Zach Hamill/Photo Courtesy: Providence Bruins

The Boston Bruins selected Zach 8th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the team's AHL affiliate Providence Bruins at the end of the 2007 season, then remained in Providence for the 2008-2009 season, which saw the P-Bruins advance to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, only to lose to the eventual Cup winners, the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals' AHL team). According to an article posted this week on the Boson Globe's website, the Bruins are counting on a healthy Hamill to "help lead the way for younger prospects." It's a role Zach is more than ready to take on.

I had the chance to catch up to Zach not too long ago. We chatted about a lot of things, including the P-Bruins' seemingly improbable playoff run, the player he patterns his style after, his transition from billet family to bachelor living, and the one seemingly innocent question he refuses to answer.

KING 5: Tell us about the post season. You guys went pretty far in the playoffs.
ZH: We had a young team in Providence and went pretty far, a lot farther than people expected us to go but all in all we had a pretty good, consistent year for the whole team. A lot of people expected us to lose to Portland in the in the first round, but we beat them in 5 and lost to a pretty good Hershey team. (Note: the Hershey Bears went on to win the Calder Cup)

KING 5: Once you got past the first round, there were a bunch of people here thinking you could get past Hershey, but they just seemed to be really strong this year.
ZH: They had a pretty good team - a lot of veteran guys and guys who've been there (the playoffs) before. They kind of had everything there. We won Game 1 and they kinda took over, but fortunately, we've gotten the experience of going that far. Hershey's a pretty good team and they deserved to win.

KING 5: How was your transition from Everett to Providence?
ZH: It was pretty different, actually. Obviously, the hockey's different. The guys I'm playing against are men, 25-30 year olds and (me) being a 20 year old, but also living on your own and cooking for yourself. The first couple of months, you've gotta get used to it but as time goes on, you get better at it and get used to doing it every day.

Photo Courtesy: Providence Bruins

KING 5: So, did you get used to living by yourself?
ZH: At first, it was a little bit of a struggle. You kind of look to older guys to tell you what to do and how to do it, but as the year goes on, you kinda get used to it and know what to do. Not only do you do it but you get better at it.

KING 5: It seems like when you start as a young kid to where you are now, it's like you're making transitions: like going to the WHL where you're living with a billet family. You're kind of starting to get a little bit of independence and then making that transition to where you are now and then up into the NHL where you're hopefully fully developed, in all ways.
ZH: Yeah, you leave home at 15 to go live with a billet family and that's quite a transition and then when you're 20 years old, you go away and live by yourself so it's a different transition but as you get older and more mature, the better you get at it. Both were different situations but both were tough at the same time.

KING 5: Let's go way back now. How old were you when you first started skating and why did you decide to get into hockey?
ZH: I was three years old when I started skating and I mostly got into hockey because my brother and my dad. I followed my brother while he played. Wherever he was going, I'd be right beside him, just following him around. He plays university hockey in St. Louis right now. (Note: Zach's brother Carson is a sophomore at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. He plays forward on the school's Division I hockey team)

Photo: Frank Deines III/Everett Silvertips

KING 5: You were drafted 3rd overall by the Silvertips in 2003. What was your transition like from Port Coquitlam to Everett?
ZH: It was a little different. I left home for the first time when I was 14-15 to go to Everett. Doug Soetaert (Silvertips VP/GM) drafted me and showed me the ropes a little bit when I was younger. I went up there for the playoffs when I was 15 and lived with billets for the first time for 2-3 months and for me that was a little bit of a transition because it was the first time I'd ever left home. But as the years went on: 16-17, 18-19, I definitely got used to it, and the families that I lived with were definitely a huge help.

KING 5: I interviewed Riley Armstrong (former Silvertip and Worcester Shark; just traded to Calgary Flames) not too long ago and he was talking about back when he played for Everett, was your rookie year. He was talking about how he remembered you as like this little kid. And then you came up and this past year, he's had a lot of fun playing against you at the AHL level.
ZH: When I came up for the playoffs, I was 15. I probably weighed about 150lbs. I wasn't very big. I remember guys always joking around about how small and young I looked, but as the years have gone on, I guess I like to think I've gotten bigger and more mature, but I don't know. (chuckles)

KING 5: I was reading one scouting report about you and the scout said at first there was some concern because you were smaller and that you've really grown into a good, solid, strong player.
ZH: Yeah, I'm not one of the biggest guys, but I think I have that hockey strength, that core strength that I need to play against the bigger guys. If you look at the NHL right now, the league's not overly big. I think there are guys that are small can dominate and get the job done.

KING 5: One of my favorite players to watch growing up is Joe Sakic and he's not that big and he's very, very good.
ZH: He's from lower mainland too and obviously a guy I grew up watching win Stanley Cups. He's not one of the biggest guys, but he's got that hockey strength, hockey smarts. I kind of pattern my game after him. I wanted to mimic what he was doing and how he played the game.

Photo: Frank Deines III/Everett Silvertips

KING 5: Another scouting report I read compared you to Sakic and to Chris Drury, so it's kind of interesting that you say you patterned yourself after Sakic.
ZH: Both of those guys played for the Avalanche when I was growing up and both guys are winners. They won a couple of Stanley Cups in the last 5 or 10 years. To be (mentioned) in the same sentence as them is something special for me.

KING 5: You were drafted 8th overall in 2007 (NHL Entry Draft). I interviewed Taylor Ellington during the regular season and he was talking about how he and his family spent draft day with you and your family. He talked about what it was like for him to be drafted. What was draft day like for you?
ZH: Draft day was pretty nerve-wracking, actually. I didn't really know where I was going. I was sitting in the rink with my family and friends and once 5th and 6th pick came, I started getting nervous. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to wait too long to hear my name. I had to wait until 8th pick. It was something special and probably one of the better days of my life.

KING 5: Do you remember your walk? Where were you sitting when they called you?
ZH: I was probably mid-lower bowl. To tell you the truth, the walk down was kind of a blur. I was pretty excited and then to get on stage and shake (NHL Commissioner) Gary Bettman's hand, shaking hands with guys from the Bruins organization, putting on the jersey, it's something you dream of as a kid.

KING 5: It just seems like it would be so surreal.
ZH: I grew up watching my brother and his friends. A couple of his buddies got drafted in the first round during his draft year. You grow up hoping to be that player and get that opportunity and fortunately, for me, it probably happened the way that it could have.

KING 5: Did you go to Bruins' camp after that or did you come back to Everett?
ZH: I went to Boston a week later and then I came back (to Everett) for the summer. Then I went to Russia, actually, for Team Canada and then I went to Bruins' camp and then back to Everett. So, it was kind of a long summer, a busy summer for me.

KING 5: You played on 3 Team Canada teams. The last year that you played, in Russia, how did you guys do?
ZH: It was a "super series" (an 8 game series). We went 7-0-1. (Four games in Russia, four in Canada).

KING 5: I don't know how you guys do it. I talked to a few other players who took time out to play for Team Canada in the World Juniors and then come back and finish out a season and then go right from WHL to AHL. Is there anything that prepares you for such quick turnarounds like that?
ZH: You get used to it. Having the WHL schedule of 72 games kind of prepares you for all the games and all the traveling you do. Getting used to that lifestyle is kind of the way you grow up. You dream about doing it. It's probably one of the better lifestyles in the world. Every day, you're going out and doing what you do, playing hockey as a job.

Photo: Frank Deines III/Everett Silvertips

KING 5: When you came to Everett, do you remember who helped you get your footing?
ZH: When I came up at 15 for the playoffs, I didn't know what to expect. There were so many guys, like Mitch Love, Riley Armstrong. I lived with Mark Kress for about 2 to 3 months at his billet house. Guys like that made it easy for me to live, especially leaving home for the first time. There were so many guys that helped me along the way and those three guys in particular, helped me pretty quick.

KING 5: Did you live with the same billet family all four years?
ZH: No, once I left high school, I changed billets.

KING 5: How important would you say a billet family is for you development?
ZH: It's great. I never really thought about how important they were until I started living on my own. You wish they were there to cook for you, clean for you and just have the family environment, which is nice. Once you start living on your own, (it seems) like you took advantage of it (living with billets).

KING 5: Who helped you get your footing when you got to Providence?
ZH: When I came up for the playoff run last year, there were a lot of guys, like Chris Collins and Tuukka Rask, who helped me out. There were so many guys on the team that were older. This year, there's Peter Schaefer, who took me under his wing and helped me out throughout the whole year. There are so many guys to thank, but those three in particular were huge.

KING 5: When you first got to Providence, did you live on your own immediately?
ZH: They tell you to find an apartment and give you a week to do it. I had to live on my own (without a roommate) just because I think it was better for me. I have my own personal space. We have a lot of guys in the same building. We all live kind of next door to each other.

KING 5: You played all four years in Everett. How do you think staying with one team helped you grow as a player?
ZH: I'm glad I stayed with one team my whole (WHL) career. When I was 19 and trade deadline came around, I heard my name floated around a little bit but I was glad I was able to stay with Everett for all my years. Doug Soetaert was there every year I was there. He was the guy that drafted me. He saw something in me. I don't think without him, I would be here right now.

KING 5: You had a pretty outstanding year in 2006-2007. (93 points, 32 goals, 61 assists). I'm looking at your numbers and you hover in the same place. You had that breakout year in 2006. 2007 was the same, with similar numbers. Does that make for an easier transition to the AHL or is the style of game so different that it doesn't matter how you did in your last year of the WHL?
ZH: I think you just want to get better as a complete player every year. I think, coming to the AHL, you have points in junior and when you come play pro it's a little different. Obviously, being a first year guy I had to learn the ropes and pay my dues a little bit, but at the same time, being a guy that likes to putting up points, it's something I want to do every year, but it doesn't happen so you always have your two-way game.

KING 5: You had the benefit of playing with a coach like Kevin Constantine in Everett. He has such a broad spectrum of coaching experience (NHL, WHL, USHL).
ZH: Kevin was huge for me. Without Kevin, I don't think I would have went where I did in the Draft, just him teaching me not only how to play the game, but how the game works, how to play both sides of the puck. In my opinion, he was kind of the reason why I am where I am right now. I owe a lot to him and the faith that he had in me from when I was 15 to when I was 19 so he was definitely a huge influence on me and probably one of the better coaches that I had growing up. He was a huge part of my junior experience. I owe a lot to him.

KING 5: When you played for the Silvertips, was there one person who was a "go-to" guy to kind of keep things loose?
ZH: There were a lot of guys, like Shane Harper, he's one of those guys who loves playing the game and has fun playing the game. He's quiet, but definitely a guy to go to if things need loosening up. He and (Zack) Dailey are among the funnier guys.

KING 5: Who was your favorite team to face off against in the WHL?
ZH: Probably Seattle. I remember at 16 having a couple of great games against those guys. There's a good rivalry and we played them so many times during the year. They're so close and it gets pretty good. Both teams' fans get pretty heated.

KING 5: Who do you like to play against in the AHL?
ZH: Probably Portland. I had one of my biggest nights against Portland this year so I'd probably say them.

KING 5: Now some fun questions. What's your favorite movie or type of movie?
ZH: Favorite movie is probably "Happy Gilmore". I like funny movies.

KING 5: Do you have a set pre-game meal?
ZH: I'd actually rather not say. I'd rather keep it to myself.

KING 5: Okay, how about this? Yes or No: Do you eat the same thing before every game?
ZH: Yes.

KING 5: What would you be doing if you weren't playing hockey?
ZH: I'd probably be doing absolutely nothing. (chuckles). No, I'd probably be doing something with broadcasting, with sports, like TSN or Sportscenter or something like that. That's something I'd love to do.

KING 5: What songs or bands help get you pumped up for a game?
ZH: Any Lil Wayne music.

KING 5: Would you say you prefer rap in the locker room, as opposed to rock or country?
ZH: Yes, probably more rap, or say like, U2 or something like that.

KING 5: What's the music like in the locker room in Providence?
ZH: There are a couple of guys that put their iPods on and sometimes if we don't get goals, those iPods get banned and they don't get to put theirs on anymore. Most of the older guys put their music on. It kind of goes by seniority, almost.

Photo Courtesy: Providence Bruins

KING 5: What happens if you're getting ready and they play country? (Zach can't stand country music) Is there a way for you to still focus on the game?
ZH: I'm fortunate. Not many guys want country before the game either, so that didn't happen very often. But if it happens, I'd probably suck it up, but fortunately for me it didn't happen.

KING 5: Tell me what it was like to play at Comcast Arena?
ZH: It's probably the best rink in the WHL. I don't think there's any debate or any argument. It's probably the best rink and the best fans. Any player on any team would tell you the exact same thing. They're probably the best fans in the league and the best overall rink. There's not even a lot of pro teams that can match that. The fans are the same as the rink, probably the best in the league.

Zach joins a majority of past and present Silvertips, as well as players from other WHL teams who rank Comcast Arena and Everett fans among the tops in any league. He's also working hard to give Providence, and hopefully Boston fans something to cheer about. A second-round playoff appearance in a season where expectations weren't too high for this young team seems a good way to start. Expect Zach to keep improving, using his size to his best advantage. Just don't play any country music near him before a game. And if you happen to see him eating his pre-game meal, don't tell me about it. Some secrets are better left intact.