Being Dougie Hamilton - I think I figured it out

[My Special Purpose]

I just don't see where you're getting the idea that Hamilton wasn't aware of the location of the puck. Here he is, looking directly at it less than a second before Ovechkin got to it.

How much more aware could he have been?

And look where it is, right where Dougie set up for contact. A second later, it was behind the net, but Dougie was looking at Ovechkin and bracing for contact, so he didn't follow the puck where it went after this.

As for the hit -- if Ovie ran him while he was 10 feet from the puck, it would have been a completely un-missable interference penalty. Until Hamilton closed on the puck he wasn't eligible to be hit, and he chose to hang back for a reason that I think pretty clearly aligns with intent to put the body on a guy as he goes into the boards. The fact that he did it awkwardly and slightly late is Hamilton being Hamilton and not Slavin.

This is exactly Ovechkin's thinking and it supports my original explanation that Hamilton misjudged the location of the puck. Hamilton didn't hang back, he *thought* he was bracing for a puck battle at the wrong location of the puck. Image 5 above clearly shows Hamilton fully braced for contact. He had just not looked for the puck since he was totally focused on Ovechkin and he didn't realize he was no longer close enough to take a hit.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Are you... are you basing this on the idea that Hamilton didn’t know the puck was moving?

 

[My Special Purpose]

I just don't see where you're getting the idea that Hamilton wasn't aware of the location of the puck. Here he is, looking directly at it less than a second before Ovechkin got to it.

How much more aware could he have been?

As for the hit -- if Ovie ran him while he was 10 feet from the puck, it would have been a completely un-missable interference penalty. Until Hamilton closed on the puck he wasn't eligible to be hit, and he chose to hang back for a reason that I think pretty clearly aligns with intent to put the body on a guy as he goes into the boards. The fact that he did it awkwardly and slightly late is Hamilton being Hamilton and not Slavin.

You're telling me that in image No. 2 above, it's your theory that Ovechkin was going wide and picking up speed in order to beat Hamilton to the puck, and *not* in order to hit Hamilton?

 

[My Special Purpose]

That was the type of play, on that stage, that builds a reputation and can follow a player around throughout their career. Fans, broadcasters, scouts and managers saw Hamilton make one of the softest plays of all-time and applicable to fans at least, think of him differently because of it. If it wasn't soft, and Hamilton deserves the benefit of the doubt, there should be pushback.

This is playoff board worthy, imo.

Feel free. I don't venture to the main boards.

 

[rainband]

I totally agree. Hamilton isn't a quitter...I think he has mental issues. His ability to concentrate isn't good at all and that's what makes him look so bad. His positioning against the puck is also bad and he gets caught out of position on a regular basis. Not the first time this happened. On top of that, Ovi was in his head and that surely didn't help.

Luckily it took Washington four games to figure him out but good on Hamilton for his damage control in game 7. He was bad in games 5-7 but was only -1 in game 7. One more costly mistakes and the Canes would be on holidays now.

Need to know: were any flowers picked?

 

[My Special Purpose]

Are you... are you basing this on the idea that Hamilton didn’t know the puck was moving?

Again, he made a bad play. He had 100 things to process and he was about to get hit by a freight train. I'm sure he knew it was moving. I'm sure he normally makes this play easily. But nothing is normal when Alex Ovechkin has you in his sights, and Hamilton made a bad read.

In the end, he was off by 10 feet on the location of the puck battle is a lot easier to understand -- and supported by the evidence -- than he allowed Ovechkin to take the puck because he was scared.

 

[tarheelhockey]

You're telling me that in image No. 2 above, it's your theory that Ovechkin was going wide and picking up speed in order to beat Hamilton to the puck, and *not* in order to hit Hamilton?

I’m sure Ovie’s original intent, coming up the ice, was to go in hard on Hamilton. You can actually see his body language change at the instant he realizes Hamilton is giving him the inside lane.

Funny enough, Ovechkin went to the boards intending to immediately pull the puck back against the grain. Because he correctly read what Hamilton was trying to do.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I think maybe we can all agree that "OVIE IS GOD AND EVERYBODY IS AFRAID OF HIM" is always the easiest narrative, and when it happens to dovetail with "SOFT DOUGIE HAMILTON IS SOFT" it's catnip for dipshits like Mike Milbury.

This is a series of split second mistakes, by multiple people, against the best players in the world. It isn't "soft", and it isn't "unforgivable". It's hockey. It's a fast enough game as it is.

And we still beat them.

Let the ignorant ramble. Wolves care not for the opinions of sheep.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I’m sure Ovie’s original intent, coming up the ice, was to go in hard on Hamilton. You can actually see his body language change at the instant he realizes Hamilton is giving him the inside lane.

His body language changes when he realizes Hamilton is bracing for a hit a full 10-feet from the puck. But Ovechkin was clearly lining up Hamilton. We agree on this.

Funny enough, Ovechkin went to the boards intending to immediately pull the puck back against the grain. Because he correctly read what Hamilton was trying to do.

Ovechkin reacted to Hamilton being in the wrong spot faster than Hamilton did. So it happened like this:

Ovechkin lined up Hamilton
Hamilton braced for contact
Ovechkin realized Hamilton was too far from the puck
Ovechkin went directly to the puck and pulled it off the boards
Hamilton reacted late and Ovechkin got away

So we agree on that, too. Exactly as I posted in the original post.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

This is where your version breaks down. There's simply *no way* Hamilton went into this thinking he *wasn't* going to get hit.

As for the hit -- if Ovie ran him while he was 10 feet from the puck, it would have been a completely un-missable interference penalty. Until Hamilton closed on the puck he wasn't eligible to be hit, and he chose to hang back for a reason that I think pretty clearly aligns with intent to put the body on a guy as he goes into the boards.

He could have been playing both. Hamilton had been going after ovie since game 3 and realized he was now in position to get crushed. Even if it's a penalty, oovie is mad, has a history of recklessness and its playoff reffing so who knows if it gets called But what if ovie fakes the hit and plays the puck? So hamilton plays for both sides, and if he hadn't been doing this against a top 5 left wing of all time he would have likely succeeded.

So we agree on that, too.

The only thing you disagree on is whether Hamilton misjudged the puck bounce because hewas prepping for an ovie hit, or if he planned to tie ovie along the boards and wait for slavin.

The key is. Where is slavin when hamilton sees him? Is he at the left point to receive a quick rim around the boards? Or is he coming back to help. But i think it's "why not both?"

 

[tarheelhockey]

In the end, he was off by 10 feet on the location of the puck battle is a lot easier to understand -- and supported by the evidence -- than he allowed Ovechkin to take the puck because he was scared.

But the puck was MOVING.

You’re saying he looked directly at a moving puck (which was circling the boards after being dumped 100 feet) and didn’t understand that it was going to end up in a different spot than its current location?

I mean, a moving thing keeps moving even after you look away. That’s... really basic, no?

 

[tarheelhockey]

I have to say... I’ve seen some novel ideas on HF, but I’m not sure anything has trumped “Ovechkin scared Hamilton so bad he lost his sense of object permanence”.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

SOFT DOUGIE HAMILTON IS SOFT" it's catnip for dip****s like Mike Milbury

If ever an example of "repeat it enough times and eventually it becomes the truth" existed....

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Its a tough play as a D man. It looked like he had a brainfart / lost focus/ tried to make the easy play rather than the right play.

 

[The Faulker 27]

Came for a comedic take on Dougie, and some light reading. Left immediately.

 

[Incubajerks]

At this point it is right to point out that as far as I am concerned the player is not in question, but that play. I am very happy to read so much protection towards Dougie.

 

[A Star is Burns]

MSP: I'm right and no longer wish to talk about this hockey play with you.

Also MSP: **Screams internally - "ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH, can't stop myself from continuing to argue" ***Posts 5 more times***

I heart you MSP.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I have to say... I’ve seen some novel ideas on HF, but I’m not sure anything has trumped “Ovechkin scared Hamilton so bad he lost his sense of object permanence”.

MSP: I'm right and no longer wish to talk about this hockey play with you.

Also MSP: **Screams internally - "ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH, can't stop myself from continuing to argue" ***Posts 5 more times***

I heart you MSP.

Yeah, I know my own weaknesses. I guess I'm just having a hard time understanding what THH is having a hard time with. Dougie made a mistake on this play. The idea of my breakdown was to determine what that mistake was. In looking through the video at full speed, slow-mo speed, and frame-by-frame, I believe I was able to determine that Hamilton's mistake was that he anticipated a point-of-contact with Ovechkin near the no-play zone. Ovechkin determined that same point-of-contact and they both chose paths that would get them there at the same time.

As the point-of-contact neared, Ovechkin -- looking at the puck the whole way -- saw that the puck was much further behind the net than Hamilton anticipated, and changed his route. Hamilton -- looking at Ovechkin the whole way and only projecting where the puck would be -- reacted much later. I want to know why it's so hard to believe that Hamilton was 10-feet off on his projection of where the puck would be when he had 1,000 things going on in his head, not the least of which was Ovechkin coming at him with a full head of steam?

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yeah, I know my own weaknesses. I guess I'm just having a hard time understanding what THH is having a hard time with. Dougie made a mistake on this play. The idea of my breakdown was to determine what that mistake was. In looking through the video at full speed, slow-mo speed, and frame-by-frame, I believe I was able to determine that Hamilton's mistake was that he anticipated a point-of-contact with Ovechkin near the no-play zone. Ovechkin determined that same point-of-contact and they both chose paths that would get them there at the same time.

As the point-of-contact neared, Ovechkin -- looking at the puck the whole way -- saw that the puck was much further behind the net than Hamilton anticipated, and changed his route. Hamilton -- looking at Ovechkin the whole way and only projecting where the puck would be -- reacted much later. I want to know why it's so hard to believe that Hamilton was 10-feet off on his projection of where the puck would be when he had 1,000 things going on in his head, not the least of which was Ovechkin coming at him with a full head of steam?

What I'm having a hard time with is the idea that Hamilton didn't understand that the puck would keep moving until it ended up behind the net.

This is a guy who has played over 500 games in the NHL. And the thesis is that he saw the puck coming around the boards and looked away, thinking it would remain it its current location until he turned back around.

If I didn't know who Dougie Hamilton was and saw you talking about him this way, I'd assume he was an infant. edit: the name "Dougie" would reinforce this theory

 

[3CanesInTheBox]

I respect the amount of time and detail you've put into this. genuinely NO sarcasm since I know tone cannot be always read online.

I've been baffled by the play myself. I love Dougie--warts and all--so I've kind of just accepted it for whatever it is, but it was very strange. Worst case scenario, he screwed up--everyone does--and we've moved on. Best case scenario, maybe there's validity to your theory and it's less egregious. i really don't know.

great post though.

 

[3CanesInTheBox]

That was the type of play, on that stage, that builds a reputation and can follow a player around throughout their career. Fans, broadcasters, scouts and managers saw Hamilton make one of the softest plays of all-time and applicable to fans at least, think of him differently because of it. If it wasn't soft, and Hamilton deserves the benefit of the doubt, there should be pushback.

This is playoff board worthy, imo.

Yup! 100 percent. it was painful as a big Dougie fan to hear analysts and ex-players absolutely excoriating him.

That being said, Dougie's kind of use to having a bad reputation lol and he's a giant JERK, so he'll be okay

 

[DougieSmash]

All the hate for Hamilton is comical. He's not Joe Corvo...

 

[My Special Purpose]

What I'm having a hard time with is the idea that Hamilton didn't understand that the puck would keep moving until it ended up behind the net.

This is a guy who has played over 500 games in the NHL. And the thesis is that he saw the puck coming around the boards and looked away, thinking it would remain it its current location until he turned back around.

If I didn't know who Dougie Hamilton was and saw you talking about him this way, I'd assume he was an infant.

What I'm having a hard time with is that you keep saying the same thing over and over, like I'm not hearing you. I hear you. I understand you. I get your point. You would think that Hamilton would have chosen a spot closer to the net to draw his "line in the sand" and brace for contact. But he *made a mistake* in judgement. Again, I'm not trying to say he did nothing wrong. His mistake was over-focusing on Ovechkin to the point that he made an error judging exactly how far the puck would carry. It's really not that big a leap at all.

 

[tarheelhockey]

What I'm having a hard time with is that you keep saying the same thing over and over, like I'm not hearing you. I hear you. I understand you. I get your point. You would think that Hamilton would have chosen a spot closer to the net to draw his "line in the sand" and brace for contact. But he *made a mistake* in judgement. Again, I'm not trying to say he did nothing wrong. His mistake was over-focusing on Ovechkin to the point that he made an error judging exactly how far the puck would carry. It's really not that big a leap at all.

I mean, I get it. But it’s not like this was a nuanced judgment. The puck was clearly headed behind the net when he last looked at it, and he didn’t skate toward a place that would make sense as an alternate landing spot. You’re essentially saying he was so focused on Ovechkin that he forgot the puck was in motion, and expected to find it in suspended animation where he last saw it.

I’ve never seen a hockey player, let alone a good NHL player, do anything like that. It’s a huge leap from “I’m under pressure” to “I have lost my basic grasp of how the physical world works”.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I mean, I get it. But it’s not like this was a nuanced judgment. The puck was clearly headed behind the net when he last looked at it, and he didn’t skate toward a place that would make sense as an alternate landing spot. You’re essentially saying he was so focused on Ovechkin that he forgot the puck was in motion, and expected to find it in suspended animation where he last saw it.

I’ve never seen a hockey player, let alone a good NHL player, do anything like that. It’s a huge leap from “I’m under pressure” to “I have lost my basic grasp of how the physical world works”.

It is beyond stunning to me that you just posted the same, identical thing you've posted three times previously.