Rivers School coach Shawn McEachern knows a thing or two about what it takes to play professionally.
A product of Boston University, McEachern played 15 seasons in the NHL, including two stints with the Bruins. The Waltham, Mass., native generated 579 points with five different teams and captained the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers for two seasons.
So when McEachern saw a young Brendan Hamblet on the ice for the River Rats of the Premier Hockey League, he decided to reach out.
“I actually coached against him,” McEachern said. “He was a really good player on the other team, so I talked to him about Rivers to see if he was interested to come over and apply. Luckily, he came.”
Hamblet played four seasons for the Red Wings before heading right to Bentley University. The true sophomore is playing better on the ice as the Falcons’ program continues to trend upward. Hamblet has 12 points through 16 games this year, already eclipsing his total from a year ago.
Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist (Stoneham, Mass.) says Hamblet’s improvement is a key reason for the team’s steady rise.
“He’s starting to come into his own as a sophomore and picking up his professionalism and taking it to another level,” Soderquist said.
Born in Hopkinton, Mass., Hamblet first picked up a hockey stick when he was 2. Every day after school he’d come home and watch hockey. He had family members who played, but Hamblet is the first to go Division 1.
Hamblet is in love with the game, and his dreams of one day being a Stanley Cup champion formed at a young age.
“If I could ever hoist that one day, that’d be incredible,” Hamblet said. “That’s what’s been driving me my entire time.”
Self-described as a defensive forward, Hamblet says he tries to model his game after Boston Bruins star Patrice Bergeron, prioritizing defense first.
“I make sure I’m defensive first, then offense will come,” Hamblet said. “The best thing I’ve learned is to continue that. If you can’t break out of the defensive zone, how will you ever be able to score? I take a lot of pride in being able to not get scored on when I’m on the ice.”
His skills helped him end up at Rivers, just a 30-minute drive from his hometown. Hamblet totaled eight points his freshman year, but his endurance on the ice earned him plenty of minutes and experience.
Hamblet always has been a good teammate and hard worker, and that led to him being named captain for his senior year.
“That was awesome. I took a lot of pride in it,” Hamblet said. “I wanted to let the team know I’m there for anybody and I’m going to go out there and try to do my job and hopefully carry the team.”
Added McEachern, “He gets after it. He’s a super competitive kid and he’s got a great engine. Everybody had a lot of respect for him because he’s so competitive and would do anything to help the team win.”
Hamblet went to Rivers not knowing much about McEachern or his career. The forward left the prep school appreciative of how the former NHLer brought the best out in everybody.
McEachern loves breaking down video, so after every game he would send the team links to individual videos to help players improve.
“He’s definitely furthered my career. When I was there he demanded every single day to give it your all,” Hamblet said. “Even in practice he knew you can’t take it easy in and expect to go out and perform. You have to focus on every small detail in practice and it will transfer over to games. He was awesome with that.”
In four years in the NEPSAC, Hamblet scored 42 goals and 57 assists, including 40 points his senior year. Soderquist regularly recruits in the prep league, and Hamblet’s strong senior year helped him stand out to the Bentley staff.
“Toward the second half of his senior year, he started to take his game to another level,” Soderquist said. “We definitely thought he was a guy that could skate. He was a very competitive 200-foot player who played in all zones.”
There were plenty of reasons for Hamblet to choose the Falcons. Bentley is a great business school, and Hamblet’s mother is a successful businesswoman. He wants to follow in her footsteps in case hockey doesn’t work out.
Other than being close to home, Bentley was planning for a new hockey arena on campus. The team was playing at a town rink in Watertown but unveiled a state-of-the-art facility last season.
While Boston College and Boston University often lead local schools in recruiting, Bentley was the perfect match for Hamblet.
“The new arena definitely was a big sell for me,” Hamblet said. “I started talking to Bentley. They showed me the plans for the rink. Every part about it was incredible.”
Most Division 1-bound skaters spend a year or two playing with a junior team to get acclimated to the faster, more physical college game. Hamblet is an exception. Though he spent two summers playing for the Cape Cod Whalers of the MHSL, the forward skipped out on a year of juniors and joined the Falcons as an 18-year-old. Even as a sophomore, he’s the second-youngest skater on the team.
Hamblet’s durability and high motor on the ice convinced Soderquist that he can step right in as a true freshman.
“He wasn’t interested in playing juniors,” Soderquist said. “He knew coming in there was going to be an adjustment period his freshmen year, and he handled the transition pretty quickly.”
Hamblet played in 35 games last season, totaling a goal and six assists. During the offseason, he worked on bulking up and getting stronger to keep up with the grown men on the ice. The sophomore also worked a lot on quickening his shot, and it’s shown so far. Hamblet has three goals in the first half the year.
“A quick release is important — less time and space to get your shot off,” Soderquist said. “He did a good job over the summer in terms of his release.”
Hamblet’s on-ice improvement is synchronized with the Falcons’ rise as a program. The new arena has drawn the interest of local prospects, and Bentley is recruiting better in its backyard as a result. The coaching staff also recruited its first-ever NHL draft pick in Jakob Novak, who went to the Ottawa Senators in the seventh round of the 2018 draft.
Earlier this season, the Falcons defeated the Boston College Eagles, 4-2. Hamblet and teammates are excited to be competing with the region’s best.
“We were at the bottom, now we’re on the rise,” Hamblet said. “As a team, we all thought we were overlooked at some point in time. Now we’re at Bentley and think we can beat BC, beat all these top-notch teams. We feel like we’re there.”
That’s thanks partly to the efforts of Hamblet, who continues to impress McEachern.
“It’s pretty impressive because he’s a true sophomore. Not many kids go into college and play right away,” McEachern said. “He’s prepared because he puts the time in on the ice. He plays a really strong game, always plays through people, has a real good shot. Guys like him, they’re great to have on your team because they compete so hard.”
