Ottawa Senators Top 25 Under 25 2024, #16: Tomáš Hamara

The Czech defender moves up eight spots in the Top 25 Under 25 rankings

Last Year: 24, Reader Rank: 18

Tomáš Hamara was the Ottawa Senators' third selection in the 2022 draft, taken 87th overall in the 3rd round. Because of a thin system in the two years since he was drafted, he's probably got more attention than a prospect of his stature would normally get, but he's still someone worth following. After being ranked 24th last year, he jumps eight spots to get to 16th, and he has a real shot to make a name for himself as he will begin his first professional season in 2024-25 for Belleville.

Hamara was immediately signed to an entry-level contract in July 2022 after being drafted so that he could move from Tappara in Finland to playing for Kitchener in the OHL. That move has worked well for him so far as he even got to play one AHL game at the end of the season and has an outside shot at playing in some NHL games this season if he plays very well and some injuries occur.

He already played a little bit in a men's league in 2021-22 when he played 24 games in the Finnish Liiga, although the 2024-25 season in the AHL will be a brand new challenge. Hamara had a fine two seasons in the OHL where he played for Kitchener and Brantford, but because he didn't put up gaudy point totals, his prospect stock has never been very high outside of the Senators fanbase. He had just 17 points in 56 games in his draft+1 year and then 20 points in 44 games this past season, which is an improvement but still not very high.

Despite getting traded to the 3rd place in the Eastern Conference Brantford Bulldogs, Hamara was unable to play any of their seven playoff games due to a lower-body injury, which probably made them lose in the first round to the Ottawa 67's. In the early going after Hamara was dealt to Brantford, he was getting praised by the local media for stabilizing the Bulldogs' defense, so that is great to see. It's especially good to see because Hamara was stuck behind other Rangers defensemen like Hunter Brzustewicz and Senators prospect Matthew Andonovski, and he was much more comfortable with Jorian Donovan's (and Michael Andlauer's) Bulldogs.

Where Hamara also impressed was the 2024 World Juniors, as he was an assistant captain for Czechia and he put up two goals and five assists in nine games. However, he'll face much better and more experienced competition next season. The left-handed shot will be in the mix along with Jorian Donovan, Donovan Sebrango, Jeremy Davies, and Filip Roos on Belleville's left side defense, where he should be able to get a good amount of playing time with call-ups, injuries, and others playing on the right side at times. I expect it will be quite a jump for him and he will probably need a few AHL seasons before potentially being NHL-ready.

According to Byron Bader's model, Hamara has a 24% chance of becoming an NHLer and he has no comparables who have turned into full-timers, which aren't great odds, but as with any of these models, there are always outliers, especially amongst defensive defensemen. As a strong skater, he will always have a chance to prove himself.