WILMINGTON – What will Dougie Hamilton’s catchphrase be?

A couple years ago, Tyler Seguin’s was, “If I make the team.” That was a pretty good one, and Seguin got a lot out of mileage (a good four months, anyway) out of it. Now Hamilton needs to come up with one. He’s a smart kid -- 2010-11’s OHL Scholastic Player of the Year -- so he should be able to come up with something good.

Hamilton needs a go-to line this summer and fall, as his OHL dominance and perceived NHL-readiness means he’ll be talking about potentially playing in the National Hockey League this season a lot over the next few months. Things started earlier this week when Hamilton’s OHL coach, Marty Williamson, said that the Niagara IceDogs do not expect him back this year, because they’re assuming the star defenseman and 2010 ninth overall pick will play in the NHL season. On Thursday, Hamilton was in town for development camp and was asked multiple times whether he thinks he’ll stay in Boston or return to junior puck. 

“It's up to the Bruins,” Hamilton said. “I just want to [give] myself the best opportunity to be able to do it. I'm just working as hard as I can.”

Hamilton isn’t the only one hopeful that he’ll make the team this year. GM Peter Chiarelli said last December that the Bruins expect Hamilton him to be a serious candidate for a job this season. Given that he’s 19 years old, he would not be eligible for the AHL and would have to be returned to Niagara if he doesn’t make the Bruins. 

He wants to make the team, and the Bruins seem to be leaving room for him. Though the B’s stress each year that players don’t make the team in development camp, it seems clear that both the hope and the plan is for Hamilton to be in the NHL next season.

“He’s ready for the next challenge,” Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said Thursday. “Hopefully, he continues to progress, because that position is not the easiest thing in the world to learn at the NHL level. We’re hopeful that he can come in and establish himself, but it’s up to him. Nobody gives him anything, but hopefully he can come in and make the next step.”

After being returned to the IceDogs following a short stay in Bruins’ training camp last September, Hamilton treated the OHL like his personal playground. Though he missed a combined 18 games between World Juniors and a 10-game suspension, Hamilton -- who, just as a reminder, is a defenseman -- put up 17 goals and 55 assists for 72 points in 50 games. 

Williamson said he observed a smarter Hamilton on the ice who used his body more to his advantage. While Hamilton wouldn’t admit that he had an easy time last season in Niagara, he did agree with some of his (former?) coach’s points.

“I think with the extra little confidence and strength and stuff like that, I kind of was able to push guys around a little bit or use that in my game,” Hamilton said Thursday. “It's something that maybe as a rookie coming into the OHL, maybe it's a little bit tougher when guys are heavier than you. That part develops in your game. 

“I think everything too, with offense and stuff like that. Our power play was pretty good. It's fun to move the puck around there, jump in the rush and pass it to the forwards. I guess just contributing everywhere and trying to be the best player in all areas.”

The 6-foot-5 Hamilton has continued to improve on the ice, but one of the biggest factors (if not the biggest) worth monitoring as he tries to make the NHL is his weight. He clearly had a ways to go last year (he began the OHL season at 193 pounds) but Hamilton finished the OHL season at 198 pounds. Though still rather lanky, Hamilton says that he weighs anywhere between 200 and 205 pounds “depending on the scale.” His goal is to be 205 pounds “on a bad day” for training camp, and the Bruins are confident that with more time off the ice this summer, Hamilton will be able to get where he needs to be for September. 

“There’s no question he’s added some weight and some overall strength,” Sweeney said. “Where he’ll be in September is far from where he is now. You can imagine, he had a long year and hasn’t had the ability to add a lot of weight. You don’t want to be doing that in a short span, anyway. You want to be doing that incrementally, so between now and September I would suspect he’ll be bigger and stronger. I don’t think it’s a physical aspect of his game that we’re concerned about.”

Said Hamilton: “I'll probably get a little bit stronger. I think I'm [well] ahead of where I was at this point last year. For me, it's just to keep my speed and stuff like that and just get stronger. I don't want to get too bulky and then slow. It's not really just about putting on weight. I think I've got to get stronger and put on the weight that way.”

While Hamilton is taking a Seguin-like route in carefully not declaring himself ready or a good bet to make the team, he does believe he has something to offer the Bruins. Between last year’s training camp and the World Juniors, he feels he has enough experience in elevated competition to prepare him for the next step. 

“I'm big and I can skate,” Hamilton said. “I think I'm pretty smart, too. Just moving the puck, getting the puck out. I think it's pretty similar to what I did in World Juniors. When the game speeds up, you've got to move the puck quick and make the right decisions.”