Jeff Hamilton played college hockey at Yale University from 1996 to 2001. In his final season (2000-01), he led his team with 55 points on 23 goals and 32 assists in 31 games. His outstanding performance earned him a top-ten nomination for the Hobey Baker Award. That same year, he was also named a First-Team All-American. He finished his collegiate career as Yale’s all-time leading scorer with 174 points in 127 games.

After college, Hamilton went on to have a professional career that included playing in the NHL and AHL. He was undrafted and signed with the New York Islanders, and also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The majority of his professional career was spent in the AHL, where he was a dominant scorer, winning the Willie Marshall Award in 2003-04 for leading the league in goals with 43. He also played in several European leagues, including in Finland, Russia, and Switzerland.