Drafted in the third round of the 2022 draft, the Senators have been patient with Hamara’s development – and it paid off. In his D-0 year, Hamara played well in the Finnish junior and pro leagues. He then came over to play in the CHL, and the adjustment was slow.

In his first 74 OHL games, Hamara only scored 20 points – then was traded to the Brantford Bulldogs. He finished the 2023-24 season with 17 points in 26 games – a huge improvement from the three in eighteen with Kitchener earlier that year. Following it up, Hamara amassed a career-high 55 points in 58 games with Brantford in 2024-25.

Next season, Hamara will get a chance to play pro hockey for the Sens in the AHL. The hope is that he’s acclimated to the North American game and can transition to the professional ranks with more ease. The Sens have a defenseman with a long runway ahead of him. If he adjusts quickly to the AHL, he projects as a third-pairing defenseman who can make an impact at both ends.

Hamara has had a very productive overage season for the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL. Quarterbacking the top power play in the OHL, Hamara has 43 points in 43 games. The smooth-skating defenseman is a quick-thinking puck mover who sees the game well. He easily walks the blueline and can make the first defender miss to get into the slot for a scoring opportunity for himself or a teammate. He can sometimes hold onto the puck for too long in his zone, leading to costly turnovers. Hamara’s skating and vision will be the tools that help him jump up the ranks in the pro game.

Hamara played in the prospects tournament in Buffalo and saw some time on the power play and penalty kill. He should be heading back to the OHL with Kitchener in 2023-24 and must improve on certain aspects of his game. He sometimes tends to skate the puck into trouble and will need to improve his breakout passes. He has shown some improvement in the offensive zone in walking the blueline and keeping the puck in the zone, so he should be able to improve upon the 17 points in 56 games he had in 2022-23.