from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

Consider: Hamilton leads all Bruins this season in average ice time with 22:29 per game. In the four games that Chara has been absent the Black-and-Gold production line, Hamilton has clocked an average of 24:40, a stout 5:34 more than what the former first-round draft pick (No. 9 overall, 2011) averaged all last season. The gangly, wide-eyed, slick-skating Hamilton is no longer the wunderkind in waiting, but rather an essential element to the Bruins remaining among the league’s elite franchises.

“I think you are going to see someone who probably recognizes that he can rush the puck because of his size and skating ability — he can rush it at will,’’ said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, pondering what could be Hamilton’s career trajectory. “Because of his sense for the game, he will be able to pick his spots, a guy who can control the puck.’’

Such commodities are rare in today’s game. The Bruins haven’t had a true wheeler-dealer with the puck since Ray Bourque’s days, which came to a bittersweet end on Causeway in March 2000. Hamilton doesn’t have Bourque’s bulky build or his breadth of game, but he has a growing command of skating and puck-moving skills that he’ll now have to augment with stout defense during Chara’s 4-6-week absence.

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