Brantford Bulldogs 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part One)

[Jawk]

Quite honestly, I’m surprised to see Chen still on the team. He has good size but he’s not very good defensively and he’s not offensive. They briefly experimented with him as a forward in preseason, which I think speaks to the uncertainty surrounding him. So far this season his game seems to be unchanged from last year.

I’m sure he’s a good person but I just don’t see the value in having him take up a roster spot.

I think it's okay to be critical of players while understanding it's no comment on their character. Also, players are what players are and its really on management to get the right ones.

Having said that, he's not a reliable OHL player. Has size, never hits or uses it to win battles. He retreats and uses his reach to force guys to run out of space. He panics when the puck is on his stick.

Edit: I'll add that it's not cool for fans of the Bulldogs to get on a player in game. Which I started to hear regarding Chen.

I see a whole lot more garbage fans in Brantford than I ever did in Hamilton.

 

[Rounder8]

I'm holding out hope (even if it's slim) that Hamara returns. There is a bit of a logjam in Belleville.

I know it's wishful thinking but we manifested Jiricek.lol

 

[Jawk]

I'm holding out hope (even if it's slim) that Hamara returns. There is a bit of a logjam in Belleville.

I know it's wishful thinking but we manifested Jiricek.lol

I'm totally reading into things that don't matter. Lol.

Sens get Eliasson to Barrie and not Brantford, must mean Hamara is coming here.

Hamara likes a Bulldogs social post, must mean he's coming back.

It also means very little, but the first time I heard he may be back was from a parent of a key player in the room.

 

[coolhandluc44]

I'm totally reading into things that don't matter. Lol.

Sens get Eliasson to Barrie and not Brantford, must mean Hamara is coming here.

Hamara likes a Bulldogs social post, must mean he's coming back.

It also means very little, but the first time I heard he may be back was from a parent of a key player in the room.

I think one factor in Brantfords favour is that he has only played in 45 games the past 2 seasons. So it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable to think coming back to Brantford might be best for his development. I am not familiar at all with Ottawas farm system but he comes to Brantford I would imagine he is playing top D minutes too, don’t know what playing time he would get in Belleville.

 

[Rounder8]

I'm totally reading into things that don't matter. Lol.

Sens get Eliasson to Barrie and not Brantford, must mean Hamara is coming here.

Hamara likes a Bulldogs social post, must mean he's coming back.

It also means very little, but the first time I heard he may be back was from a parent of a key player in the room.

Keep talking about it, it worked with Jiricek.lol

Hamara would be a bigger add than Xhekaj imo.

 

[Jawk]

Keep talking about it, it worked with Jiricek.lol

Hamara would be a bigger add than Xhekaj imo.

Hamara just fills more of a need. This team is going to score, especially when Vanacker is back.

 

[Canadian Game]

I think it's okay to be critical of players while understanding it's no comment on their character. Also, players are what players are and its really on management to get the right ones.

Having said that, he's not a reliable OHL player. Has size, never hits or uses it to win battles. He retreats and uses his reach to force guys to run out of space. He panics when the puck is on his stick.

Edit: I'll add that it's not cool for fans of the Bulldogs to get on a player in game. Which I started to hear regarding Chen.

I see a whole lot more garbage fans in Brantford than I ever did in Hamilton.

I completely agree. I believe constructive criticism is okay… as long as it’s constructive. I especially agree about some fans being garbage fans.

I was at a road game last year and met a Bulldogs “fan” who was glad to see another Bulldogs fan. He travelled with his wife and another couple, and they sat directly behind me. We had a good chat during warmups about being Bulldogs fans. I explained being a fan the whole time they were in Hamilton and continuing my support in Brantford. The four of them (probably in their 60s) were all new Bulldogs fans from Brantford and decided to make a road trip. A while into the game he got vocally critical of some Bulldogs players and plays. By the second period he openly yelled negative comments directly at the Bulldogs and cheering for the opponent’s goals. Then things escalated when he shouted at a Bulldog “Hey (player) nice job you d-head” for a play he didn’t like. I turned around to tell him it was uncalled for while fans of the opposing crowd also called him out for his disrespectful comment. He didn’t see an issue with it. Meanwhile, his wife and the friend’s wife were not happy with him either and probably embarrassed.

Sadly, he’s somewhat active on the Bulldogs FB group and considers himself a fan. He’s the exact type of fan others probably don’t want to associate with. I have met a lot of new fans from Brantford who are friendly and excellent ambassadors for the team, but he is something else.

To put aside any speculation, I will add that the player his comments were directed at isn’t anyone whose name has been discussed here recently. Just wanted to share a cringeworthy encounter with a newer Bulldogs fan. While every team has a lot of awesome fans, unfortunately every team also has some absolute idiots, who I use the term “fan” very loosely.

 

[Jawk]

I completely agree. I believe constructive criticism is okay… as long as it’s constructive. I especially agree about some fans being garbage fans.

I was at a road game last year and met a Bulldogs “fan” who was glad to see another Bulldogs fan. He travelled with his wife and another couple, and they sat directly behind me. We had a good chat during warmups about being Bulldogs fans. I explained being a fan the whole time they were in Hamilton and continuing my support in Brantford. The four of them (probably in their 60s) were all new Bulldogs fans from Brantford and decided to make a road trip. A while into the game he got vocally critical of some Bulldogs players and plays. By the second period he openly yelled negative comments directly at the Bulldogs and cheering for the opponent’s goals. Then things escalated when he shouted at a Bulldog “Hey (player) nice job you d-head” for a play he didn’t like. I turned around to tell him it was uncalled for while fans of the opposing crowd also called him out for his disrespectful comment. He didn’t see an issue with it. Meanwhile, his wife and the friend’s wife were not happy with him either and probably embarrassed.

Sadly, he’s somewhat active on the Bulldogs FB group and considers himself a fan. He’s the exact type of fan others probably don’t want to associate with. I have met a lot of new fans from Brantford who are friendly and excellent ambassadors for the team, but he is something else.

To put aside any speculation, I will add that the player his comments were directed at isn’t anyone whose name has been discussed here recently. Just wanted to share a cringeworthy encounter with a newer Bulldogs fan. While every team has a lot of awesome fans, unfortunately every team also has some absolute idiots, who I use the term “fan” very loosely.

It's not limited to the Bulldogs. I think there are lots of people that go to junior games that have no idea the players are 16-20.

They certainly don't look it on the ice.

All you have to do is look at the idiots on social media after a world junior game that think it's okay to go after players.

All teams have these people. In Brantford look at the guy that sits behind the away penalty box and spends the whole time verbally attacking away players. It's embarrassing.

 

[Rounder8]

I completely agree. I believe constructive criticism is okay… as long as it’s constructive. I especially agree about some fans being garbage fans.

I was at a road game last year and met a Bulldogs “fan” who was glad to see another Bulldogs fan. He travelled with his wife and another couple, and they sat directly behind me. We had a good chat during warmups about being Bulldogs fans. I explained being a fan the whole time they were in Hamilton and continuing my support in Brantford. The four of them (probably in their 60s) were all new Bulldogs fans from Brantford and decided to make a road trip. A while into the game he got vocally critical of some Bulldogs players and plays. By the second period he openly yelled negative comments directly at the Bulldogs and cheering for the opponent’s goals. Then things escalated when he shouted at a Bulldog “Hey (player) nice job you d-head” for a play he didn’t like. I turned around to tell him it was uncalled for while fans of the opposing crowd also called him out for his disrespectful comment. He didn’t see an issue with it. Meanwhile, his wife and the friend’s wife were not happy with him either and probably embarrassed.

Sadly, he’s somewhat active on the Bulldogs FB group and considers himself a fan. He’s the exact type of fan others probably don’t want to associate with. I have met a lot of new fans from Brantford who are friendly and excellent ambassadors for the team, but he is something else.

To put aside any speculation, I will add that the player his comments were directed at isn’t anyone whose name has been discussed here recently. Just wanted to share a cringeworthy encounter with a newer Bulldogs fan. While every team has a lot of awesome fans, unfortunately every team also has some absolute idiots, who I use the term “fan” very loosely.

Ya, I had to turn around and ask a Kitchener fan what was wrong with him because he was trashing Marco Costantini openly when he made his return to FOC. Some of the stuff that he was saying was really disgusting.

Some people don't understand that these are kids that aren't being paid to play and many never will be.

 

[Canadian Game]

It's not limited to the Bulldogs. I think there are lots of people that go to junior games that have no idea the players are 16-20.

They certainly don't look it on the ice.

All you have to do is look at the idiots on social media after a world junior game that think it's okay to go after players.

All teams have these people. In Brantford look at the guy that sits behind the away penalty box and spends the whole time verbally attacking away players. It's embarrassing.

Absolutely. Every team has awesome fans a few bad apples. Thankfully the amount of good fans far outweigh the knuckleheads.

There’s a few embarrassing things that fans do in Brantford. I’m glad the team put an end to some of the stuff behind the away bench.

Ya, I had to turn around and ask a Kitchener fan what was wrong with him because he was trashing Marco Costantini openly when he made his return to FOC. Some of the stuff that he was saying was really disgusting.

Some people don't understand that these are kids that aren't being paid to play and many never will be.

That’s awful. In Oshawa when Tulio was a rookie a few years ago, a lot of Gens fans were all over him because he was picked in the first round and was the owner’s son. The optics weren’t great. However, as fans would trash him during a game, I’d say to some Gens fans that I’m not seeing the terrible player they’re complaining about. It took some time but I’m glad he was able to prove his doubters wrong.

That’s an important point about these guys. They’re still kids. Many still go to school and have a full course load on top of a busy hockey schedule. Meanwhile most of them are living away from home and dealing with stuff that many of us never did at their age.

 

[Rounder8]

Absolutely. Every team has awesome fans a few bad apples. Thankfully the amount of good fans far outweigh the knuckleheads.

There’s a few embarrassing things that fans do in Brantford. I’m glad the team put an end to some of the stuff behind the away bench.


That’s awful. In Oshawa when Tulio was a rookie a few years ago, a lot of Gens fans were all over him because he was picked in the first round and was the owner’s son. The optics weren’t great. However, as fans would trash him during a game, I’d say to some Gens fans that I’m not seeing the terrible player they’re complaining about. It took some time but I’m glad he was able to prove his doubters wrong.

That’s an important point about these guys. They’re still kids. Many still go to school and have a full course load on top of a busy hockey schedule. Meanwhile most of them are living away from home and dealing with stuff that many of us never did at their age.

I always hear the argument that they're going to be pros so they might as well get used to it.

People are clueless about what a small minority of players actually make it to the pros.