Oilers' Hamblin remembering his mom on Hockey Fights Cancer night
The last couple of weeks have been emotional for Edmonton Oilers forward James Hamblin.
Since being called up to the team in early November, the 24-year-old undrafted player has scored the first two NHL goals of his career and had the spotlight on him after an emotional celebration honouring his late mom.
With the Oilers prepared to take against the Vegas Golden Knights on Hockey Fights Cancer night at Rogers Place, those emotions will be as raw as ever.
Hamblin lost his mom Gina in 2017 after a battle with cancer. In the moments after he scored his first NHL goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, he tapped his heart, pointed to the sky, and yelled, “That’s for you, Mom!”
A special moment & a special celebration for James Hamblin.
"That's for you, mom."
š„¹š„¹š„¹ pic.twitter.com/GH9u8rLmH3
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 18, 2023
In a pre-game interview ahead of Tuesday night’s game, Hamblin told his mother’s story.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve pulled from my mom is her work ethic,” Hamblin told reporters. “She started as a truck driver, she took over from my grandpa when he got sick, and she worked her way up, all the way to being a high position in Petro Canada and Suncor Energy.
“She could have gone further too, but she would have had to move to Toronto, and it was better for me to stay here, so she made a sacrifice in her own personal career for me.”
"I think the biggest thing I pulled from my mom is her work ethic."
James Hamblin shares more about his mother & talks about his first two @NHL goals ahead of #HockeyFightsCancer night at @RogersPlace. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/PQAH7Eg6SP
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 28, 2023
Hamblin says that even as his mother fell ill, she never let it affect her determination and her will to support his career.
“While she was sick, while she was going through everything, she really didn’t show she was going through it,” Hamblin went on. “She made every attempt she could to be at every game that I was playing, wherever that was, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, it didn’t matter, she was in the car driving with my dad.”
A quick look at Hamblin’s hockey career shows you he wasn’t kidding when he said he inherited his mother’s work ethic. An undrafted player, the Edmonton native grinded in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers for five seasons before turning pro with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors during the 2020-21 season.
He spent two seasons playing there before he caught the attention of the Oilers, who signed Hamblin to a two-year entry-level contract in March 2022.
As Hamblin prepares to step out on the ice tonight, he will have his mom and all that she did for him at the front of his mind.
“I thank her a lot for all that support.”