The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at

FirstOntario Centre FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000. History Hamilton was lef ...

. They were purchased by owner Michael Andlauer in March 2015 and relocated to Hamilton after 34 years in Belleville, where they were known as the Bulls. The Bulldogs won OHL championships in 2018, and 2022. The Bulldogs replaced the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

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. In February 2023, due to upcoming renovations to the

, the Bulldogs announced they would be temporarily relocating to the

Brantford Civic Centre The Brantford Civic Centre is a 2,952-seat arena in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. It was built as a Canadian Centennial project in 1967. The Civic Centre is located in the downtown core, adjacent to Elements Casino Brantford. The Pittsburgh Pengu ...

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.

History

On March 12, 2015, Michael Andlauer announced that he had acquired the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario ...

and that they would move into the

for the 2015–16 season as the Hamilton Bulldogs. The

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

which played in the

had been sold to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

and moved to

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

, for the 2015–16 season.

Coaches

*2015–2016, George Burnett *2016–2018, John Gruden *2018–2019,

Dave Matsos Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

*2019–2020, Vince Laise *2020, Steve Staios (interim) *2021–present,

Jay McKee Jay McKee (born September 8, 1977) is a Canadian coach and former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, and was previously with the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues. Th ...

General managers

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

Notable alumni

* Nick Caamano * MacKenzie Entwistle *

Matt Luff Matt Luff (born May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Coming off a successful season with the Oakville Rangers Midget AAA, Luff split his time ...

Arthur Kaliyev Arthur Kaliyev (russian: Артур Калиев; born June 26, 2001) is an Uzbekistani-born American professional ice hockey forward for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 33rd overall by the Kings in the ...

Mason Marchment Mason Marchment (born June 18, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Despite not playing major junior hockey until the age of 19, Marchment was signed by the ...

Mason McTavish Mason McTavish (born January 30, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). McTavish was selected third overall by the Ducks in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He ...

* Christian Mieritz * Marian Studenic * Robert Thomas *

Arber Xhekaj Arber Xhekaj ( al, Arbër Xhekaj, pronounced , , born January 30, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur While playing minor hockey with the Hamil ...

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 The 2018 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team, round-robin format tournament that was held at Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 18–27, 2018. It was the 100th Memorial ...

. *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.

References

External links

* {{Ontario Sports 2015 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 2015 Ice hockey teams in Hamilton, Ontario Ontario Hockey League teams