Bradford Rattlers

(Redirected from Bradford Blues)

The Bradford Rattlers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based out of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, and members of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. The Rattlers, then known as the Bradford Bulls, were bought out towards the end of the 2005–06 season by a local group of investors for the purpose of moving the team up to Junior "A" from the Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League.

Bradford Rattlers
CityBradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada
LeagueGreater Metro Junior A Hockey League
Founded1971
Home arenaBWG Leisure Centre
ColoursGreen, black, yellow, and white
       
General managerSean Werth (2015–present)
Head coachDave Mooney
Franchise history
1971–1975Bradford Vasey Juniors
1975–1988Bradford Blues
1988–2006Bradford Bulls
2006–presentBradford Rattlers

History

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The Bradford Vasey Juniors were founded in 1971 as they joined the South-Central Junior "D" Hockey League. The league soon became the Central Junior "C", then the Mid-Ontario Junior "C", and finally after merging with the Georgian Junior "C" league became the Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior "C" Hockey League. Their team's first championship was the Junior "D" OHA Cup in 1973. They won the All-Ontario Junior "D" title by defeating the Mitchell Hawks 4-games-to-1. That summer, the SCJDHL was promoted to Junior "C" for the 1974–75 season, and changed their name to the Bradford Blues for the 1975–76 season. In 1980, Bradford won their league and went all the way to the Clarence Schmalz Cup All-Ontario Final. In the end, they lost out to the Leamington Flyers 4-games-straight. In 1986, they made it all the way back to the All-Ontario final only to lose to the Norwich Merchants 4-games-to-3. The team changed its name to Bradford Bulls for the 1988–89 season, in which they immediately struck gold; they won their league and then followed it up with a 4-games-to-2 series victory to defeat the Hanover Barons to win their only ever Clarence Schmalz Cup. The Bulls won the league again in 1998, but did not reach the All-Ontario Final. The Most valuable Player of the playoffs was Noah Bell, who was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League a year later by the Sudbury Wolves.

 
Bulls' Logo

The Bradford Bulls were bought out towards the end of the 2005–06 season by a local party who owned an independent Junior "A" travelling team known as the Toronto Rattlers, though technically a Toronto-area franchise. The Rattlers toured the United States playing games in junior hockey tournaments and against college teams from 2004 until 2006. A number of alumni received US college offers and Russian-based player Kirill Tulupov, who made his presence known in North America by touring with the Toronto Rattlers, was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the third round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.[1] The new ownership group believed that combining the operations and management of the thirty-five-year-old Branford franchise with the experience of the Toronto Rattlers would earn the Bradford franchise a move up to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, but when the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) turned down the request the team walked away from the OHA's version of Junior "A". The Bradford franchise adopted the nickname of the now disbanded travelling team, and the Bradford Rattlers became a member of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL).

2006–07

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The Bradford Rattlers first game in the GMHL was against the South Muskoka Shield on September 15, 2006, in Gravenhurst, Ontario. The Rattlers dismantled the Shield, winning by a score of 10–1. Andreas Goetz picked up the team's first Junior "A" victory in net. Their first home game was on September 17, 2006, against the Toronto Canada Moose, a 5–3 win.

On September 24, 2006, the Bradford Rattlers became the last undefeated team of the GMHL's inaugural season, moving to 5–0–0–0, defeating the (until then undefeated) Richmond Hill Rams by a score of 3–1. The winning streak lasted until October 15, 2006, 10–0–0–0, as the Rattlers picked up an overtime loss to the King Wild, but still had yet to lose a game in regulation. On January 21, 2007, the Rattlers had compiled a 27–0–0–4 record before playing the Deseronto Thunder. The Thunder were leading 5–2 but Bradford came only to lose for the first time in regulation by a score of 6–5.

The Rattlers finished the season in first place, earning a bye into the league semifinals. Their semifinals opponent was the Deseronto Thunder. The Thunder won the first two games of the series. The Rattlers pulled themselves together and won the next four games straight to play in the league finals. The finals were against the league's second seeded King Wild. The Rattlers started with a 2–1 victory but the Wild won the second game 6–3 to even the series. The Rattlers came back and won the next game 5–0 while the fourth and fifth games went to overtime with Bradford winning 2–1 and 4–3, respectively. The Bradford Rattlers won the first ever Bob Russell Cup as GMHL Champions.

The Rattlers faced the WHA Junior West Hockey League's New Westminster Whalers for the short-lived National Junior Hockey Alliance's "Alliance Cup," the only year in which this competition was contested. The Rattlers swept the series 3-games-to-none.

2007–08

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On December 30, 2007, the Rattlers hosted the Moscow Selects All-star team in an exhibition game. The Selects won the game by a score of 8–4. This was the second game of seven that the Moscow team played against different GMHL clubs.

In 2007–08, the Rattlers challenged their 31-game record for regular season games without a regulation loss, but came up short with a still impressive 28-game streak with a 5–3 January 6 loss to the Deseronto Storm. The Rattlers did, however, set a new league record for regular season games without a regulation loss across multiple seasons with 38. This also marked the end of the longest winning streak in GMHL history of 27 straight wins.

The Rattlers began the 2008 playoffs against the Toronto Canada Moose, whom they swept. They then defeated the South Muskoka Shield 4-games-to-1. In the league semifinals, they swept the Elliot Lake Bobcats and in the league finals they swept the Innisfil Lakers to win their second straight Russell Cup.

2008–09

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On January 5, 2009, the Rattlers played against Kazakhstan's Torpedo UST-Kamenogorsk Under-18 squad in Shelburne, Ontario. At one point leading 5–0, the Rattlers played a lot of their younger players in the second half of the game. The final score was 6–5 for Bradford.

The Rattlers finished the 2008–09 season with the second best record in the South Division and third best in the league. In the playoffs, the Rattlers first met the Toronto Canada Moose. After winning the first two games, the Moose came back and took game three and four of the best-of-five series to force a decisive game five. The Rattlers overcame the potential upset and won the series 3-games-to-2. In the division semifinals, the Rattlers drew the Deseronto Storm. The Rattlers took game one, but in game two and three the Storm took control. The Rattlers had to win game four to prolong the best-of-five series, and succeeded with a 5–1 victory. The next morning it was announced that the Deseronto Storm protested the result of game four due to a roster violation by Bradford. Upon review of the league, the result of game four was overturned and the Rattlers were disqualified from the remainder of the playoffs.[2]

2012–13

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The 2008 championship passed and in the four following years four different teams would claim the Russell Cup as GMHL. In those four years, the Rattlers failed to reach the finals in each of those years. The 2012–13 led to the Rattlers turning in the league's first undefeated season with a 42–0–0–0 record. There would be a black mark on this season though when the Rattlers competed in the league's showcase tournament in Bracebridge, Ontario, in late 2012. They turned in a less than stellar performance and were ejected from the tournament, along with longtime rival South Muskoka Shield, for a brawl and an off-ice altercation involving crowd members and ejected players that caused a police investigation. The Rattlers perfect season allowed them a date with the eighth seeded Lefroy Wave. Sweeping the Wave in three games extended the Rattlers winning streak to 45 games. They played the Bobcaygeon Bucks next, sweeping them in three games and extending their streak to 48 games. In the South Division final, the Rattlers faced the Orangeville Americans and swept them in four games. The series victory gave them a record of 52–0–0–0 so far that year. The perfect streak was snapped the very next game in the league final by the Temiscaming Titans 7–6 in overtime. Bradford would win games two and three to extend their record for streak of games without a regulation loss to 55 games before that streak was ended in regulation in game four by the Titans. The Rattlers would win games five and six and the series to claim their third Russell Cup.

Season-by-season standings

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Regular Season Finish Playoffs
1971–72 30 16 12 2 168 144 34 4th SCJDHL Lost semi-final
1972–73 29 20 4 5 175 99 47 2nd SCJDHL Won League, won OHA Cup
1973–74 30 23 3 4 208 106 50 1st Central G1 Won League, lost CSC SF
1974–75 31 23 6 2 223 100 48 2nd Central G1 Won League, lost CSC QF
1975–76 32 17 10 5 159 132 39 4th Central G1 Lost final
1976–77 28 17 8 3 175 147 37 3rd Central G1 Lost final
1977–78 32 18 13 1 175 145 37 3rd MOJCHL Lost final
1978–79 32 16 12 4 36 3rd MOJCHL Lost final
1979–80 40 33 6 1 298 136 67 1st MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC Final
1980–81 36 24 12 0 247 142 48 2nd MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC QF
1981–82 40 34 5 1 328 154 69 2nd MOJCHL Lost semi-final
1982–83 36 29 7 0 221 138 58 1st MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC QF
1983–84 33 22 11 0 185 137 44 2nd MOJCHL Lost quarter-final
1984–85 35 26 7 2 247 123 54 1st MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC QF
1985–86 34 31 2 1 314 137 63 1st MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC Final
1986–87 34 30 4 0 278 121 60 1st MOJCHL Won League, lost CSC SF
1987–88 34 20 13 1 216 164 41 3rd MOJCHL Lost final
1988–89 36 27 9 0 266 143 54 2nd MOJCHL Won League, won CSC
1989–90 34 20 13 1 193 150 41 2nd MOJCHL Lost final
1990–91 34 17 15 2 36 4th MOJCHL Lost semi-final
1991–92 34 16 14 4 163 172 36 4th MOJCHL Lost semi-final
1992–93 38 17 14 7 0 196 178 41 3rd MOJCHL
1993–94 40 26 13 1 229 188 53 2nd MOJCHL Lost final
1994–95 36 27 9 0 54 2nd GMOHL
1995–96 44 26 17 1 220 159 53 3rd GMOHL
1996–97 36 20 15 1 198 193 41 4th GMOHL
1997–98 36 24 10 2 202 138 50 1st GMOHL Won League
1998–99 36 21 14 1 188 170 43 4th GMOHL
1999–00 36 21 13 2 178 174 44 3rd GMOHL
2000–01 36 16 15 3 2 155 150 35 5th GMOHL
2001–02 36 4 28 1 3 91 210 12 8th GMOHL
2002–03 36 19 8 4 5 164 159 47 4th GMOHL Lost quarter-final
2003–04 36 15 18 3 0 142 146 33 6th GMOHL
2004–05 40 19 14 5 2 144 127 45 5th GMOHL
2005–06 42 14 23 3 2 148 205 33 7th GMOHL
2006–07 42 37 1 4 266 121 78 1st GMHL Won League, won Alliance Cup
2007–08 42 37 4 1 314 110 75 1st GMHL Won League
2008–09 43 34 6 3 284 132 71 3rd GMHL Lost quarter-final
2009–10 42 34 6 2 273 150 70 3rd GMHL Lost semi-final
2010–11 42 26 14 2 239 178 54 4th GMHL Lost semi-final
2011–12 42 31 6 5 221 127 67 3rd GMHL Lost semi-final
2012–13 42 42 0 0 0 301 95 84 1st GMHL Won League
2013–14 42 30 8 4 230 116 64 6th GMHL Lost final
2014–15 42 31 11 0 238 136 62 3rd South-Central Div.
7th GMHL
Lost Division Semi-finals
2015–16 42 29 11 0 2 219 145 60 3rd Central Div.
9th GMHL
Lost Division Quarter-finals
2016–17 42 28 14 0 0 254 185 56 4th of 10, North Div.
8th of 21, GMHL
Lost Division Quarter-finals
2017–18 42 31 11 0 0 222 124 56 2nd of 9, North Div.
5th of 21, GMHL
Lost Division Finals
2018–19 42 35 6 0 1 259 133 71 1st of 10, North Div.
2nd of 22, GMHL
Lost Division Finals
2019–20 42 27 13 0 2 230 148 56 4th of 10, North Div.
8th of 23, GMHL
Postseason cancelled
2020–21 season lost due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 38 31 5 0 2 230 190 93 2nd of 10, North Div.
3rd of 19, GMHL
Won Div. Quarterfinals, 2-0 (Lynx)
Lost div. semi-finals, 2-3 (Bulls)
2022–23 42 38 2 0 2 270 97 78 1st of 9, North Div.
1st of 16, GMHL
Won Div. Semifinals, 3-0 (Titans)
Won Div.Finals, 4-1 (Ville-Marie Pirates)
North Division rep to Russell Cup finals
(see below)
2023–24 42 38 3 0 1 294 101 77 1st of 7, North Div.
1st of 15, GMHL
Won Div. Semifinals, 3-0 (Titans)
Div Finals, 4-0 (Lynx)
Won League Finals, 4-1(Bulls)

Russell Cup Champions

(*) Standings incomplete.

Russell Cup Finals

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National Championships (GMHL North and South and Western)

Year Preliminary Round Record Standing Bronze Medal Game Gold Medal Game
2023 W, (North York Renegades) 7-4
W, (Temiscaming Titans) 5-3
W, (High Prairie Red Wings) 11-2
3-0-0 1st of 4 not competed Won (Temiscaming Titans) 7-0
National Champions

Playoffs

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  • 2007 Won League, won Alliance Cup
Bradford Rattlers defeated Deseronto Thunder 4-games-to-2 in semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated King Wild 4-games-to-1 in finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated New Westminster Whalers 3-games-to-none in Alliance Cup
  • 2008 Won League
Bradford Rattlers defeated Toronto Canada Moose 4-games-to-none in bye round
Bradford Rattlers defeated South Muskoka Shield 4-games-to-1 in quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 4-games-to-none in semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Innisfil Lakers 4-games-to-none in finals
  • 2009 Lost Division Semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Toronto Canada Moose 3-games-to-2 in division quarter-finals
Deseronto Storm defeated Bradford Rattlers 3-games-to-1 in division semi-finals
  • 2010 Lost semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Brock Bucks 3-games-to-none in quarter-finals
South Muskoka Shield defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-1 in semi-finals
  • 2011 Lost semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Deseronto Storm 3-games-to-none in quarter-finals
South Muskoka Shield defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-3 in semi-finals
  • 2012 Lost semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Lefroy Wave 3-games-to-2 in quarter-finals
Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-none in semi-finals
  • 2013 Won League
Bradford Rattlers defeated Lefroy Wave 3-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Bobcaygeon Bucks 3-games-to-none in division semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Orangeville Americans 4-games-to-none in division finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Temiscaming Titans 4-games-to-2 in finals
  • 2014 Lost finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Toronto Attack 3-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Toronto Blue Ice Jets 3-games-to-1 in division semi-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Seguin Huskies 4-games-to-none in crossover series
Bradford Bulls defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-1 in finals
  • 2015 Lost Division Semi-finals
Toronto Blue Ice Jets defeated Bradford Rattlers 3-games-to-2 in division semi-finals
  • 2016 Lost Division Quarter-finals
Knights of Meaford defeated Bradford Rattlers 3-games-to-1 in division quarter-finals
  • 2017 Lost Division Quarter-finals
Temiscaming Titans defeated Bradford Rattlers 3-games-to-1 in division quarter-finals
  • 2018 Lost Division Finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated West Nipissing Lynx 2-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Ville-Marie Pirates 3-games-to-2 in division semi-finals
Almaguin Spartans defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-none in division finals
  • 2019 Lost Division Finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Knights of Meaford 2-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated West Nipissing Lynx 3-games-to-none in division semi-finals
Ville-Marie Pirates defeated Bradford Rattlers 4-games-to-2 in division finals
  • 2020 Postseason cancelled prior to completion
Bradford Rattlers defeated New Tecumseth Civics 2-games-to-none in division quarter-finals
Bradford Rattlers defeated Bradford Bulls 3-games-to-2 in division semi-finals
Temiscaming Titans led Bradford Rattlers 3-games-to-1 in division finals before the postseason was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Clarence Schmalz Cup appearances

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1980: Leamington Flyers defeated Bradford Blues 4-games-to-none
1986: Norwich Merchants defeated Bradford Blues 4-games-to-3
1989: Bradford Bulls defeated Hanover Barons 4-games-to-2

Organization staff history

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Season General manager Head coach
2006–2008 Jenya Feldmen
2008–2012 Johan Lundskog
2012–2013 Johan Lundskog John Duco
2013–2014 Johan Lundskog Al Sims
2014–2015 Sylvain Cloutier
2015–2017 Sean Werth Matt Hamilton
2017–2021 Sean Werth Ric Jackman
2021–present Sean Werth Dave Mooney

[3]

Notable alumni

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Blues

References

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  1. ^ "Kirill Tulupov". Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  2. ^ "Deseronto protests game 4 - Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League". Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  3. ^ "Bradford Rattlers - 2012-2013 | Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League".
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