The Kitchener Rangers have traded Tomas Hamara to the Brantford Bulldogs in exchange for a 3rd and 4th round pick.
Ottawa Senators prospect Tomas Hamara has been dealt from the Kitchener Rangers to the Brantford Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs acquire a fantastic, experienced defender in Tomas Hamara. The Czechia-born import player is a mobile, two-way defenseman who can play a lot of minutes in different situations. Hamara is an extremely fluid skater and moves the puck at a high-level. His passing ability makes him effective in transition and easy for other players to play with. He has offensive upside that has been shadowed in Kitchener.
Hamara joins the Bulldogs defence core that is looking pretty weak this season. They don't have much depth at all, and there are a lot of inexperienced defenders in their top six.
Noah Roberts, Callum Cheynowski, and Daniel Chen have been rotating around the bottom pair. This situation has been giving these young defenders experience, but it hasn't been super sustainable for the Bulldogs keeping the puck out of the net.
The Senators prospect brings some much needed skill, yet reliability to this defence core. In Kitchener, Hamara didn't get opportunities on the powerplay or to play against bigger matchups. In Brantford, he will get all the opportunity he wants to become that number one defender.
Hamara will have some familiarity with Jorian Donovan, who is also a Senators prospect. They will get to reunite in the OHL, after both participated in Ottawa's last two training and rookie camps.
The Rangers acquire two high draft picks — a 3rd in 2024, and a 4th in 2027 — in exchange for the smooth skating defenceman. This is a sufficient return for Hamara, as Kitchener is already loaded at the defence position. They recently re-acquired Roman Schmidt, a solid lockdown defender that limited Hamara's ice-time even more in Kitchener.
Tomas Hamara will join the Brantford Bulldogs and immediately make an impact as a top pair defender, as he boots this blue-line tremendously.