Welcome to the 2022-23 season review and 2023-24 season preview player-by-player! In this and other articles, we’ll be, well, reviewing the 2022-23 season of Edmonton Oilers players and previewing their 2023-24 season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.
Welcome back, James Hamblin.
5×5
NHL GP
TOI + TOI/GP
G – A – P
CF
CA
CF%
SCF
SCA
SCF%
GF
GA
GF%
xGF
xGA
xGF%
PDO
Individual
10
80.03
0-0-0
68
62
52.31
36
30
54.55
1
4
20
3.15
2.98
51.4
0.92
Per/60
8.00
50.98
46.48
26.99
22.49
0.75
3
2.36
2.23
Per/60, RelTm%
-6.12
-6.71
0.54
-1.56
-7.41
5.7
-3.16
0.9
-45
-0.3
-0.31
0.26
James Hamblin got his first taste of the NHL last season with a 10-game stint early on in the campaign, but didn’t do much to seize his opportunity. He averaged a nominal amount of ice time and fired a dozen shots on goal.
The good signs out of it, however, were with Hamblin on the ice, the Oilers were able to control the pace of play. For a player like Hamblin, whose ceiling as an NHL’er is likely nothing more than not as a third-to-fourth liner, that’s about all you can ask for.
Our own Bruce Curlock, who watched Hamblin lots while scoring 10 goals and 28 points in 52 AHL games this year, compared him to Yanni Gourde.
“Why am I talking about Yanni Gourde?”, Curlock wrote. “Well, it’s to counter the narrative that James Hamblin had his shot and he’s not going to make it. That might be right. He played ten games without scoring a point. No question that was not a good outcome.
“Indeed, if you wanted to see a major difference between Yanni Gourde and James Hamblin. Yanni Gourde exploded in his first full season with 25-39-64 in 82 games. Can James Hamblin do that if he makes the Oilers? Well his career stats suggest he has a chance.”
That would be a tremendous outcome for an undrafted player, but not one I’m exactly holding my breath for. The Oilers placed Hamblin on waivers Tuesday to be assigned to the Condors,

HAMBLIN’S CAREER SO FAR

Season
Team
Lge
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
+/-
PGP
G
A
Pts
PIM
2015-16
Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL
54
2
1
3
14
-19
2016-17
Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL
69
23
24
47
32
21
11
2
3
5
0
2017-18
Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL
70
21
43
64
30
-3
2018-19
Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL
67
33
44
77
18
18
6
5
2
7
6
2019-20
Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL
63
36
56
92
35
27
2020-21
Bakersfield Condors
AHL
38
7
8
15
2
3
6
0
1
1
2
2021-22
Bakersfield Condors
AHL
64
21
14
35
28
20
5
1
1
2
0
2022-23
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
10
0
0
0
2
-3
2022-23
Bakersfield Condors
AHL
52
10
18
28
14
-1
2
1
0
1
0
NHL Totals
10
0
0
0
2
-3

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.