The 1998–99 OHL season was the 19th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Brampton Battalion and the Mississauga IceDogs were added as expansion teams. The league realigned from three divisions into two conferences and four divisions. Brampton were placed in the Midwest division of the Western conference, and Mississauga were placed in the Central division of the Eastern conference. The OHL inaugurated four new trophies this season. The Holody Trophy was created for the regular season champion of the Midwest division. Two conference playoffs champions were created; the Bobby Orr Trophy for the Eastern conference, and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy for the Western conference. The fourth new trophy was the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, to be awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. Twenty teams each played sixty-eight games. The Belleville Bulls won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the London Knights.
Expansion
Brampton Battalion On December 3, 1996, the Brampton Battalion was granted an expansion franchise owned by Scott Abbott. The team began play in the 1998–99 season, playing in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Battalion's arena was the newly constructed Brampton Centre.
Brampton played in their first game on September 24, 1998, losing 5–1 to the Peterborough Petes on the road. Their first home game was on October 9, as the Battalion dropped a 5-1 decision to the Kitchener Rangers in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,800 at the Brampton Centre. After beginning the season with six losses, Brampton won their first game, defeating the Sudbury Wolves 5–4 on October 18.
Mississauga IceDogs On January 21, 1997, the Mississauga IceDogs was granted an expansion franchise which included former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry in their ownership group. The IceDogs began play in the 1998–99 season, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The IceDogs arena was the newly constructed Hershey Centre.
The IceDogs played in their first game on September 25, 1998, losing a road game to the Kingston Frontenacs by a score of 10–0. Mississauga began the season with an 11-game road trip, as the club lost each game. In their home opener on October 30, Mississauga recorded their first win in franchise history, defeating the Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4–3 in front of a sold out of 6,000 fans at the Hershey Centre.
Realignment With the Brampton Battalion and Mississauga IceDogs joining the Ontario Hockey League for the 1998–99 season, the league underwent a massive realignment in which two new conferences, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, were created. Within each conference was two five-team divisions. The playoff format changed that the top eight teams in each conference made the post-season.
Eastern Conference
East Division The East Division consisted of five teams that played in the division during the 1997-98 season. The teams were the Belleville Bulls, Kingston Frontenacs, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67's, and Peterborough Petes. The Toronto St. Michael's Majors left the division, joining the Central Division.
Central Division The Central Division underwent some major changes following the 1997-98 division. The Barrie Colts, North Bay Centennials and Sudbury Wolves remained in the division, however, the Guelph Storm, Kitchener Rangers, and Owen Sound Platers all left the division, joining the newly formed Midwest Division in the Western Conference. Joining the Central were the Toronto St. Michael's Majors from the East Division, and the expansion Mississauga IceDogs.
Western Conference
Midwest Division The Midwest Division was a newly created division in the Western Conference. Joining the division were the Guelph Storm, Kitchener Rangers and Owen Sound Platers from the Central Division, while the Erie Otters joined from the West Division. The expansion Brampton Battalion also joined the division.
West Division The West Division consisted of five teams that played in the division during the 1997-98 season. The teams were the London Knights, Plymouth Whalers, Sarnia Sting, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Windsor Spitfires. The Erie Otters left the division, joining the newly formed Midwest Division.
New Arena
Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre The Sarnia Sting moved from the Sarnia Arena to their new home, the Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre. The Sting defeated the Kitchener Rangers 5–2 in their first game at their new home on September 25, 1998, in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,635 fans.
Regular season Final standings Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
Eastern conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L T PTS GF GA 1 z-Barrie Colts Central 68 49 13 6 105 343 192 2 y-Ottawa 67's East 68 48 13 7 103 305 164 3 x-Belleville Bulls East 68 39 22 7 85 334 246 4 x-Oshawa Generals East 68 39 24 5 83 280 217 5 x-Peterborough Petes East 68 40 26 2 82 266 213 6 x-Sudbury Wolves Central 68 25 35 8 58 261 288 7 x-North Bay Centennials Central 68 22 40 6 50 215 248 8 x-Kingston Frontenacs East 68 22 42 4 48 240 320 9 Toronto St. Michael's Majors Central 68 20 42 6 46 214 316 10 Mississauga IceDogs Central 68 4 61 3 11 145 426
Western conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L T PTS GF GA 1 z-Plymouth Whalers West 68 51 13 4 106 313 162 2 x-Guelph Storm Midwest 68 44 22 2 90 300 218 3 x-Owen Sound Platers Midwest 68 39 24 5 83 312 293 4 x-Sarnia Sting West 68 37 25 6 80 279 216 5 x-London Knights West 68 34 30 4 72 260 217 6 x-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds West 68 31 29 8 70 244 242 7 x-Erie Otters Midwest 68 31 33 4 66 271 297 8 x-Windsor Spitfires West 68 23 39 6 52 203 294 9 Kitchener Rangers Midwest 68 23 39 6 52 205 257 10 Brampton Battalion Midwest 68 8 57 3 19 198 362
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMPeter SarnoSarnia Sting 68 37 93 130 49Norm MilleySudbury Wolves 68 52 68 120 47Sheldon KeefeToronto/Barrie 66 51 65 116 140Adam ColagiacomoPlymouth Whalers 67 40 68 108 89Mike FisherSudbury Wolves 68 41 65 106 55Daniel TkaczukBarrie Colts 58 43 62 105 58Harold DrukenPlymouth Whalers 60 58 45 103 34Kevin ColleyOshawa Generals 63 39 62 101 68Justin PapineauBelleville Bulls 68 52 47 99 28Ivan NovoseltsevSarnia Sting 68 57 39 96 45
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L T GA SO Sv% GAARobert HolsingerPlymouth Whalers 40 2252 28 10 0 78 5 0.924 2.08Levente SzuperOttawa 67's 32 1801 22 6 3 70 4 0.920 2.33Seamus KotykOttawa 67's 41 2314 26 7 4 92 5 0.915 2.39Brian FinleyBarrie Colts 52 3064 36 10 4 136 3 0.920 2.66Rob ZeppPlymouth Whalers 31 1663 19 3 4 76 3 0.907 2.74
Playoffs
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern conference quarterfinals
(1) Barrie Colts vs. (8) Kingston Frontenacs
(2) Ottawa 67's vs. (7) North Bay Centennials
(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (6) Sudbury Wolves
(4) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Peterborough Petes
Western conference quarterfinals
(1) Plymouth Whalers vs. (8) Windsor Spitfires
(2) Guelph Storm vs. (7) Erie Otters
(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (6) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
(4) Sarnia Sting vs. (5) London Knights
Conference semifinals
Eastern conference semifinals
(1) Barrie Colts vs. (4) Oshawa Generals
(2) Ottawa 67's vs. (3) Belleville Bulls
Western conference semifinals
(1) Plymouth Whalers vs. (5) London Knights
(2) Guelph Storm vs. (3) Owen Sound Platers
Conference finals
Eastern conference finals
(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals
Western conference finals
(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (5) London Knights
OHL finals
J. Ross Robertson cup finals
(E3) Belleville Bulls vs. (W5) London Knights
J. Ross Robertson Cup Champions Roster 1998-99 Belleville Bulls Goaltenders
Defencemen
Wingers
Centres
Coach: Lou Crawford General Manager: Robert Vaughan
Playoff scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMJustin PapineauBelleville Bulls 21 21 30 51 20Ryan ReadyBelleville Bulls 21 10 28 38 22Tom KostopoulosLondon Knights 25 19 16 35 32Richard PitirriLondon Knights 25 12 22 34 24Jonathan CheechooBelleville Bulls 21 15 15 30 27Krys BarchLondon Knights 25 9 17 26 15Chris KellyLondon Knights 25 9 17 26 22Jay LegaultLondon Knights 25 8 18 26 40Mike DombkiewiczOwen Sound Platers 16 3 22 25 22Glenn CrawfordBelleville Bulls 21 13 11 24 22
Playoff leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L GA SO Sv% GAASeamus KotykOttawa 67's 5 338 3 2 13 0 0.912 2.31J. F. PerrasErie Otters 5 245 1 3 11 0 0.937 2.69Levente SzuperOttawa 67's 4 241 2 2 11 1 0.924 2.73Brian FinleyBarrie Colts 5 324 4 1 15 0 0.917 2.78Greg HewittSarnia Sting 5 323 1 4 15 0 0.939 2.79
All-Star teams
First team Daniel Tkaczuk, Centre, Barrie Colts Ryan Ready, Left Wing, Belleville Bulls Ivan Novoseltsev, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting Brian Campbell, Defence, Ottawa 67's Bryan Allen, Defence, Oshawa Generals Brian Finley, Goaltender, Barrie Colts Peter DeBoer, Coach, Plymouth Whalers
Second team Harold Druken, Centre, Plymouth Whalers Denis Shvidki, Left Wing, Barrie Colts Norm Milley, Right Wing, Sudbury Wolves Kevin Mitchell, Defence, Guelph Storm Martin Skoula, Defence, Barrie Colts Tyrone Garner, Goaltender, Oshawa Generals Lou Crawford, Coach, Belleville Bulls
Third team Peter Sarno, Centre, Sarnia Sting Jay Legault, Left Wing, London Knights Sheldon Keefe, Right Wing, Barrie Colts Nick Boynton, Defence, Ottawa 67's Nikos Tselios, Defence, Plymouth Whalers Seamus Kotyk, Goaltender, Ottawa 67's Dave Siciliano, Coach, Owen Sound Platers
Awards J. Ross Robertson Cup: Belleville BullsHamilton Spectator Trophy: Plymouth WhalersBobby Orr Trophy: Belleville BullsWayne Gretzky Trophy: London KnightsLeyden Trophy: Ottawa 67'sEmms Trophy: Barrie ColtsHolody Trophy: Guelph StormBumbacco Trophy: Plymouth WhalersRed Tilson Trophy: Brian Campbell, Ottawa 67'sEddie Powers Memorial Trophy: Peter Sarno, Sarnia StingMatt Leyden Trophy: Pete DeBoer, Plymouth WhalersJim Mahon Memorial Trophy: Norm Milley, Sudbury WolvesMax Kaminsky Trophy: Brian Campbell, Ottawa 67'sOHL Goaltender of the Year: Brian Finley, Barrie ColtsJack Ferguson Award: Jason Spezza, Mississauga IceDogsDave Pinkney Trophy: Robert Holsinger and Rob Zepp, Plymouth WhalersOHL Executive of the Year: Jeff Hunt, Ottawa 67'sEmms Family Award: Sheldon Keefe, Barrie ColtsF.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy: Levente Szuper, Ottawa 67'sOHL Humanitarian of the Year: Ryan McKie, Sudbury WolvesWilliam Hanley Trophy: Brian Campbell, Ottawa 67'sLeo Lalonde Memorial Trophy: Ryan Ready, Belleville BullsBobby Smith Trophy: Rob Zepp, Plymouth WhalersWayne Gretzky 99 Award: Justin Papineau, Belleville Bulls
1999 OHL Priority Selection On June 5, 1999, the OHL conducted the 1999 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the Brampton Centre for Sports & Entertainment in Brampton, Ontario. The Mississauga IceDogs held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Jason Spezza from the Brampton Battalion. Spezza was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1999 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.