Minnesota Wild: 2018-19 Season Preview of Andrew Hammond

The Minnesota Wild goaltending situation could get a little crowded this season with the addition of Andrew Hammond. Let’s take a look at “The Hamburgler” who’s registered to be wearing #35 this season.

Andrew Hammond was one of the biggest names signed by the Minnesota Wild during the 2018 NHL offseason. Hammond was signed to a one year contract, to encourage competition with last season’s backup, Alex Stalock, for playing time behind incumbent starter Devan Dubnyk. As an undrafted free agent, Hammond has had to fight to get to where he is, so is there any reason to believe he can’t fight his way ahead of Stalock on the depth chart?

History

At 21 years old, Hammond was still an unsigned and undrafted goalie prospect playing in the British Columbia minor leagues (BCHL) in his home province in Canada. He made the decision to pursue hockey at the collegiate level in the NCAA where he joined Bowling Green State University.

It was during his time at Bowling Green that Hammond developed a reputation for his ability to steal games, gaining the nickname “Hamburglar” from his teammates (per NHL.com) as a play on Andrew’s last name as well as the McDonald’s character of the same name.

At the end of Hammond’s senior year, he was signed to an NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators. His first year was sent primarily with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, where he finished with a .910 Sv% and a 2.81 GAA through 48 games.

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In his second year with Ottawa, Hammond was thrust into duty late in the year after injuries took out the Senators Top 2 goalies forcing them to dig to #3 on the depth chart. Hammond took that opportunity to establish his nickname at the NHL Level as he finished with 20 wins through 24 games, including 3 shutouts.

The following year, Hammond was unable to secure his spot on the Senators roster out of training camp and ended up beginning the year back in the AHL. In the few opportunities he got through the year, he was very up-and-down. When he was on, he was nearly unbeatable, but more often he was off, and terrible. He finished with only 7 wins over 24 games in that season.

In the years since, Hammond has not been able to secure much for NHL playing time between the Sens and Avalanche. Getting 6 games in Ottawa 2 years ago and last season he finished with 1 game played for Colorado in a losing effort.

Season Preview

What Andrew Hammond brings to the Minnesota Wild is a veteran backup goaltender looking to rejuvenate his career with a fresh start on a team lacking goaltending depth at the NHL level. I feel like this story sounds familiar as a Wild fan.

There is nothing to say that Hammond makes the NHL roster, but his mere presence at training camp this summer as well as on the roster through this season should serve as a constant reminder to Dubnyk and Stalock that any extended slump could see them riding the bench for the 3rd man between the pipes.

I personally remember Hammond’s fantastic run at the end of 2014-15, and I am still blown away that he has fallen so far in the 4 seasons since that run. Working with Dubnyk and the Wild goaltending staff may be exactly what Hammond needs to find his game and revitalize his career.

His career stats still look relatively decent, when viewed as a whole, but a closer look reveals that he was fantastic for one season and every other year has been mediocre at best. Hammond finished his final season in Ottawa with a GAA of 4.08 and an .837 Sv% through 6 games, which is absolutely horrendous.

Hammond’s ability and reliability is obviously somewhere in the middle, but the truth stands that he can turn his game on and exceed all expectations when called upon. More often than not, he appears to go through his motions and play as through his skates are stuck in tar on the ice, resulting in his teams faltering around him.

I expect Hammond’s signing and his presence on the roster is entirely a motivational tactic to challenge Dubnyk and Stalock to raise their games and consistency. Hammond should spend the majority of the season in Iowa as a backup plan in glass, break glass in case of emergency.

If Hammond gets a call for an extended period due to unforeseen circumstances, there is a chance that he could revert to Vezina trophy caliber and save the Minnesota Wild season behind the Defense that Minnesota puts on the ice every night.

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I don’t see it as a likely possibility, but it exists nonetheless. More likely, Hammond will be brought up to fill the backup role if required and shouldn’t expect to play more than 5-10 games over the course of this season. Since this is only a 1 year deal on a league minimum contract, unless Hammond excels at the AHL level I don’t even see him sticking around for more than this year.

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