[SuperMatt18]

It's hilarious that Dougie Hamilton gets criticized for his defensive zone play, when really he is no worse than Brodie or Giordano.

5v5 Last Season

Brodie
GA:57
Goals Against / 60 Minutes: 2.57
Shots Against / 60 Minutes: 27.39
Corsi Against / 60 Minutes: 54.86
Defensive Zone Face Off %: 33.3%
Opponent GF% Overall (Quality of Competition): 51.1%

Giordano
GA:69
Goals Against / 60 Minutes: 2.80
Shots Against / 60 Minutes: 27.45
Corsi Against / 60 Minutes: 54.53
Defensive Zone Face Off %: 34.2
Opponent GF% Overall (Quality of Competition): 51.3%

Hamilton
GA:56
Goals Against / 60 Minutes: 2.57
Shots Against / 60 Minutes: 29.64
Corsi Against / 60 Minutes: 58.97
Defensive Zone Face Off %: 32.7%
Opponent GF% Overall (Quality of Competition): 50.0%

I know most people don't understand these stats but what it shows is that Hamilton is really comparable defensively to Giordano and Brodie - or at least was last season.

Goal against per 60 minutes were similar, Giordano/Brodie had marginally worse zone starts and tougher matchups but overall it wasn't really that different. The area that showed the biggest different was shot suppression for Gio and Brodie but even that wasn't substantial.

Giordano and Brodie would also get the benefit of playing with each other for most of the season, where Hamilton bounced between Russell/Jokipakka/Smid and others last season.

Really the issue here isn't that Hamilton isn't that good in his own end - it's really that all three of Giordano, Brodie, and Hamilton are not that great defensively. All three ranked in the bottom 10 for GA per 60 minutes 5v5, which is to be expected when your team is last for GA but also points out that they may be part of the problem.