Hockey fans in Hamilton have some big news to celebrate. On Thursday the New York Islanders and Oak View Group (OVG) announced plans to relocate the NHL team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Hamilton, Ont. for the 2026/2027 season. The plan still needs approval from the AHL’s board of governors. If approved, the team will play out of the 18,000-seat TD Coliseum, which is operated by OVG. “We are excited to make Hamilton our primary affiliate in the American Hockey League,” Mathieu Darche, general manager and executive vice president of the Islanders, said. “The support the city has shown our organization throughout this transition has been incredible. We look forward to having our top young talent play in front of such a strong fanbase inside the newly renovated, world-class TD Coliseum and we are committed to establishing ourselves in the community to engage a new generation of hockey fans.” Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath welcomed the news. “This is an exciting moment for Hamiltonians and a major step forward in building on the momentum we’re seeing in our downtown,” she said. “Bringing professional hockey back to TD Coliseum means more opportunities for families to come together and increased support for local businesses. It strengthens our city’s proud hockey tradition while creating new opportunities for young players and fans alike to connect with the game.” The team’s name and logo have not yet been announced. Prior to 2023, Hamilton hosted an Ontario Hockey League team, known as the Hamilton Bulldogs. The team had a loyal base of gold-and-black clad fans. However, in February of that year, the team announced plans to “temporarily” move to the City of Brantford while their home arena in Hamilton underwent renovations. That move later became permanent, and the Bulldogs signed a long-term deal for up to 40 years the would keep the team in the Telephone City. Bulldogs faithful respond to AHL plans “I’m actually pumped for the City of Hamilton, because they’ve been vying for something for a while,” Matt Allman chair of the Brantford Bulldogs Booster Club, said. While there’s excitement for the potential return of professional hockey to Hamilton, fans of the Brantford Bulldogs said it’s good news for them as well, because some worried the team would return to Hamilton once TD Coliseum was renovated, despite a long-term deal with the City of Brantford. “It’s definitely a finalization on everything. I mean, just even halfway through the first season, seeing how much support the team got here and knowing that city officials were well behind trying to keep them here as best as possible. I don’t think I was as worried, as maybe some others were,” Allman said. Allman said it’s not uncommon to see adults and kids wearing Bulldogs gear in Brantford and the support for the team seems to keep growing. While a new AHL team in Hamilton could take away some fans from Brantford, Allman thinks plans for a new sports and entertainment complex in the Telephone City could help keep Brantford fans engaged. “I don’t know the exact number, but there’s a lot of people on our season ticket holder waitlist, so even if after, this is our third season, there’s going to be some turnover there. But it sounds like a lot of those might just be businesses that could have bought the tickets on a whim, and now we might get some even more butts in seats with fans taking those tickets over,” Allman said.
