A former Cowichan Valley Capitals player led the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League in scoring for the 2017-18 season.
Playing for the Manchester Storm, Mike Hammond finished the season with 83 points in 56 games, edging out John Dunbar of the Guildford Flames by two points for the scoring title. Hammond’s 32 goals and 51 assists were also the third-highest totals in the league.
Hammond played two seasons with the Caps. He first joined the team a few weeks into the 2009-10 campaign after starting that season with the junior B Victoria Cougars, but still ended up leading the team in scoring with 68 points (27 goals and 41 assists) in 46 games.
He led the entire league in scoring the next season, finishing with 93 points (39 goals and 54 assists) in 57 games played. He had 66 points in 40 games with the Caps before a deadline-day trade to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
After aging out of junior, Hammond spent four years with Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, posting 130 points in 111 games, then played a year in the ECHL with Cincinnati and Brampton. This was Hammond’s second year in the EIHL after he put up 46 points in 43 games with the Braehead Clan in 2016-17.
Hammond was born in Brighton, England, but grew up in Victoria.
The Manchester Storm finished second in the EIHL, and will face the Fife Flyers in the first round of the playoffs, beginning this weekend. Hammond’s teammates of note in Manchester include Jay Rosehill, who played 117 NHL games with Toronto and Philadelphia, and Dane Byers, who played 14 NHL games with the New York Rangers and Columbus.