According to a report from CHCH News, the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Brantford Bulldogs have been sold to Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman and his family.
The current Ottawa Senators owner, Michael Andlauer, owned the team prior to this sale. Andlauer owned an American Hockey League (AHL) team called the Hamilton Bulldogs, which he ultimately sold the affiliation to the Montreal Canadiens, but purchased the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, and relocated and rebranded them as the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs while the AHL team became the St. John’s IceCaps.
After the rebranding and relocating of the Bulls, the Bulldogs remained in Hamilton for seven seasons, which included two OHL championships, one in 2018 and one in 2022. The team has since relocated to Brantford while keeping the Bulldogs team nickname.
While the sale is expected to be officially announced next week, this is big news for both the Hyman family and Andlauer.
Hyman grew up in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Toronto, and played for the Hamilton Red Wings of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) for three seasons., roughly a one-hour drive from where he grew up.
The Hyman family already has some very strong connections to the hockey world in southern Ontario. Zach’s father, Stuart Hyman, is the chairman and Governor of the Markham Royals of the OJHL, and one of Zach’s brothers, Spencer, is the assistant general manager and head coach of the club. Additionally, Stuart is the chairman of the OJHL.
For Andlauer, after his recent purchase of the Senators, he has a lot of work to put into the infrastructure of the team, which includes the development of a new arena. While no official deals have been made, Andlauer has been working alongside the National Capital Commission (NCC) in getting a new building in LeBreton Flats in the downtown area of Ottawa.
During a recent interview with TSN’s Claire Hanna, Andlauer commented on a recent rumor that the AHL’s Belleville Senators would move to Hamilton. He stated that the team is here to stay and that he had no plans for moving the team. Outside of that comment, he was fairly quiet on the AHL and OHL franchises, which makes perfect sense considering what he had been working on.
TSN’s Darren Dreger shared that the sale of the team to the Hyman family is pending Board approval, and is likely to be announced Monday, Jan. 13.
