Center Cam Hillis is heading overseas to Finland after playing his first four years of pro hockey in North America. The former third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens spent just over two seasons in the Canadiens systems, playing at all three levels, which included his NHL debut on New Year’s Day in 2022 against the Florida Panthers. Hillis would then be traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in October 2022 in exchange for Nicolas Beaudin, as he’s spent the past two seasons in the Blackhawks organization. In 65 career AHL games with the Laval Rocket, Rockford Ice Hogs, and Hartford Wolf Pack, he’s put up six goals and seven assists for 13 points. The 24-year-old’s best numbers have come in the ECHL, as he’s put up 37 goals and 85 assists for 122 points in 116 games with the Trois-Rivieres Lions and Indy Fuel, with the majority of his playing time coming with the Fuel. This past season, Hillis put up 18 goals and 43 assists for 61 points in 54 games and would be the Fuel’s representative at the ECHL All-Star Classic in Savannah.
Prior to going pro, Hillis spent three seasons at the OHL level with the Guelph Storm, where he put up 54 goals and 110 assists for 164 points in 155 games, including winning two OHL Championships with the Storm. The Oshawa, Ontario native put up 20 goals and 39 assists for 59 points in 60 games in his first year in Guelph, and those 39 assists would lead all rookies. Hillis is the third member of the Fuel to take the overseas route since the season ended, joining Matt Cairns and Ross MacDougall.
