Report: OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs to be sold to family of Zach Hyman

According to a report from Hamilton-area news outlet CHCH, Brantford Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer has sold the team to Zach Hyman and his family.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the deal is pending approval from the league’s board of governors, with an announcement expected on Monday.

Andlauer is the majority owner of the Ottawa Senators, having purchased the team in 2023. Andlauer purchased the Bulldogs in 2015, moving the team from Belleville to Hamilton after the relocation of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Under his ownership, the team won OHL championships in 2018 and 2022.

The Bulldogs relocated to nearby Brantford for the 2023-24 season due to renovations at the First Ontario Centre. The club has spent the past year and a half at the Brantford Civic Centre, with plans to build a new sports and entertainment venue in Hamilton.

Rumors have circulated for a while now of a proposed relocation of the AHL’s Belleville Senators to Hamilton. Andlauer told TSN’s Claire Hanna recently that the team in Belleville is “there to stay.”

Hyman spent two years playing junior hockey in the Hamilton area, which included a 42-goal, 102-point season with the OJHL’s Hamilton Red Wings (now Markham Royals). Stuart Hyman, Zach’s father, still owns the Royals.

Hyman is coming off two excellent seasons in Edmonton, which started with an 83-point campaign in 2022-23. He became a 50-goal scorer for the first time in 2023-24, scoring 54 times in the regular season en route to his first Stanley Cup final appearance. Hyman is tracking to finish with around 50 points this year after a slow start to the campaign.

The Bulldogs are set to take on the Peterborough Petes on Saturday night in their lone weekend game. The team sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 20-15-4 record, giving them 44 points – seven behind the conference-leading Niagara IceDogs.

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