Jared Hamm

When 17-year-old players make the jump to junior hockey they generally have to wait their turn for an opportunity to get a larger role with their new team and that is exactly what has happened to Jared Hamm with the Notre Dame Hounds.

Only with Hamm, the wait lasted less than a month.

Hamm, who will turn 18 at the end of November, had just two points in his first nine games with the Hounds to start the 2017-18 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season, but the Warman product has since settled in nicely having picked up five points in his last three outings.

Hamm’s production has coincided with the Hounds going on a four-game winning streak and allowed Notre Dame to move into top spot in the tightly contested Olympic Buildings Division race.

Hamm’s ability to contribute offensively shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, however, as the 5-foot-9, 175-pound centre was among the league leaders last season in his third year with the Beardy’s Blackhawks of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. Hamm, who was rewarded with his fine play by being named to the SMAAAHL’s second all-star team after posting 20 goals and 41 assists in 43 games, also got his first taste of junior hockey last year as he played in two regular-season games with the Hounds before dressing in seven post-season matches where he registered one goal and one assist.

In 127 games with Beardy’s, Hamm amassed 43 goals and 81 assists to average nearly a point-per-game and that successful stint with the Blackhawks followed a stellar bantam campaign when Hamm had 28 goals and 18 assists in 30 games with the Sask Valley Vipers.

The Hounds had some big shoes to fill this year with the departure of Adam Dawe and Ben Duperreault, but Hamm, given time, looks like he could help fill that void quite nicely.