The Brantford Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2023–24 season. Based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at TD Civic Centre.
The franchise was founded in 1981 as the Belleville Bulls, playing in Belleville, Ontario for 34 years before being purchased by owner Michael Andlauer in March 2015 and relocated to Hamilton. After playing for eight seasons in Hamilton, Ontario as the Hamilton Bulldogs, the team relocated to Brantford for the 2023–24 OHL season; though the move was initially temporary because of ongoing renovations at FirstOntario Centre, Zach Hyman and family purchased the Bulldogs in January 2025, with the team signing a long-term lease with Brantford and making the relocation permanent.
History In February 2023, due to upcoming renovations to the FirstOntario Centre, the Hamilton 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 season. The Civic Centre will also be undergoing over $9 million in renovations, funded by both the Bulldogs and the City of Brantford.
In January 2025, National Hockey League player Zach Hyman and his family purchased the Bulldogs from Michael Andlauer, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Brantford for the Bulldogs to play at a proposed sports complex in Brantford for 15 years, making the relocation to Brantford permanent.
On May 29, 2026, it was announced that head coach Jay McKee would be leaving the Bulldogs to be the inaugural head coach of the Hamilton Hammers in the American Hockey League. Shortly thereafter, Michael Babcock was introduced as the Bulldogs' new head coach.
Coaches 2023–2026, Jay McKee 2026–present, Michael Babcock
General managers 2023–2025, Matt Turek 2025–present, Spencer Hyman
Players Team captains Lawson Sherk (2023–24) Patrick Thomas (2024–25) Jake O'Brien (2025–26)
Notable players
Adam Benák Nick Lardis Ryerson Leenders Jett Luchanko Jake O'Brien Marek Vanacker Florian Xhekaj
NHL first-round draft picks 2024: Adam Jiříček, 16th overall, St. Louis Blues 2024: Marek Vanacker, 27th overall, Chicago Blackhawks 2025: Jake O'Brien, 8th overall, Seattle Kraken 2026: Caleb Malhotra, 3rd overall, Vancouver Canucks
Season-by-season results Regular season and playoffs results:
Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SL = Shoot-out losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Memorial Cup championsOHL championsOHL finalists
Season Regular season Playoffs Finish2023–2468 37 20 9 2 85 .625 267 243 2nd EastLost conference quarterfinals (Ottawa 67's) 4–22024–2568 44 19 5 0 93 .684 281 221 1st EastWon conference quarterfinals (North Bay Battalion) 4–1 inLost conference semifinals (Oshawa Generals) 4–22025–2668 48 10 8 2 106 .779 296 190 1st EastWon conference quarterfinals (Sudbury Wolves) 4–0 Won conference semifinals (North Bay Battalion) 4–0Lost conference finals (Barrie Colts) 4–3
See also List of ice hockey teams in Ontario
References
External links