Jay McKee, who has coached the Brantford Bulldogs since 2021, will be the head coach of the newly named Hamilton Hammers of the American Hockey League (AHL), as that team starts play this October.
The Bulldogs hired McKee in July 2021 and he had a “stellar,” regular season record, the team said in a Friday news release, including three East Division titles and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) championship in 2022.
“His record for development in that time is second to none,” the team said, noting he fostered four NHL first-round draft picks and 31 players who were drafted or signed at the professional level.
The Bulldogs played at Hamilton’s arena from 2015 to 2023 before moving to Brantford after the arena began its $300-million renovations. In January 2025, the team’s owners, Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman and his family, announced the Bulldogs would stay in nearby Brantford, Ont.
While he was with the team, McKee “helped build a culture rooted in professionalism, accountability, toughness, and genuine care for people,” Bulldogs general manager Spencer Hyman said in the news release. “While this is an emotional day because of how much he means to our team and Brantford, there is nobody more deserving of this opportunity.”
“I’m beyond grateful for my time as head coach of the Brantford Bulldogs and for the great relationships that were built over the years,” McKee, 48, said.
An AHL news release notes McKee coached the Kitchener Rangers from 2016 to 2020. He played 14 seasons in the NHL as a defenceman with the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins.
In the mid-’90s, he played for the Niagara Falls Thunder OHL team.
McKee was born in Kingston, Ont.
In late March, the American Hockey League board of governors unanimously approved the Bridgeport Islanders’ relocation from the Connecticut city — where they’d been based since 2001 — to Hamilton.
The AHL is made up of affiliates, or farm teams, for each NHL team that serve as a development source for player prospects. The NHL’s New York Islanders own the Hammers. Earlier this month their new star, Hamilton’s Matthew Schaefer, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. He’s the youngest ever winner of that award.
On May 21, the Islanders announced the team’s new name at TD Coliseum, where they will play in the fall alongside a new, as-of-yet unnamed PWHL team.
