Share on Facebook
Hamilton Bulldogs
2012–13 AHL season
Hamilton Bulldogs.svg
City Hamilton, Ontario
League American Hockey League
Conference Western Conference
Division North Division
Founded 1996
Home arena Copps Coliseum
Colours

Blue, Red, Copper, Tan, White

                        
Owner(s) Canada Michael Andlauer
Head coach Canada Sylvain Lefebvre
Media Hamilton Spectator
820 CHAM
TVA Sports
Affiliates Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Franchise history
1984–1988
1988–1996
Nova Scotia Oilers
Cape Breton Oilers
1996–2003
2003–2004
Hamilton Bulldogs
Toronto Roadrunners
2004–2005
2010–present Second Franchise
Edmonton Road Runners
Oklahoma City Barons
1969–1971
1971–1984
Montreal Voyageurs
Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1984–1990
1990–1999
Sherbrooke Canadiens
Fredericton Canadiens
1999–2002
2002–present
Quebec Citadelles
Hamilton Bulldogs
Championships
Regular season titles 1 (2002–03)
Division Championships 4 (2002–03, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2010–11)
Conference Championships 3 (1996–97, 2002–03, 2006–07)
Calder Cups 1 (2006–07)
Aaron Palushaj wearing the Bulldogs uniform during a game played at the Bell Center in Montreal

The Hamilton Bulldogs are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Hamilton, Ontario, at Copps Coliseum, nicknamed 'The Dog Pound'. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. The team has won the Calder Cup once in their history, in 2007.

Contents

History [edit]

The Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club was established in 1996 after re-locating from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where the team played several years as the Cape Breton Oilers. The team was nicknamed the "Bulldogs" after a lengthy name the team contest; and was determined to best suit the City of Hamilton. The name "Hamilton Havoc" was runner-up.

On the ice, the club has reached the Calder Cup Finals three times. Firstly in 1997, the club's first year, and again in 2003 only to lose in both cases. The 2003 game 7 final was played June 12, 2003, vs the Houston Aeros. The attendance at Copps Coliseum was 17,428, making it the largest playoff crowd in the history of the AHL (the record was since broken in 2005 in Philadelphia). Houston won the game 3–0 and the series 4–3. The Bulldogs finally won the Calder Cup Final in 2007 against the Hershey Bears. This series was a rematch of the 1997 Calder Cup Final which Hershey won 4 games to 1. The Bulldogs reversed that in 2007 - Hamilton 4 games to Hershey's 1.

Off the ice, the club faced turmoil in 2000 resulting in a "Stay Dogs Stay" campaign spearheaded by Don Robertson, Ron Burnstein, Nick Javor, and club President Cary Kaplan, aimed at keeping the franchise in Hamilton. The campaign was a financial success and resulted in the club remaining in the Steel City with a bolstered fan base and an improved lease with the City of Hamilton.

In spite of a franchise high in attendance in 2001, the Edmonton Oilers announced plans to move their AHL affiliation to Toronto. The same "Stay Dogs Stay" committee went back to work for the second consecutive year, and secured local interests who made a multi-million dollar investment to secure ownership of the Quebec Citadelles and relocate them to Hamilton thus keeping the Bulldogs in town. The achievement to preserve the franchise was a unique joint venture between the Montreal Canadiens, the Edmonton Oilers, the American Hockey League, and a local consortium of Hamilton owners, which allowed for a joint affiliation in 2002–2003 between Montreal and Edmonton as ownership changed hands. Fans voted to keep the Bulldogs name which won over the Hamilton Canadiens and Hamilton Habs.

In the summer of 2004, Burlington businessman Michael Andlauer purchased bought out much of the minority shares, to became majority owner, governor, and chairman of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Andlauer was part of the initial group of local business people, who purchased the club from the Edmonton Oilers in 2002. By 2011, Andlauer owned 100% of the franchise.

In 2010, fans saw the Bulldogs under coach Guy Boucher advance to the Western Conference finals against the Texas Stars only to lose a hard fought series in game seven.

Soon to start their 17th season, the Bulldogs are the longest serving non-NHL pro hockey franchise in Canada, the longest serving Canadian AHL franchise (a record it gained in 2010 previously held by the St. John's Maple Leafs, which played 14 seasons from 1991 to 2005), and one of its most successful franchises with over 2,500,000 fans to date.

Of the 30 AHL franchises, the Bulldogs are 7th in tenure (behind only Rochester, Hershey, Providence, Portland, Syracuse, and Springfield).

Franchise timelines [edit]

This market was previously served by:

List of timelines for the two separate franchises known as the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Edmonton Oilers AHL Affiliates

<>Edmonton Road Runners resurrected as the Oklahoma City Barons.

Montreal Canadiens AHL Affiliates

Season-by-season results [edit]

Players [edit]

Current roster [edit]

Updated April 22, 2013.[1]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
56 Canada Archambault, OlivierOlivier Archambault LW L 20 2011 Le Gardeur, Quebec ATO
47 Canada Belzile, AlexAlex Belzile RW R 21 2013 Saint-Eloi, Quebec PTO
10 Canada Chaput, StefanStefan Chaput C L 25 2012 Montreal, Quebec Bulldogs
25 Sweden Collberg, SebastianSebastian Collberg RW R 19 2012 Mariestad, Sweden PTO
3 Canada Corbin, AntoineAntoine Corbin D L 20 2012 Granby, Quebec Bulldogs
58 United States DeSantis, JasonJason DeSantis D R 27 2013 Oxford, Michigan Canadiens
44 Canada Ellis, MorganMorgan Ellis D R 21 2010 Summerside, Prince Edward Island Canadiens
57 United States Geoffrion, BlakeBlake Geoffrion C L 25 2012 Plantation, Florida Canadiens
50 Canada Gervais-Chouinard, JacobJacob Gervais-Chouinard G L 21 2013 Sherbrooke, Quebec ATO
15 Canada Hagel, KyleKyle Hagel LW L 28 2012 Hamilton, Ontario Bulldogs
37 Canada Holland, PatrickPatrick Holland RW R 21 2012 Lethbridge, Alberta Canadiens
53 Canada Hudon, CharlesCharles Hudon LW L 18 2012 Alma, Quebec ATO
24 United States Kristo, DannyDanny Kristo RW R 22 2008 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Canadiens
49 Canada Lefebvre, PhilippePhilippe Lefebvre LW L 22 2011 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec Canadiens
23 Finland Nattinen, JoonasJoonas Nattinen C R 22 2011 Jamsa, Finland Canadiens
13 United States Quailer, SteveSteve Quailer RW L 23 2008 Arvada, Colorado Canadiens
4 Canada Ross, AdamAdam Ross D L 26 2013 Red Deer, Alberta PTO
32 Canada St. Denis, FredericFrederic St. Denis (A) D L 27 2009 Greenfield Park, Quebec Canadiens
6 United States Stejskal, JoeJoe Stejskal D R 25 2011 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Canadiens
12 Canada Stortini, ZackZack Stortini RW R 27 2012 Elliot Lake, Ontario Bulldogs
11 Canada Tenute, JoeyJoey Tenute (A) C L 30 2013 Hamilton, Ontario Bulldogs
54 United States Vail, BradyBrady Vail C L 19 2013 Palm City, Florida ATO


Team captains [edit]

Notable NHL alumni [edit]

List of Hamilton Bulldogs alumni who played more than 100 games in Hamilton and 100 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Team records [edit]

Single season [edit]

Goals: Paul Healey, 39 (2000–01)
Assists: Daniel Cleary, 52 (1999–2000)
Points: David Desharnais, 78 (2009–10)
Penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 522 (1996–97)
GAA: Cedrick Desjardins, 2.00 (2009–10)
SV%: Steve Passmore (1998–99) & Jaroslav Halak (2007–08), .929
Points: 115 (2009–10)
Most Wins Overall: 52 (2009–10)
Most Wins at Home: 25
Most Wins on the Road: 27

Playoffs [edit]

Playoff goaltending wins (1 season): Carey Price, 15 (2006–2007)

Career [edit]

Career goals: Corey Locke, 85
Career assists: Corey Locke, 144
Career points: Corey Locke, 229
Career penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 817
Career goaltending wins: Yann Danis, 81
Career shutouts: Jaroslav Halak, 11
Career games: Alex Henry, 486

Head coaches [edit]

President/General Manager [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Hamilton Bulldogs 2012-13 Roster". Hamilton Bulldogs. Retrieved 2013-4-22. 

External links [edit]

Wikipedia content is licensed under the GNU Free Document License or Creative Commons CC-BY-SA
Loading...
Loading...
Top Videos
Latest Videos
Images Source: Flickr. Images licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

Here you can share your comments or contribute with more information, content, resources or links about this topic.