The top 15 scorers, two goaltenders and head coach from last year's OHL regular-season champions were plying their trade in other places when the Brantford Bulldogs started their 2026-27 campaign last month.
Rebuilding year, right? Not so fast.
After a disappointing Game 7 loss to the Barrie Colts in last year's Eastern Conference final, general manager Spencer Hyman went right back to work to try to give his family-owned team another shot to deliver winning hockey to one of the OHL's best fan bases.
Through a combination of under-the-radar signings, excellent draft selections and trades, the Bulldogs are off to a 7-1 start despite losing six NHL first-round picks from last year's squad.
"My main thought process was I want to be competitive every year," Hyman, the younger brother of Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman, said in a telephone interview this week.
"I'm in junior hockey, we don't have a salary cap where we're restricted like NHL teams are. So, really, with the college rule change and being able to recruit players that were typically never available to the CHL, it allows for that — having a competitive program and being able to attract potential free agents, whether they are Canadian or American. Now that we're open to every single junior hockey player, there are kids that are going to fall through the cracks of the draft and it's our job to identify them."
With the help of a couple of well-known men in the hockey world — vice president of hockey operations Gary Roberts and senior adviser Brian Burke — along with a very experienced head scout in Peter Goulet and others, Hyman, 32, has put together a team that has outscored opponents 40-20. Not bad for a squad that was 13th out of 20 teams in the OHL's season-opening power rankings.
Hyman and Goulet, one of the driving forces behind an improbable Kingston junior-A championship team in 2008-09, cut their management teeth in the tier II junior A ranks, where teams constantly have to reload after losing players to other levels. That experience has served them well in the new junior-hockey landscape, where the NCAA has opened the door for CHL players the past two years.
"In the OJHL, it was this concept every year," said Hyman, who ran a team in Markham, Ont., just north of his native Toronto. "You weren't just losing players to school, if we had an elite player in the OJHL and he was committed to play college hockey at, let's say, a Big Ten school, the USHL would steal him from us."
Hyman hired AHL San Diego assistant coach Michael Babcock, son of Oilers coach Mike Babcock, to replace Bulldogs bench boss Jay McKee after the former NHL defenceman got the top job with the New York Islanders' new AHL affiliate in nearby Hamilton.
As for the roster, Brantford now has 13 American-born players — a similar formula to what worked last year for the Penticton Vees, who advanced to the WHL semifinals in their expansion season, and the QMJHL runner-up Moncton Wildcats. Both those teams are run by new management groups in the CHL, just like the Hymans, who purchased the team in January 2025.
"From my perspective, I've had the mindset you have to be very proactive every year," Spencer Hyman said. "Because, at the end of the day, unless you're in the NHL, you're in a development league. And the point of development leagues is to move players on to the next level, whenever that may be. In junior hockey, that could be two years, three years, four years, every kid's different."
Four of the Bulldogs' top-10 scorers played in the USHL last season, including OHL-co-leading scorer and Florida native Jason Musa, 19.
The five-foot-eight Musa, undrafted in the OHL or NHL, was supposed to follow his two older brothers and play hockey at UMass this season. But when Jack Musa returned to school instead of signing with a pro team, there wasn't much of an opening for Jason with UMass (oldest brother Joey now is playing professionally in Italy).
After Jason Musa played the past two years with Cedar Rapids of the USHL in Iowa, his agent heard from several OHL teams this off-season. The winger said he had longtime OHL power London and Brantford as his finalists before choosing the latter.
"All of us battled against each other, that's also what helped us gel quickly together," Musa said of the heavy USHL contingent in Brantford. "We're enemies one day and now we're all brothers. It's cool to share stories with each other and talk about the past season, playing against each other and whatnot."
Hyman said Goulet — now in his 21st consecutive year working in Ontario junior hockey — watched Musa live multiple times in the USHL before the team made a hard recruiting pitch.
"My expectation for Jason was to be one of the best players in the league and one of the top scorers in the league," Hyman said of Musa, whose father, Joe, grew up in Massachusetts before raising his family in Florida, where he played minor-pro.
"It was just very clear watching how he played and being 19 years old and playing junior hockey prior, we expected him to transition into this league and do exactly what he's doing. Good on him for having a great summer and a great start, and he's got to keep it going."
Meanwhile, 2026 Bulldogs first-round pick (20th overall) and Michigan native Aiden Kelly is tied with Musa with 14 points in eight games. 2025 first-round pick David Buchman, from Stittsville, Ont., is the team's top scorer on defence.
The team acquired a fourth player chosen in the first round of the 2025 OHL Draft on Thursday when Brantford shipped four draft picks to the Oshawa Generals for forward Sam Roberts, Gary's son.
In goal, the Bulldogs took six-foot-six Swede Vilmer Salen Forsberg (2.36 GAA in five games), a 2027 NHL Draft prospect, in the import draft, and traded with the Ottawa 67's for the rights to Chase Petrova (2.34 GAA in three games), who played at St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Ont., last season.
"Obviously, it's early. We can't jump the gun," said Musa, whose team opens a five-game homestand Saturday against the Kingston Frontenacs.
"We've been working on staying even-keel, not get too high, not get too low. But I think we'll keep getting better. We have a hell of a team."
With a new arena coming in 2028 to replace the aging Madhouse on Market (officially named the TD Civic Centre), the Bulldogs will have another great recruiting tool. The team from Wayne Gretzky's hometown plans to bid for the 2030 Memorial Cup, the OHL's next hosting opportunity after Guelph won the rights for 2027.
Based on how things are going this season, it would surprise no one if the Bulldogs have a strong on-ice product for their bid.
"We're, obviously, very fortunate we're getting a new arena," Hyman said. "It's going to be beautiful, it's going to be an NHL-like pro facility. I think it will definitely enhance our ability to recruit. But I always believe it's really the people, not the place. If you have a warm environment and people that really care about you, you'll have success."
Games to watch
Owen Sound Attack (2-4) at Guelph Storm (4-2), Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET
First game of a home-and-home series featuring a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs 2025 draft picks: Guelph's Tyler Hopkins and Owen Sound's Harry Nansi.
Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) at Minnesota State Mavericks (0-0), Friday, 8:07 p.m. ET / 7:07 p.m. CT
After giving up just two goals in two games against Robert Morris to open the season, the reigning NCAA runner-up Badgers should face a tougher test against 19th-ranked Minnesota State in a two-game set. The two teams played to a pair of ties last year.
Cape Breton Eagles (2-1-3) at Quebec Remparts (5-1-0), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Two expected QMJHL title contenders square off. 2027 NHL Draft first-round prospects Carter Meyer and James Scantlebury each have nine points in six games for Quebec.
Victoria Royals (3-1) at Medicine Hat Tigers (4-1), Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT
This game features two expected WHL title contenders. Twin brothers Markus and Liam Ruck have combined for eight points in three games for Medicine Hat since returning from Pittsburgh Penguins camp.
