The Adirondack Phantoms announced Tuesday that they have re-signed forward Denis Hamel for the 2011-12 season.
Hamel joined the Phantoms in November 2010 and quickly became a fan favorite, leading the team in scoring with 25 goals and 50 points. It was Hamel’s ninth career AHL season with 20 or more goals.
Hamel ranks 16th all-time in AHL history with 315 goals and sits 43rd all-time in points with 605, and ranks 34th with 776 games over his 11 AHL seasons with Adirondack, Binghamton and Rochester.
The 34-year-old native of Lachute, Que., has also played in 192 NHL games with Buffalo, Ottawa, Atlanta and Philadelphia, scoring 19 goals and 31 points.
"Denis is an excellent professional for us and he has been really good with our younger players," said Phantoms head coach Joe Paterson. "Plus he also scored some huge goals for us to enable us to win some games."
Hamel was voted a First Team AHL All-Star in 2003-04 and has participated in three AHL All-Star Classics (2000, 2006, 2008). He earned a share of the Willie Marshall Award in 2005-06 after tying for the AHL lead with 56 goals, and captured the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the AHL’s Man of the Year in recognition of his community efforts in 2007-08.
