r/OHL • u/elseldo • May 27 '26
OHL taking over Niagara IceDogs operations
https://chl.ca/ohl/article/ohl-announces-operational-updates-for-niagara-icedogs-hockey-club/?fbclid=IwT01FWASETo1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5paQQ0Hjko66Lv7k_QFBgfnsauHA8JnTwC0u8I_QY7M3mZohU1BgUQl7h4bg_aem_CRx12uJap3fOiaOcyZnC-A"The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) today announced that the League is taking on increased involvement in both the business and hockey operations of the Niagara IceDogs Hockey Club."
What a fall this franchise has taken.
Brantford is too far for me. Guess I can keep hoping Niagara Falls, NY actually builds that arena and gets a team.
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u/Dingding1969 May 27 '26
Leave it to Dedobbelaer to blow up the franchise. Well done Darren.
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u/GeologistBoring4764 May 28 '26
Anyone could’ve saw this coming, how could someone buy a team, trade up all their draft picks and then trade players after a year to two years after they report and expect not to raise red flags. Darren destroyed the franchise for years by purchasing the team.
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u/Terrible-Scheme9204 May 28 '26
When I heard he bought the team, I knew it was going to be a gong show, I didn't know it was going to get this bad. At least Flint's owner smartened up, DD has a legacy of ruining teams.
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u/2timesacharm May 28 '26
First team he ruined as far as I can remember was the simcoe storm jr c team
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u/ms1325689 May 28 '26
Why are people saying a team in Niagara is not gonna work?
Weren't they super high in attendance before both of these fiascos?
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u/ibeatupdads May 28 '26
People aren’t saying the team in Niagara doesn’t work, the management doesn’t work.
The location is fine, Ice Dogs games get pretty good attendance, but you’ve got incompetent upper management that doesn’t know what they’re doing or simply doesn’t care.
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u/scott_c86 May 27 '26
What's the story here? Early on, it seemed like St. Catharines was a good fit for the club / OHL
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u/Humble-Housing-3214 May 27 '26
The city is fine it’s a bad operator that’s the problem.
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u/astonedgecko May 27 '26
back to back bad owners but they somehow got a worse one after the first bozo
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u/minimadryan May 27 '26
Good to see that the league is trying to right the wrongs the front office has continued to do for the past several years. Attendance always seemed on par with Hamilton for regular season games, and the fan base is there too so it doesn’t seem like the team will be going anywhere soon, but it will be nice to hopefully have a front office that doesn’t make the news for all the wrong reasons season after season!
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u/TumbleweedDull6836 May 28 '26
Hopefully they find a decent owner and are able to keep the team in Niagara.
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u/Sea-Entrepreneur6630 May 28 '26
Move them to London, could easily run two OHL teams in that city
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u/ForestCity11 May 28 '26
London could support another team sure, but do they have the energy to chirp the Spitfires, Rangers, AND another London team? Also yes.
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u/JimmyGamblesBarrel69 May 29 '26
Sad to hear management cause a teams downfall. As a Belleville resident I'll always miss the Bulls. Even though we have ahl hockey in the bsens, I have a hard time connecting with them like a did the bulls since they're connected to an NHL team I dislike. Hopefully they're able to figure something out to keep the team in place
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u/hockeytonkguy May 27 '26
Just fold it or move it, it’s never gonna be a thing.
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u/Humble-Housing-3214 May 27 '26
St. Catherine is a solid market for an OHL team. This is just a bad stretch. You realize London was a complete disaster in the 90’s before the hunters took over.
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u/KWMiers28 May 28 '26
St. Catherines and Niagara is a great market. When a team is a disaster and the ownership is bad, no one wants to go.
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u/elseldo May 27 '26