Brantford owner of Niagara OHL team ‘stepping back from day-to-day operations’ following review

The Niagara Icedogs logo is seen in this undated handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

An Ontario Hockey League team will see some big changes as the league wraps up what they call a “comprehensive review.”

The league announced Wednesday the owner and governor of the Niagara IceDogs, Darren DeDobbelaer, would be stepping back from day-to-day operations of both the hockey and business sides of the organization.

In March, the OHL hired a Toronto law firm specializing in workplace law to conduct a cultural review of the team after several complaints were made about inappropriate behaviour from staff.

OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford told TSN’s Rick Westhead the concerns did not involve sexual or criminal activity.

DeDobbelaer bought the team from its former owners, Bill and Denise Burke, in 2022. When announcing the change, the league said DeDobbelaer would be listed as a majority owner while Wayne Gretzky would be a minority stakeholder.

Both DeDobbelaer and Gretzky are originally from Brantford.

DeDobbelaer is not the only person affected by the latest shakeup.

The team’s head coach, Ben Boudreau, was relieved of his duties and the contracts of assistant coaches Dan Paille and Marc Slawson will not be renewed. General Manager Wes Consorti will be also transitioning to a new role as an executive liaison between DeDobbelaer and the team’s operational leadership.

“While this season brought several challenges, our focus remains on building a positive and stable environment for our players, staff and fans. These changes are part of our commitment to ensuring long-term success both on and off the ice,” DeDobbelaer said.

The team plays out of St. Catharines, Ont.

A history of controversy

This is not the team’s first brush with OHL investigations.

In 2022, an investigation delved into allegedly offensive language used in a WhatsApp conversation between General Manager Joey Burke and Head Coach Billy Burke. They were both suspended. The team was owned by Joey and Billy’s parents at the time. The family and the team faced a combined fine of $150,000.

The Burkes then sold the team to the group that included DeDobbelaer and Gretzky in May 2022.

A year later, the IceDogs were fined by the league again and lost a first-round draft pick after two players, Joshua Rosenzweig and Landon Cato, participated in “serious violations of the Player Maltreatment Policy” and violated the OHL Code of Conduct. Rosenzweig and Cato received lifelong bans from the league. DeDobbelaer was also suspended from acting as the team’s general manager for two seasons after the OHL ruled he violated a confidentiality directive of the league during the process.