Bradford Rattlers
| Bradford Rattlers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Bradford, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Home arena | BWG Leisure Centre |
| Colours |
Green, Black, Yellow, and White |
| General manager | Sean Werth (2015-Present) |
| Head coach | Matt Hamilton (2015-16) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1971–1975 | Bradford Vasey Juniors |
| 1975–1988 | Bradford Blues |
| 1988–2006 | Bradford Bulls |
| 2006–present | Bradford Rattlers |
The Bradford Rattlers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based out of Bradford, Ontario, and members of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. The Rattlers, formerly known as the Bulls, were bought out 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.
The Bradford franchise was 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". 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. In 1989, the Bulls 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.
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. 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 Kirill Tulupov was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
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