[{"id":82242,"date":"2026-07-31T15:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82242"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:45:56","slug":"icedogs-name-coaching-staff-ahead-of-2026-2027-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/icedogs-name-coaching-staff-ahead-of-2026-2027-season","title":{"rendered":"IceDogs Name Coaching Staff Ahead of 2026-2027 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/b> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced Wednesday the club’s coaching staff for the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season, led by newly appointed head coach Jake Grimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to Dale DeGray for the opportunity, cannot wait to meet the players, staff and all of our fans across Dog Country this upcoming season,\u201d states Grimes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joining Grimes behind the bench are associate coach Dennis Martindale, assistant coach Jeff Wagner and returning goaltending coach Ryan Ludzik.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Jake Grimes is a coach who has had tremendous success throughout the years at various levels, including helping Saginaw win the Memorial Cup just two years ago,” said DeGray. “He’s a coach who knows what it takes to win while creating an environment where players want to come to the rink every day and commit to playing defence and winning hockey games. We feel very fortunate to bring a coach like Jake on board and look forward to watching him and the rest of the staff build this group. Welcome to the region.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Grimes brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to Niagara.<\/span><\/p>\n

His coaching career began with the Dalhousie University Tigers in 1996 and has included stops with the Strathroy Rockets, London Nationals, Belleville Bulls, Peterborough Petes, Guelph Storm, Cape Breton Eagles, University of Waterloo Warriors, Saginaw Spirit and University of Guelph Gryphons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to thank every team that has welcomed me onto their bench\u2026 each one has played a pivotal role in my development and my coaching journey. I\u2019m eternally grateful to every team, their staff, players and fans that helped get me to this point,\u201d says Grimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Internationally, Grimes represented Team Ontario at the Hockey Canada Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, winning three gold medals and one silver. His OHL r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes a J. Ross Robertson Cup championship with the Guelph Storm in 2019 and a Memorial Cup championship with the Saginaw Spirit in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before entering coaching, Grimes played three seasons in the OHL with the Belleville Bulls, recording 44 goals and 69 assists for 113 points in his final season with the club, while serving as an alternate captain during the 1992 season. Over his three year career with the Bulls, Grimes amassed a total of 206 points in 198 career games. He was twice voted the Eastern Conference’s Best Defensive Forward and Best Checker in the OHL Coaches Poll.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally drafted and signed by the Ottawa Senators, Grimes went on to play professionally in the American Hockey League, collecting 63 points in 118 games with the New Haven Senators and Prince Edward Island Senators before his playing career was cut short by injury.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a special day for me to be announced as head coach of the Niagara IceDogs,” said Grimes. “I’ve been fortunate to spend 17 years coaching and three years playing in this great league. I’ve coached in seven conference finals and three Memorial Cup tournaments, and I’m grateful to have been part of the Guelph Storm’s 2019 OHL championship team and the Saginaw Spirit’s 2024 Memorial Cup championship. I’ve reached the conference finals with every OHL team I’ve coached, and I’m excited for the opportunity to begin this next chapter in Niagara.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Grimes has also played a key role in player development throughout his coaching career, helping just shy of 100 players advance to as the National Hockey League, including P.K. Subban, Ryan O\u2019Reilly, Taylor Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Skinner, Tyler Seguin, Steve Lorentz, Nick Suzuki, Michael Misa and IceDogs Alumni Andrew Agozzino, Freddie Hamilton, Mark Visentin, Ryan Strome and Dougie Hamilton \u2013 just to name a few.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“A lot has gone into this opportunity. I love to coach, and I’m very excited to get started,” Grimes said. “My wife and I will be relocating to the area in short order. We are ecstatic for this opportunity to be part of Dog Country.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Martindale joins the IceDogs after four seasons with the Barrie Colts. Before that, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and also gained coaching experience in Germany following a seven-year professional playing career in Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m really excited about this group,” said Martindale. “I’m going to bring my experience as best I can to help us have success. I’ve been fortunate to work with some outstanding players and coaches over the years, and I’m looking forward to getting started in Niagara.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Wagner arrives after spending five seasons with the Coquitlam Express organization, where he held several coaching and management roles.<\/span><\/p>\n

He began his coaching career in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League before joining the Express in 2021 as associate coach. In 2022, he was also named the club’s director of scouting while continuing his coaching responsibilities. Wagner became interim head coach on April 1, 2024, before taking over the role full time for the 2025-26 season, while also serving as assistant general manager. He has earned a reputation for player development, strategic leadership and strong hockey acumen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ludzik returns for his second consecutive season as Niagara’s goaltending coach after serving in the role during the 2025-26 campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

He previously held the same position with the IceDogs from 2015-19 and has worked with the Brock Badgers men’s and women’s hockey programs, as well as the St. Catharines Falcons of the GOHL.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to return to the IceDogs and be part of this new chapter. We have a great group in place, and I\u2019m looking forward to continuing my work with the goalies,\u201d says Ludzik.<\/span><\/p>\n

A former OHL goaltender with the Erie Otters, Windsor Spitfires and Niagara Falls Canucks, Ludzik also played professionally with the Bloomington PrairieThunder and Tulsa Oilers before transitioning into coaching.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout his coaching career, Ludzik has helped develop several professional goaltenders, including Connor Ungar, Alex Nedeljkovic and Dylan Wells.<\/span><\/p>\n

With an experienced coaching staff featuring a championship pedigree, player development expertise and more than 40 combined years of junior coaching experience, the IceDogs will begin preparations for the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season later this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced Wednesday the club’s coaching staff for the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season, led by newly appointed head coach Jake Grimes.\u00a0 \u201cThank you to Dale DeGray for the opportunity, cannot wait to meet the players, staff and all of our fans across Dog Country this upcoming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":531,"name":"hired","slug":"hired","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":531,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":56,"name":"team-news","slug":"team-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":56,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"453"}],"class_list":["post-82242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hired","tag-team-news","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/31151656\/HIRED-WEB-full-coaching-staff.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82242"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82245,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82242\/revisions\/82245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82239,"date":"2026-07-31T13:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82239"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:55:07","slug":"edgar-named-to-team-canada-roster-for-hlinka-gretzky-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/edgar-named-to-team-canada-roster-for-hlinka-gretzky-cup","title":{"rendered":"EDGAR NAMED TO TEAM CANADA ROSTER FOR HLINKA GRETZKY CUP"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Ryerson Edgar has been named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Edgar earned his place on the roster following a strong showing at Hockey Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Selection Camp, where he impressed throughout practices and exhibition action.<\/p>\n

The 2009-born forward is coming off an outstanding rookie season with the IceDogs, recording 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points in 64 games. Edgar was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team after finishing as the highest-scoring 2009-born player in the league.<\/p>\n

Committed to the University of Michigan, Edgar has previously represented Canada on the international stage. He suited up for Canada Red at the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, helping the team capture a gold medal while recording one goal and two assists in five tournament games.<\/p>\n

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is one of the world’s premier international tournaments for under-18 players, showcasing many of the top NHL Draft-eligible prospects from around the globe.<\/p>\n

Canada will open the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Switzerland on August 3 at 5 p.m. MT. It will face Slovakia on August 4 and Sweden on August 5 to close out the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on August 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Ryerson Edgar has been named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Edgar earned his place on the roster following a strong showing at Hockey Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Selection Camp, where he impressed throughout practices and exhibition action. The 2009-born forward is coming off an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":523,"name":"Hlinka-Gretzky","slug":"hlinka-gretzky","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":523,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"201"},{"term_id":453,"name":"Ryerson Edgar","slug":"ryerson-edgar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":453,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"399"},{"term_id":454,"name":"Team Canada","slug":"team-canada","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":454,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"449"}],"class_list":["post-82239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hlinka-gretzky","tag-ryerson-edgar","tag-team-canada","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/31113437\/HG-EDGAR-WEB.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82241,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82239\/revisions\/82241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82236,"date":"2026-07-29T15:11:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82236"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:11:19","slug":"niagara-icedogs-hire-rosa-mandatori-as-head-athletic-therapist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/niagara-icedogs-hire-rosa-mandatori-as-head-athletic-therapist","title":{"rendered":"Niagara IceDogs Hire Rosa Mandatori as Head Athletic Therapist"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have announced the hiring of Rosa Mandatori, CAT(c), as the club’s new Head Athletic Therapist.<\/p>\n

Mandatori joins the IceDogs after spending the past two seasons with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, where she served as an Assistant Athletic Therapist. During her time with the organization, she was a member of the Argonauts’ medical staff that captured the 111th Grey Cup championship.<\/p>\n

A 2023 graduate of York University’s Athletic Therapy program, Mandatori also earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. While completing her studies, she gained valuable hands-on experience working with the York University Lions women’s hockey team and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.<\/p>\n

Mandatori also brings an extensive hockey background to Niagara, having worked with programs at both the university and junior levels, including the Toronto Aeros of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, the King Rebellion of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Caledon Admirals of the OJHL.<\/p>\n

In addition to her work in sport, Mandatori currently serves as the Athletic Therapy Lead at ALPHA Health Services in Toronto.<\/p>\n

“After speaking with members of the team, I’m excited to get started here in Dog Country,” said Mandatori.<\/p>\n

“I’m beyond excited to join a young team at an exciting time and work alongside Dale, the rest of the staff and our players.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have announced the hiring of Rosa Mandatori, CAT(c), as the club’s new Head Athletic Therapist. Mandatori joins the IceDogs after spending the past two seasons with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, where she served as an Assistant Athletic Therapist. During her time with the organization, she was a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":531,"name":"hired","slug":"hired","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":531,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":56,"name":"team-news","slug":"team-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":56,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"453"}],"class_list":["post-82236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hired","tag-team-news","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/29150654\/HIRED-WEB-7.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82238,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82236\/revisions\/82238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82233,"date":"2026-07-28T19:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82233"},"modified":"2026-07-28T19:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:34:13","slug":"ice-dogs-sign-second-round-pick-nathan-hewitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/ice-dogs-sign-second-round-pick-nathan-hewitt","title":{"rendered":"ICE DOGS SIGN SECOND-ROUND PICK NATHAN HEWITT"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced today the club has signed 2026 second-round pick Nathan Hewitt to an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/p>\n

Selected 33rd overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, the Hamilton, Ont., native spent the 2025-26 season with the Niagara North Stars U16 AAA program, recording 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points in 34 games.<\/p>\n

“Nathan is coming off a fantastic season in U16,” said DeGray. “He is an aggressive player who brings skill and hockey sense, along with good competitive size. We are happy to be able to sign Nathan and look forward to seeing him in late August at our rookie camp. Welcome to the IceDogs organization, Nathan, and welcome to the entire Hewitt family.”<\/p>\n

Hewitt is regarded as an intelligent and competitive two-way centreman who plays with pace, intensity and a physical edge. An elite skater with excellent size, he combines skill and strength to make an impact in all three zones.<\/p>\n

“It is something that I have worked for my whole life, ever since I started tying my skates when I was little and knew about the OHL. It has been my major goal,” Hewitt said in an interview with Bernie Puchalski of BP Sports Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Niagara IceDogs welcome Nathan to Dog Country and look forward to his continued development with the organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced today the club has signed 2026 second-round pick Nathan Hewitt to an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Selected 33rd overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, the Hamilton, Ont., native spent the 2025-26 season with the Niagara North Stars U16 AAA program, recording…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":530,"name":"Nathan Hewitt","slug":"nathan-hewitt","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":530,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":458,"name":"Signing","slug":"signing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":458,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"416"}],"class_list":["post-82233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-nathan-hewitt","tag-signing","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/28193056\/HIRED-WEB-6.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82235,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82233\/revisions\/82235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82227,"date":"2026-07-28T09:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82227"},"modified":"2026-07-28T09:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:22:48","slug":"tang-to-represent-team-usa-at-hlinka-gretzky-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/tang-to-represent-team-usa-at-hlinka-gretzky-cup","title":{"rendered":"Tang to Represent Team USA at Hlinka Gretzky Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Michael Tang has been named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Tang earned his place on the roster following an impressive performance at USA Hockey’s Under-18 National Team Development Camp.<\/p>\n

Tang, known as a smart, highly skilled, and crafty player who can play all three forward positions, spent last season with the USHL Madison Capitals, appearing in 59 games with nine goals, 18 assists, & 27 points, while also playing for five NTDP U17 teams. He has recently signed with the IceDogs in early July.<\/p>\n

The annual Hlinka Gretzky Cup is regarded as one of the premier international tournaments for under-18 players, featuring many of the top NHL Draft-eligible prospects from around the world.<\/p>\n

Team USA enters the tournament as the defending champion, having captured gold in 2025. The Americans finished last year’s event with a 3-1-0-1 record before defeating Sweden in the championship game to claim their first Hlinka Gretzky Cup title since 2003.<\/p>\n

The 2026 tournament will be held in Edmonton, Alta., from Aug. 11-16.<\/p>\n

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup has been held annually since 1991 and has featured several names throughout its history before adopting its current title in 2018. The tournament has become one of the world’s premier showcases for elite under-18 talent, with many participants going on to successful NHL careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Michael Tang has been named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Tang earned his place on the roster following an impressive performance at USA Hockey’s Under-18 National Team Development Camp. Tang, known as a smart, highly skilled, and crafty player who can play all three…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":529,"name":"national team","slug":"national-team","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":529,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":528,"name":"team usa","slug":"team-usa","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":528,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":523,"name":"Hlinka-Gretzky","slug":"hlinka-gretzky","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":523,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"201"},{"term_id":518,"name":"Michael Tang","slug":"michael-tang","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":518,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"289"}],"class_list":["post-82227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-national-team","tag-team-usa","tag-hlinka-gretzky","tag-michael-tang","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/28091949\/HG-TANG-WEB.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82229,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82227\/revisions\/82229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82149,"date":"2026-07-24T16:22:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82149"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:22:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:22:31","slug":"merrill-signs-with-icedogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/merrill-signs-with-icedogs","title":{"rendered":"MERRILL SIGNS WITH ICEDOGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, Ont.<\/strong> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced today that forward Finn Merrill, selected 32nd overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, has signed an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement with the club.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-10 forward from The Hill Academy recorded 89 points (48 goals, 41 assists) in 59 games during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

“Finn is a high-energy offensive forward who plays a very solid 200-foot game,” said DeGray. “He has explosive speed and tremendous hockey sense and on-ice awareness. Add that to his tremendous compete level, and he’s going to be an exciting player to watch in an IceDogs jersey.”<\/p>\n

Merrill recently represented Team Gold at Hockey Canada’s under-17 development camp, where he scored a goal.<\/p>\n

Known as a gifted goal-scorer, Merrill also plays high-level lacrosse during the summer, a sport that has helped develop his hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness and offensive creativity \u2014 skills that translate well to the ice.<\/p>\n

The Niagara IceDogs welcome Finn and his family to the organization and the Niagara region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, Ont. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray announced today that forward Finn Merrill, selected 32nd overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, has signed an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement with the club. The 5-foot-10 forward from The Hill Academy recorded 89 points (48 goals, 41 assists) in 59 games during…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":527,"name":"finn merrill","slug":"finn-merrill","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":527,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":526,"name":"signed","slug":"signed","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":526,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}],"class_list":["post-82149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-finn-merrill","tag-signed","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/24162208\/HIRED-WEB-5.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82151,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82149\/revisions\/82151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82136,"date":"2026-07-22T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82136"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:17:37","slug":"icedogs-sign-first-round-import-pick-stepan-stejskal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/icedogs-sign-first-round-import-pick-stepan-stejskal","title":{"rendered":"ICEDOGS SIGN FIRST-ROUND IMPORT PICK STEPAN STEJSKAL"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have signed forward Stepan Stejskal to an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/p>\n

Stejskal was selected by the IceDogs in the first round, 25th overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft.<\/p>\n

The Czech-born forward spent the 2025-26 season with HC Davos U21 in Switzerland’s U21 Elite League, where he recorded 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) in 37 games.<\/p>\n

“Stepan is a solid 200-foot player with very good offensive abilities,” said IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray. “He is an accountable player who should be able to add to our offensive attack. He has very good feet that allow him to get up and down the ice and an excellent ability to carry the puck at top speed.”<\/p>\n

Known for his hockey IQ, playmaking ability and offensive creativity, Stejskal has represented Czechia internationally, competing at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.<\/p>\n

“We look forward to seeing Stepan in an IceDogs jersey this September,” added DeGray.<\/p>\n

Stejskal becomes the first member of Niagara’s 2026 CHL Import Draft class to sign with the club, and joins fellow import player, Vladislav Yermolenko (G), as the IceDogs continue to build their roster for the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have signed forward Stepan Stejskal to an Ontario Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Stejskal was selected by the IceDogs in the first round, 25th overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. The Czech-born forward spent the 2025-26 season with HC Davos U21 in Switzerland’s U21 Elite League, where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":458,"name":"Signing","slug":"signing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":458,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"416"},{"term_id":516,"name":"Stepan Stejskal","slug":"stepan-stejskal","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":516,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"436"},{"term_id":434,"name":"Transaction","slug":"transaction","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":434,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw","term_order":"475"}],"class_list":["post-82136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-signing","tag-stepan-stejskal","tag-transaction","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/22151602\/HIRED-WEB-4.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82138,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82136\/revisions\/82138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82126,"date":"2026-07-22T13:13:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82126"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:13:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:13:47","slug":"ryerson-edgar-invited-to-canadas-national-mens-summer-under-18-team-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/ryerson-edgar-invited-to-canadas-national-mens-summer-under-18-team-camp","title":{"rendered":"Ryerson Edgar Invited to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Ryerson Edgar has been invited to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team training camp ahead of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Edgar is one of 27 players selected by Program of Excellence General Manager Alan Millar, alongside Program of Excellence Head Scout Byron Bonora and U18 Assistant General Manager Yanick Lemay, with input from Scott Salmond, Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations, and Benoit Roy, Director of Hockey Operations.<\/p>\n

The 2009-born forward is coming off an outstanding rookie season with the IceDogs, recording 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 64 games, leading all OHL rookies born in 2009 in scoring.<\/p>\n

Edgar has also previously represented Canada on the international stage, helping Team Canada Red capture a gold medal at the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge while recording three points during the tournament.<\/p>\n

\n

“We are excited to unveil the 27 players who will begin the road to the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at training camp in Edmonton. This is a talented and well-rounded group of young players,” said Millar. “Our staff have worked tirelessly to identify a roster that we believe gives us the best chance to be successful on home ice. We look forward to gathering in Edmonton next week to continue our preparations for the tournament, and for the opportunity to get Canada back on top of the podium in front of Canadian fans in August.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Training camp will feature practices and an exhibition game against Sweden on July 30, before Canada faces Czechia on August 1 in its final pre-tournament contest. Following camp, the roster will be finalized for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Canada opens the tournament against Switzerland on August 3 before taking on Slovakia on August 4 and Sweden on August 5 to conclude the preliminary round. The tournament wraps up with the medal games on August 8 in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

The Niagara IceDogs congratulate Ryerson on this well-deserved opportunity and wish him the best of luck as he competes for a spot on Team Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs forward Ryerson Edgar has been invited to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team training camp ahead of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton. Edgar is one of 27 players selected by Program of Excellence General Manager Alan Millar, alongside Program of Excellence Head Scout Byron Bonora and U18 Assistant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":523,"name":"Hlinka-Gretzky","slug":"hlinka-gretzky","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":523,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"201"},{"term_id":453,"name":"Ryerson Edgar","slug":"ryerson-edgar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":453,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"399"},{"term_id":454,"name":"Team Canada","slug":"team-canada","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":454,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"449"}],"class_list":["post-82126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hlinka-gretzky","tag-ryerson-edgar","tag-team-canada","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/22100230\/WEB-CANADA.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82127,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82126\/revisions\/82127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82129,"date":"2026-07-22T12:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82129"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:11:16","slug":"andrew-agozzino-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/andrew-agozzino-announces-retirement","title":{"rendered":"ANDREW AGOZZINO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Cameron Kelcey<\/em><\/p>\n

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 Niagara IceDogs alumnus and franchise legend Andrew Agozzino has announced his retirement from professional hockey following an outstanding 14-season career.<\/p>\n

Agozzino’s professional journey included 53 National Hockey League games, recording 12 points while suiting up for the Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks and Utah Mammoth.<\/p>\n

The majority of his career was spent in the American Hockey League, where he established himself as one of the league’s premier offensive talents. Over 847 career AHL games, Agozzino totalled 662 points (284 goals, 378 assists) and earned selections to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2013 and 2019. He concluded his playing career with the Tucson Roadrunners, the AHL affiliate of the Utah Mammoth.<\/p>\n

Originally selected 15th overall by the Mississauga IceDogs in the first round of the 2007 OHL Priority Selection, Agozzino became part of the franchise’s move to Niagara later that year.<\/p>\n

Over five seasons with the IceDogs, Agozzino developed into one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. He served as team captain for his final two-and-a-half seasons and led Niagara to the 2012 OHL Eastern Conference Championship.<\/p>\n

His exceptional overage campaign earned him the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Outstanding Overage Player and the Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy, recognizing the league’s top captain.<\/p>\n

Agozzino remains the longest-tenured player in IceDogs franchise history, having appeared in 369 regular-season and playoff games. He continues to hold numerous franchise records, including:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Most career points \u2013 369<\/li>\n
  • Most career goals \u2013 159<\/li>\n
  • Most career shorthanded goals \u2013 16<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Andrew’s impact on the IceDogs organization extends far beyond the record book. His leadership, dedication and commitment to excellence helped shape the foundation of hockey in Niagara and left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire future generations of IceDogs.<\/p>\n

    The Niagara IceDogs are incredibly proud to call Andrew Agozzino an alumnus and have him don the crest. On behalf of the entire IceDogs organization and Dog Country, we congratulate Andrew on an exceptional professional career and wish him all the best in retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By: Cameron Kelcey NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 Niagara IceDogs alumnus and franchise legend Andrew Agozzino has announced his retirement from professional hockey following an outstanding 14-season career. Agozzino’s professional journey included 53 National Hockey League games, recording 12 points while suiting up for the Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":525,"name":"Andrew Agozzino","slug":"andrew-agozzino","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":525,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":252,"name":"IceDogs Alumni","slug":"icedogs-alumni","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":252,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","term_order":"211"}],"class_list":["post-82129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-andrew-agozzino","tag-icedogs-alumni","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/22120835\/Agozzino-14.jpg",2219,1776,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82131,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82129\/revisions\/82131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":82114,"date":"2026-07-15T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=82114"},"modified":"2026-07-14T20:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T00:36:31","slug":"invited-tang-heads-to-team-usas-hlinka-gretzky-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/invited-tang-heads-to-team-usas-hlinka-gretzky-camp","title":{"rendered":"INVITED: TANG HEADS TO TEAM USA’S HLINKA-GRETZKY CAMP"},"content":{"rendered":"

    NIAGARA, ONT<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 Recently signed IceDogs Forward, Michael Tang, has been invited to participate in Team USA\u2019s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Selection Camp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Tang, known as a <\/span>smart,\u00a0<\/span>highly skilled, and crafty player who can play all three forward positions, spent last season with the USHL Madison Capitals, appearing in 59 games with nine goals, 18 assists, & 27 points, while also playing for<\/span>\u00a0five NTDP U17 teams. He has recently signed with the IceDogs in early July.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Tang is one of six OHLers to be named to the camp, <\/span>\u00a0taking place July 23rd-27th in St. Paul, Minnesota, ahead of deciding on the team’s 23-man roster before the tournament’s start on August 3rd, running until Aug. 8th.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Head coach Reid Cashman leads the U.S. Under-18 Men\u2019s Select Team coaching staff, while Todd Knott, Greg Rallo and Troy Thibodeau will serve as assistant coaches. Goaltending coach Alex Westlund rounds out the coaching staff.<\/p>\n

    The entire IceDogs organization wants to wish Michael the best of luck in St. Paul!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    NIAGARA, ONT \u2013 Recently signed IceDogs Forward, Michael Tang, has been invited to participate in Team USA\u2019s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Selection Camp.\u00a0 Tang, known as a smart,\u00a0highly skilled, and crafty player who can play all three forward positions, spent last season with the USHL Madison Capitals, appearing in 59 games with nine goals, 18 assists, &…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":82115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":523,"name":"Hlinka-Gretzky","slug":"hlinka-gretzky","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":523,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"201"},{"term_id":518,"name":"Michael Tang","slug":"michael-tang","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":518,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"289"},{"term_id":524,"name":"USA Hockey","slug":"usa-hockey","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":524,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"490"}],"class_list":["post-82114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hlinka-gretzky","tag-michael-tang","tag-usa-hockey","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/07\/14203601\/WEB-USA.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82116,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82114\/revisions\/82116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]