 | 1408 | 5.2 | 23:32 |
NOTABLE
To suggest Hamrlik was a disappointment as a first overall pick speaks more to the unrealistic expectations teams and fans place on kids welcomed to the podium first than it does to the career he had. No player from the 1992 draft played more games than the 1,395 Hamrlik did. Only four players — Sergei Gonchar, Alexei Yashin, Cory Stillman and Robert Straka — had more points than the 638 Hamrlik managed from the blue line.
When Oiler GM Glen Sather acquired Hamrlik and Paul Comrie for Bryan Marchment and first-round flops Steve Kelly and Jason Bonsignore – a trade that essentially played out as Hamrlik for the suspension-prone, hard rock, fan favourite Marchment – it looked like a fleece job. It was.
In Hamrlik, the Oilers got a minute-munching, bonafide first-pairing guy who could run a power play and who formed a one-two punch with Boris Mironov. Hamrlik could shoot the puck. He’d bang bodies. Hamrlik had 26 points in just 41 games for the Oilers that season – Mironov was the only blueliner to have more, 46 in 81 games. In 1999-2000, Hamrlik led team D-men in scoring with 45 points and led the team in average ice time at 25:18.
THE STORY
On a personal note, I’ll never forget Hamrlik’s debut with the Oilers, which came Jan. 2, 1998 in a 5-3 loss to Montreal at Rexall Place. During the game, Hamrlik went down the tunnel to the dressing room and collapsed. Up in the press box, I’m thinking, “Shit, this can’t be good.” Turns out Hamrlik wasn’t injured, he was cramping up. Disaster avoided. The other memory is bumping into Hamrlik shopping for shoes in Ottawa. He had four or five boxes of high-end leather under his arm. “They’re on sale,” said Hamrlik, who was making a couple million bucks a season then. “You should buy some.” I did.
New GM Kevin Lowe would make his first big splash after taking over from Sather at the 2000 Entry Draft in Calgary when he traded Hamrlik to the New York Islanders for Eric Brewer, Josh Green and a draft pick the Oilers used to select Brad Winchester. It was as much a budget move as a trade. Brewer was still on his entry level deal ($925,000), while Hamrlik was at $2.25 million and due for a bump.
Fans saw far too many really good players leave Edmonton in the 1990s and 2000s as the Oilers struggled to compete financially, and Hamrlik was one of them. Hammer Time led New York D-men in scoring the season after Lowe dealt him. He played a dozen seasons after his too-short stint in Edmonton.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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