Report: Hamilton expected to land AHL team for 2026-27

A popular city in southern Ontario might be back in the pro hockey realm once again.

According to insider Frank Seravalli, the city of Hamilton is expected to get an American Hockey League franchise in time for the 2026-27 campaign.

Seravalli says the deal, which has yet to be finalized, will see the Bridgeport Islanders, the primary affiliate of the New York Islanders, relocate to Steeltown after the upcoming season.

The team would play in the newly renovated TD Coliseum. For the past year or so, the venue has undergone a multi-million-dollar facelift, led by Oak View Group, the group that helped kickstart the Seattle Kraken.

The revamping of the nearly 40-year-old building was a necessary move, as many of the facilities needed to be updated. Unfortunately, the construction required the arena to be shut down entirely, leading to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League, as well as the National Lacrosse League’s Toronto Rock, temporarily moving.

The Bulldogs ended up moving down the 403 to Brantford, with the expectation that the team would return to Hamilton once the arena was finished. However, the move became permanent in January of this year, when an ownership group, led by Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman, bought the team, making a deal that would keep the Bulldogs in Brantford for another four decades.

The movement of the Islanders seems to be a necessary one. Along with the on-ice product being subpar for much of the past decade, the team, formerly known as the Sound Tigers, has finished in the bottom third of the AHL in attendance. This past year, Bridgeport averaged 3,665 fans at Total Mortgage Arena, placing them 28th in the entire league. It was slightly up from the 3,167 average attendance the team posted in 2023-24.

Bridgeport has been the home of an AHL franchise since 2001.

The arena, initially known as Copps Coliseum, had been the home of top-end hockey for its entire history. From 1985 to 1991, the Steelhawks and Dukes of Hamilton of the OHL called the building home. From 1992 to 1994, it was the home of the Hamilton Canucks, then the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. A couple of years later, after the team moved to Syracuse, the Bulldogs were introduced, beginning a 20-year run that saw the team be affiliated with both the Oilers and Montreal Canadiens.

In 2015, the OHL’s Belleville Bulls relocated to Hamilton, maintaining the Bulldogs banner for seven seasons. The team won the league championship in 2018, the franchise’s lone trip to the Memorial Cup while in Hamilton.

The Coliseum was also home to the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups, along with the 1990 Memorial Cup.