James Hamblin makes a change with Oilers to honour his late mom

There will be plenty of Edmonton Oilers fans who are well aware of a particular aspect of James Hamblin's background and journey to the NHL. However, for those who aren't, he lost his mother to pancreatic cancer back in September of 2017.

While the memory of and love for this mom inspired him, Hamblin contemplated retirement from hockey after going undrafted in 2020. However, after much soul-searching, he decided to carry on and endure the adversity which has challenged him along the way.

The hard work finally began to pay off, when the 25-year-old made his NHL debut on Nov. 28 in 2022, versus the Florida Panthers. However, this would be superseded a year later, on Nov. 18 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

A truly special goal for Hamblin

Even though the Oilers lost 6-4, the game was notable for Hamblin scoring his first ever NHL goal. In what was an emotional and special moment, he tapped his heart three times, pointed to the skies and appeared to say "That’s for you mom".

The Edmonton native spoke to the media about the goal, after the game. He said: "I just pointed to the sky and my initial thoughts went straight to my mom. I’ve had that celebration in the bank for a few years now, so it was a weight off my shoulders to finally score the first one and like I said, my first thoughts were straight to her."

Now, as the Oilers continue their preparations for the 2024-25 season, Hamblin has again decided to pay tribute to his mom. This time, it involves changing his jersey number from 57 to 52.

The significance of this, is that Hamblin's mom was 52 years of age when she passed away. As per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, he said: "This number is a symbol I’ve used over the years as a reminder of my mum’s support and help, getting me to where I am, making me the person I am today. It’s also a symbol of how tough she was. If she can get through that with a smile on her face then I can get through a hard workout or a hard skate."

A tough task to make the Oilers roster

In this respect, the centre's quest to begin the coming season on the Oilers opening night roster will indeed be a tough one. Most current projections do not have him among the 12 (or indeed 13) forwards.

Not that there won't be opportunities for Hamblin to force his way into the lineup at some point this coming season, beginning with training camp. Aside from his excellent work ethic and energy, his forte as a penalty killer on special teams could prove to be an intangible.

The 2020 WHL East First All-Star is well aware this is one of the best ways to make a strong case for himself, along with his defensive game in general. He said: "I’ve always prided myself in penalty-killing in junior and through my time in Bakersfield. I think there’s an opportunity on the PK. I would like to prove to the coaching staff I can be a reliable guy doing that."

What may also help Hamblin's case is the two-year, two-way contract he signed in July, which has an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level. This could prove extremely useful for the Oilers who, at the time of writing have a cap space of just $945,833 for the 2024-25 campaign.

It will of course be a tough task in general for Hamblin to return to the Oilers roster, but at least they know what he's capable of after already playing 41 games for them over the past two seasons. Regardless, if anyone can make it happen, it's a man who continues to be motivated by his departed but never forgotten mom.

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