Brantford Bulldogs
City	Brantford, Ontario
League	Ontario Hockey League
Conference	Eastern Conference
Division	East
Founded	1981
Operated	2015–present
Home arena	Brantford Civic Centre
Colours	Black, gold, white
General manager	Matt Turek
Head coach	Jay McKee
Affiliate	Hamilton Kilty B's
Franchise history
1981–2015	Belleville Bulls
2015–2023	Hamilton Bulldogs
2023–present	Brantford Bulldogs
Championships
Division titles	2 (2018, 2022)
Robertson Cups	2 (2018, 2022)

The Brantford Bulldogs, formerly the Hamilton Bulldogs, are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at Brantford Civic Centre. They were purchased by owner Michael Andlauer in March 2015 and relocated to Hamilton after 34 years in Belleville, Ontario, where they were known as the Bulls. The Bulldogs won OHL championships in 2018, and 2022.

The Bulldogs replaced the American Hockey League team of the same name, also formerly owned by Andlauer. The original team played in Hamilton from 1996 to 2015, after which they moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, to become the second incarnation of the St. John's IceCaps.

History

2015-18: Move to Hamilton and first OHL Championship

On March 12, 2015, Michael Andlauer announced that he had acquired the Belleville Bulls and that they would move into the FirstOntario Centre for the 2015–16 season as the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Hamilton Bulldogs which played in the American Hockey League had been sold to the Montreal Canadiens and moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, for the 2015–16 season. ^[1]

The first season in Hamilton saw the Bulldogs finish 9th overall in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the Oshawa Generals with a record of 25-35-8-0.

The 2016-17 season saw the Bulldogs qualify for the playoffs for the first time since moving to Hamilton, finishing 5th overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-27-4-4. They faced the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round, falling in 7 games.

2017-18 saw the teams' first division championship and J. Ross Robertson Cup, finishing with a record of 43-18-4-3, good for first in the Eastern Conference with 93 points. Rookie Arthur Kaliyev set the then-rookie record for points in team history (48), which ranked third among OHL rookies.

They faced the Ottawa 67's in the first round of the playoffs, winning in 5 games for the teams' first playoff series win in Hamilton. In the conference semi-finals, they went up against the Niagara IceDogs, also winning in 5 games, where they advanced to the conference finals against the Kingston Frontenacs, winning in 5 games and advancing to the OHL Championship Series. They faced the Western Conference and regular season champion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, winning in 6 games to clinch the teams' first J. Ross Robertson Cup and first OHL championship for the city of Hamilton since 1976.

The championship earned them a birth in the 2018 Memorial Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, where they finished 3rd in round robin play. This sent them to the tournament semi-final against the host Regina Pats, which they lost, 4-2.

2018-20: Post-First Championship

The 2018-19 season saw a regression in the teams' play, including the departure of head coach John Gruden who was hired by the New York Islanders as an assistant coach, with assistant coach Dave Matsos taking the helm. Despite this, now second-year player Arthur Kaliyev put up 51 goals that season, becoming the youngest player in OHL history to score more than 40 goals in a season. The team still managed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing 8th overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 29-34-3-2. In a rematch of their first round playoff series the year prior, the Bulldogs fell to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Ottawa 67's in a 4-game sweep.

Dave Mastos departed the team after the season, and was succeeded by Vince Laise for the 2019-20 season. This season, the teams' play didn't change much, but on March 4, 2020, coach Laise was fired by the team and replaced by Steve Staios on an interim basis. When the season was paused, and eventually cancelled due to the [[COVID-19 Pandemic], the Bulldogs had a record of 24-30-7-1, good enough for 7th in the Eastern Conference and would've had them qualify for the playoffs.

2021-Present: Second OHL Championship, Move to Brantford

When the OHL returned for the 2021-22 season, it ended up becoming the Bulldogs' best season to date in franchise history. With new coach, Jay McKee, along with a strong roster including Arber Xhekaj and Mason McTavish, the team finished with a record of 51-12-3-2 and 107 points, setting franchise records in terms of wins and points, winning the franchise's second division title and first Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the top regular season team, as well as going into the playoffs with 18 consecutive home ice victories.

In the first 3 rounds, the Bulldogs went 12-0, sweeping the Peterborough Petes in the first round, the Mississauga Steelheads in the conference semi-finals, and the North Bay Battalion in the conference final to clinch the teams' second Eastern Conference title. They soon faced the Windsor Spitfires for the OHL Championship, defeating them in 7 games for the franchises' second J. Ross Robertson Cup. Game 7 also set the record for the highest attended OHL Championship Series game, with 11,779 people.

In the 2022 Memorial Cup in St. John, New Brunswick, the Bulldogs finished 3rd in round-robin play. With them playing in tournament semi-final against the QMJHL Champion Shawinigan Cataractes, Jan Mysak deflected a shot from Nathan Staios at 10:08 of Overtime to win the game 4-3 and send the team to the final against the host Saint John Sea Dogs. They would ultimately lose in the final, 6-3.

The 2022-23 season saw a regression, but not a big one. In the season which would prove to be the last in Hamilton for at least 3 years, the team compiled a record of 33-30-5-0, placing them 6th in the Eastern Coference. They faced the Barrie Colts in the first round of the playoffs, with the first 4 games having the home team win every game, yet Barrie took the final 2 games to win the series in 6 games.

In February 2023, due to upcoming renovations to the FirstOntario Centre, the Bulldogs announced they would be temporarily relocating to the Brantford Civic Centre and renaming as the Brantford Bulldogs for at least three seasons, beginning in the 2023–24 OHL season. The Civic Centre will also be undergoing over $9 million in renovations, funded by both the Bulldogs and the City of Brantford. ^[2]

In the 2023-24 season, the first in Brantford, the Bulldogs were 1-5-1-0 in their first 7 games, but drastically improved as the season progressed to finish with a record of 37-20-9-2, putting them 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Rookie Jake O'Brien overtook Arthur Kaliyev's rookie franchise points record, putting up 64 points in 61 games, which also made him the highest scoring rookie in the OHL that season. Overage goaltender Matteo Drobac also set the franchise record for most wins by a Bulldogs goalie in franchise history (66) that season.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulldogs met up with the Ottawa 67's. Despite winning the first game, the 67's won 4 of the next 5 to upset the Bulldogs in 6 games.

Coaches

• 2015–2016, George Burnett
• 2016–2018, John Gruden
• 2018–2019, Dave Matsos
• 2019–2020, Vince Laise ^{[3] [4]}
• 2020, Steve Staios (interim)
• 2021–present, Jay McKee ^[5]

General managers

• 2015–2016, George Burnett
• 2016–2022, Steve Staios (6)
• 2022–present, Matt Turek

Team captains

Notable players

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Playoffs

• 2015–16: Did not qualify.
• 2016–17: Lost to Kingston Frontenacs 4-games-to-3 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2017–18: Defeated Ottawa 67's 4-games-to-1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Niagara IceDogs 4-games-to-1 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4-games-to-1 in conference finals.
  Won championship vs Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4-games-to-2.
  Third-place finish in 2018 Memorial Cup.
• 2018–19: Lost to Ottawa 67's 4-games-to-0 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2019–20: Playoffs cancelled
• 2020–21: Season cancelled
• 2021–22: Defeated Peterborough Petes 4-games-to-0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4-games-to-0 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated North Bay Battalion 4-games-to-0 in conference finals.
  Won championship vs Windsor Spitfires 4-games-to-3.
  Second-place finish in 2022 Memorial Cup.
• 2022–23: Lost to Barrie Colts 4-games-to-2 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2023-24: Lost to Ottawa 67's 4-games-to-2 in conference quarter-finals.

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in Ontario

References

External links

• Official website