History of AHL Hockey in Hamilton, Ontario

On May 21, the New York Islanders, alongside Oak View Group, American Hockey League (AHL) President Scott Howson, and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwarth, officially unveiled the Hamilton Hammers in front of a packed crowd at TD Coliseum. 

The Hammers are the third AHL franchise to play at the renovated venue, going back to the first AHL run in the mid-90s.

Inspired by this landmark day of professional hockey in Hamilton, let’s take a historical look at AHL hockey in Hamilton.

Hamilton Canucks

The first AHL franchise in Hamilton was the Canucks. An affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, the team played from 1992 to 1994.

Originally owned by former New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs player Pat Hickey, Canadian Football League legend Bernie Faloney, and Dietrick Beer, the team posted mixed to poor results during its two-year tenure.

In their inaugural season, the team had the fourth-largest attendance in the AHL, averaging 4,773 fans per game. Led by Stephane Morin (31 goals and 85 points) and Bob Mason (20 wins), the team finished in last place in the South Division with a 29-45-6 record, but four points behind the Baltimore Skipjacks.

The team featured young talents Jiri Slegr, Michael Peca, Tim Taylor, and Garry Valk, as well as the veteran Rick Vaive, a former 50-goal scorer with the Maple Leafs.

Following the season, turmoil ensued off the ice. Faloney and Beer left the team and sold it to a group called “Double Hitch Enterprises”. Hickey remained as Owner and President, but was let go at the beginning of the 1993-94 season. In addition to the chaos, Double Hitch Enterprises ceased operations and entered receivership, leaving the team in the hands of the parent NHL club. 

Despite the off-ice hostility, the franchise greatly improved from its first year. Led by Morin (109 points), Jay Mazur (40 goals), and the emergence of second-year goaltender Mike Fountain (34-28-6, 3.61 goals against average/GAA), the Canucks finished second in the South Division with a 36-37-7 record, but lost in the Division Semifinals to the Cornwall Aces.

After the season ended, the AHL Canucks relocated to Syracuse for the 1994-95 season, thus ending the Canucks era in Hamilton.

Hamilton Bulldogs

Two seasons after the Canucks moved their primary farm team out of Hamilton, the Edmonton Oilers relocated their AHL affiliate from Cape Breton to Hamilton in May 1996.

During the summer, the AHL club ran a public contest to name the team. “Bulldogs” was the winning name, beating “Havoc”. 

In their first season (1996-97), the team finished third in the Canadian Division but had a remarkable playoff run. They outlasted the St. John Flames and St. John’s Maple Leafs to win their division, then defeated the Albany River Rats in the Northern Conference Final before ultimately losing in five games to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Final. The team featured future NHLers Greg de Vries and Georges Laraque.

In their existence as Edmonton’s top affiliate, the Bulldogs were a competitive team on the ice, but not so off the ice. The most difficult off-ice issue came to a head in 2000 as the franchise was on the verge of relocating to Houston. The “Stay Dogs Stay” campaign was launched and achieved its goal of keeping the team in Hamilton.

The following season, the franchise was in crisis again, this time with the possibility of relocating to Toronto. The “Stay Dogs Stay” campaign was renewed, successfully convincing the Montreal Canadiens to move their affiliate, the Quebec Citadelles, to Hamilton and securing a substantial investment from local businessmen, including Michael Andlauer, who took full ownership control in 2004.

Under the co-affiliation agreement between the Oilers and the Canadiens for one season, and with Claude Julien and Geoff Ward behind the bench, the Bulldogs posted their best-ever record of 49-19-8-4, finishing first in the AHL regular season. In the playoffs, Hamilton beat Syracuse, Manitoba, and Binghamton but lost in a hard-fought seven-game Calder Cup Final to the Houston Aeros. 

The Canadiens’ era spanned from 2003 to 2015, but they couldn’t match the consistency of their predecessor under the Montreal affiliation, qualifying for the playoffs just six times over 13 seasons. Their most notable season was 2006-07, when Don Lever’s team, featuring young future NHL star Carey Price, who joined late in the season, won the Calder Cup by defeating the Hershey Bears.

Despite a consistent attendance average, the organization continued to struggle to stabilize, prompting the Canadiens to purchase the AHL team from Andlauer in March 2015 and temporarily relocate it to St. John’s for two seasons before settling in Laval in 2017. 

Andlauer acquired the Belleville Bulls, relocated them to Hamilton, and rebranded the team as the Bulldogs for the 2015-16 season. Major-level hockey thrived in Hamilton until 2023, when the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team moved to Brantford.

Final Thoughts

Hamilton has a rich history in the AHL, with a dedicated fanbase regardless of NHL ties. The Bulldogs successfully engaged the community during their time in the Steel City, and the Hammers face the challenge of meeting the high expectations of fans still affected by the Bulldogs’ move to Brantford three years ago.