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Brantford 99ers

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Brantford 99ers
CityBrantford, Ontario, Canada
LeagueOntario Junior Hockey League
DivisionWest
Founded1966
Home arenaWayne Gretzky Sports Centre
ColoursRed, black, white
     
General managerWilla Wang
Head coachMark Joslin
Websitehttps://brantford99ers.ojhl.ca/
Franchise history
1966–1971Milton Merchants
1971–1983Milton Flyers
1983–1986Milton Steamers
1986–2003Milton Merchants
2003–2018Milton Icehawks
2018–2024Brantford 99ers
2024–presentKing Rebellion
Championships
Playoff championshipsBuckland Trophy: 2 (1997, 1998)
Dudley Hewitt Cup: 1 (1998)
This article is about the Brantford OJHL team. For the GOJHL team, see Brantford Bandits.

The Brantford 99ers were a Junior A ice hockey team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League based in Brantford, Ontario. The 99ers have previously been known as the Milton Icehawks, Milton Merchants, Milton Flyers, and Milton Steamers as Milton hosted junior hockey from 1966 to 2018. After purchasing the team, Darren DeDobbelaer of Brantford moved the club to that city for the start of the 2018-19 season, re-branding the team as the 99ers. In 2023, DeDobbelaer sold the team. The team relocated to King, Ontario and became the King Rebellion in the 2024–24 OJHL season.

Brantford 99ers logo

History

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The Icehawks were one of the most historical teams in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, having been formed in 1964 until the team was purchased and moved to Brantford for the 2018-19 season.[1][2] The Icehawks (2003–2018) have previously been known as the Milton Flyers (1971-1983), Milton Steamers (1983-1986), and Milton Merchants (1966-1971, 1986-2003).

Early years

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After serving in the Second World War as a RCAF wireless air gunner, David Brush returned to Milton and managed the Fred Armstrong Arena on Brown Street for two years, before Milton had artificial ice. His dedication to hockey included coaching at the minor league level and founding the town’s first Junior C club, the Milton Merchants, in 1964 as co-owner and president, which later became Jr. B and eventually Jr. A. For his efforts Brush was inducted into the Milton Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.[3]

In the 1970s, Vern Gooding owned the local team when they were known as the Milton Flyers.[4]

In 1974, three players including the team captain and top scorer left the team mid season over an imposed curfew dispute. Two of the three players had had tryouts with OHL clubs, and all three were club veterans.[5]

Grant Turner, Mark Grenier, Howie Scannell, and John Morgan owned the Milton Steamers in the early 1980s. Morgan sold his stake in the club to Turner, prompting Scannell to announce that he was preparing to sell his stake as well. On April 10, 1986, Turner, Grenier and Scannell sold the Steamers to Brad Grant who owned trucking company Sandstone Transport.[6]

Grant era and championship successes

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Trucking magnate Brad Grant purchased the team in April 1986 when it seemed like the organization might fold. For the 1986-87 season, he immediately changed the team's name from the Steamers to the Merchants after the Junior C team of old, and brought in former coach Gerry Inglis, who had also coached the Georgetown Raiders and had won five intermediate championships at the time.[6]

Grant led the team to tremendous success in the late 1990s. During his 15-year ownership run, the team captured four division crowns, three league championships and a provincial title.[7]

In 1992, the Milton Merchants were Central Junior B Hockey League champions with a 4-2 victory in Game 7 over the Aurora Eagles.[8] They made the Ontario Hockey Association Sutherland Cup Junior B championship but lost in five games to the Mid-Western Junior B Hockey League's Kitchener Dutchmen.[9]

Following the 1992-93 season, the Merchants made the jump to Junior A in the OPJHL.

The 1994-95 season marked the beginning of a historical run for the franchise as the club won five straight division titles. The surge of success increased when the Merchants were crowned league champions in 1997, winning the Buckland Trophy after defeating the Newmarket 87's. In the 1997 Dudley Cup playoffs, the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) beat Milton four games to one.

In 1998, the Milton Merchants repeated their Buckland Trophy title, dispatching the Newmarket Hurricanes this time, and then went on to become Central Canadian Junior A Champions by winning the Dudley Hewitt Cup, defeating the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) four games to two, and exacting revenge for the previous year's loss to Rayside-Balfour.

At the 1998 Royal Bank Cup, the Milton Merchants went 1-3 in round robin play. In the semifinal game, Milton lost 6-2 to the South Surrey Eagles and were eliminated from the tournament.

In 2018, the Milton Sports Hall of Fame announced that it is inducting the 1996–97 and 1997-98 Merchants teams, and Brad Grant as a builder, during a ceremony in November.[10]

Forgione era

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In 2001, Grant sold the team to an Oakville trio that consisted of ex-NHLer Dave Gagner, Mario Forgione who owned the Mississauga IceDogs at the time and was an automotive parts manufacturing president, and wine distillery consultant Ken Chase.[11][12]

For the 2003-04 season, Forgione changed the team's name from the Merchants to the IceHawks to reflect the team's connection with the local minor hockey programs called the Winterhawks, and Forgione's ownership of the Mississauga IceDogs.[13] In 2005, the Ontario Hockey Association fined the Icehawks $12,000 and suspended then-General Manager George Dupont for signing two players outside of OHA guidelines.[14] In 2006, Forgione officially affiliated the Icehawks with the IceDogs.[15]

Heinz era

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In the spring of 2006, ex-NHL goaltender Rick Heinz' attempt to purchase the nearby Georgetown Raiders fell through, but by July 2006 the local Campbellville resident Heinz had talked Forgione into selling the Icehawks, and the affiliation with the IceDogs ended.[16] Heinz sold the team just nine months later after starting the season with essentially no committed players.[17]

DeVincentis and Piett era

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Dean Piett, a commercial real estate businessman from Burlington, and Rob DeVincentis, the Ancaster owner of a construction business, purchased the team from Heinz and owned the team from 2007 to 2017.[18]

Move to Brantford

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DeVincentis sold the team in 2017 to Darren DeDobbelaer of Brantford, whose son Eric played on the Junior B Brantford 99ers, which DeDobbelaer also owned. The Ontario Hockey Association originally blocked the $500,000 sale of the IceHawks to prevent DeDobbelaer from moving the team to Brantford, or promoting the 99ers to Jr. A and demoting the IceHawks in Milton to Jr. B. Complicating matters was the fact that Brad Grant who previously owned the team was OHA chairman at the time of the proposed sale.[19] The sale was ultimately approved on the condition that the IceHawks remain in Milton for the 2017–18 season. The team the announced that starting in the 2018–19 season the team would relocate to Brantford to play under the 99ers name with the OJHL's approval.[20] However, this move was denied by the Ontario Hockey Association, the overseeing organization for the Ontario Junior Hockey League, by refusing to send officials to their first game in Brantford on September 13[21] and the Icehawks were forced to stay in Milton for another season.[22]

On October 21, the OHA and OJHL announced the relocation of the team back to Brantford.[23]

New Ownership

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In 2023, DeDobbelaer sold the team to another buyer, marking the 2023/24 season starting under new ownership for the team.[citation needed]

Season-by-season results

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2018 - current
Brantford 99'ers
2018-19 54 17 30 2 5 154 226 41 5th of 6 West Div
10th of 11 NW Conf
19th of 22 OJHL		 DNQ
2019-20 53 28 24 0 1 191 180 57 5th of 6 West Div
8th of 11 NW Conf
16th of 22 OJHL		 Lost Conf Quarterfinals 0-4 (Blades)
2020-21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19
2021-22 54 21 29 1 3 159 203 46 5th of 5 West Div
8th of 10 NW Conf
16th of 21 OJHL		 DNQ
2022-23 54 5 46 1 2 107 282 13 10th of 10 NW Conf
21st of 21 OJHL		 DNQ
2023-24 56 26 26 0 4 165 204 56 8th of 12 West Conf
17th of 24 OJHL		 Lost Conf Quarterfinals 0-4 (Blues)

Sutherland Cup appearances

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1992: Kitchener Dutchmen defeated Milton Merchants 4-games-to-1

Notable alumni

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Many notable players have suited up for Milton over the years including NHL stars John Tavares, Daniel Carcillo, Rick Nash, Sam Gagner, Rich Peverley, Darren Haydar, Cody Goloubef and Matt Read.

Some famous Miltonians have also played for the franchise, including four-time Stanley Cup champion John Tonelli, AHL star Darren Haydar, two-time NCAA Frozen Four champion Boston College captain Matt Price, and his brother Jeremy Price (Vancouver Canucks' draft pick).

References

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  1. ^ "OJHL teams move cities, divisions & conferences - Quinte News". 10 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Milton Icehawks Jr. A Hockey Club | OJHL Milton Icehawks". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  3. ^ "Sports Hall of Fame". 28 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 4 Dec 1974, p. 5". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  5. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 30 Dec 1974, p. 5". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  6. ^ a b "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 16 Apr 1986, p. 9". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  7. ^ "Photo" (PDF). images.ourontario.ca.
  8. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 3 Apr 1992, p. 1". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  9. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 1 May 1992, p. 15". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  10. ^ "2018 class named for Milton Sports Hall of Fame induction". 27 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 15 Mar 2005, p. 17". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  12. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 22 Jun 2001, p. 22". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  13. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 17 Jun 2003, p. 21". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  14. ^ "Chatham News, Sports, Entertainment, Business, Life & Opinion | Chatham Daily News". Chathamdailynews.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  15. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 14 Mar 2006, p. 15". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  16. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 7 Jul 2006, p. 18". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  17. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 30 Mar 2007, p. 19". news.milton.halinet.on.ca.
  18. ^ "Photo" (PDF). images.ourontario.ca.
  19. ^ Newman, Mark (6 July 2017). "OHA decision ices bid to bring junior hockey back to the Mountain".
  20. ^ LeBlanc, Steve (16 August 2017). "Milton must support IceHawks to keep them, says new owner".
  21. ^ "OJHL POSTPONES TONIGHT'S GAME IN BRANTFORD". OJHL. 13 September 2018.
  22. ^ "OJHL Update". OJHL. 16 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Jr. A 99ers return to Brantford".

Further reading

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