Denis Hamel was one of the American Hockey League’s most dangerous goal scorers over his 12 years on the circuit.
A native of Lachute, Quebec, Hamel broke into the pro ranks with the Rochester Americans in 1998 and helped the club reach back-to-back Calder Cup Finals, leading the team with 34 goals during the 1999-2000 season while also making the first of his three AHL All-Star Classic appearances.
Hamel also played 130 games with the Buffalo Sabres before signing with Ottawa in 2003, and his three years spent with the Binghamton Senators included a 91-point campaign in 2005-06 in which he also captured the Willie Marshall Award for leading the league with 56 goals.
NHL stints with Atlanta and Philadelphia followed before he returned to Binghamton in 2007; his first season back saw him selected to captain the Canadian AHL All-Star team at the event hosted by the Senators, and later earn the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as AHL Man of the Year for his outstanding work in the Binghamton community.
Hamel completed his AHL tour with the Adirondack Phantoms, leading the team in goals in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Hamel ranks 11th in AHL history with 338 goals, topping the 20-goal mark in each of his last 10 seasons in the league, and totaled 651 points in 850 games.