The Brantford Bulldogs entered the 2025-26 OHL season as the top team in the league, viewed by many as the team to beat. After a 2-0-1 start, little has happened to sway anyone’s opinion on this team.

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The only difference heading into this next week of game action is that Brantford will be as close to full strength as they’ve been all season. Which is why there’s probably no better time to showcase one of the top teams in the OHL than on Friday Night Faceoff.

The Bulldogs will host the Peterborough Petes in an Eastern Conference tilt Friday at TD Civic Centre at 7 p.m. ET. The game will stream on FloHockey as normal, but will also be available for live and free across FloHockey’s social platforms including YouTube, Facebook and X.

Here’s a look at why Brantford, currently No. 2 in the OHL Power Rankings, is expected to have such a big season.

Established Stars Return

After getting returning stars Jake O’Brien (SEA) and Marek Vanacker (CHI) back from NHL camps, the Bulldogs are set to welcome returning defenseman and St. Louis Blues first-rounder Adam Jiříček back to the lineup. With eight NHL draft picks on the team, there is no shortage of top players to watch donning the black and gold. 

O’Brien’s return was expected, but still welcome. He will serve as the team’s captain and had an assist in the only game he’s appeared in so far. The No. 8 overall pick in 2025 had 98 points last season including 32 goals.

Vanacker, who scored in his first game back, is looking to build off of a strong season that started late due to an injury recovery. Vanacker scored 24 goals last season, appearing in 42 regular-season games. He added 11 more points in 11 playoff games, but also has good work ethic off of the puck and can make things difficult for the opposition.

Jiříček’s return is exciting on many fronts. He was limited to just 27 regular-season games last year and missed a few games in the playoffs as well. Selected 16th overall in 2024, we haven’t really had a chance to see him open things up. The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenseman has plenty of upside, but now we might get a chance to see him start tapping into that.

Jiříček will bolster a blue line that also includes veteran Owen Protz (MTL), who was invited to Canada’s World Junior camp this summer and can provide a steady, physical defensive presence to this team with a high-powered attack.

Goalie Ryerson Leenders (BUF) is also back after appearing in 48 regular-season contests, 31 of which were wins.

What makes this returning group so intriguing is that Brantford lost a fair amount of its offensive attack from last season including 70-goal scorer Nick Lardis. The fact that Brantford was able to reload so quickly is a huge testament to how they've been built and how they're also taking advantage of the new landscape within hockey, as evidenced by the host of newcomers they've brought in.

Explosive Newcomers Add To Offensive Pop

Caleb Malhotra’s highly anticipated arrival after playing a year in the BCHL has more than lived up to the hype. The 2026 NHL Draft-eligible and son of former NHLer Manny Malhotra has been on a tear to start his OHL career. A five-point performance against Sudbury last weekend has the 17-year-old on top of Brantford’s scoring leaderboard with eight points through three games.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have added a pair of especially exciting imports Adam Benák. The Minnesota Wild prospect scored a spectacular between-the-legs goal on a shorthanded breakaway amid a four-point debut that saw him also register three assists.

ADAM BENÁK HAS HIS FIRST IN THE OHL AND IT'S A SHORT-HANDED BREAKAWAY! 🚨@BulldogsOHL | @OHLHockey | @mnwild #BFD #OHL pic.twitter.com/x3IGGHi1hN

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) September 28, 2025

Adding a player of Benák’s offensive prowess to the lineup almost doesn’t seem fair. The Czech playmaker had 59 points in 56 games in the USHL before being picked in the fourth round by Minnesota. If Benák were bigger, he probably wouldn’t have slipped outside of the top 100 for the draft, but now he’s yet another high-caliber producer in the middle of Brantford’s lineup.

The club also secured the rights Vladimír Dravecký, an exciting draft-eligible defenseman who was born in the U.S., but represents Czechia internationally. He played in Sweden last season, rising up the ranks to even play three games in the SHL with Rögle. There are some big expectations on this late-2007-born blueliner who already has his first OHL goal through three games.

Among other newcomers who have made a positive impact are Cooper Dennis and Edison Engle (WPG), who both played in the USHL last season. Dennis is second on the team with six points, while Engle had two assists in his OHL debut after turning from Winnipeg Jets camp.

This team has good depth, good balance and an especially strong top end of its lineup. They will have a bit of a target on their back as the team a lot of people pegged in the preseason as the league’s best, but they look to be more than up to the challenge.

Matchup Preview: Peterborough vs. Brantford

The Bulldogs will face an improved Peterborough squad from the one that finished last a season ago.The Petes boast a number of high-end talents including two projected first-round forwards in Adam Novotný and Colin Fitzgerald. Austrian import Leon Kolarik has led the way so far offensively, though, with four points in four games. He is tied with Francis Parish and Leon Soto for the team lead.

The play of goalie Easton Rye has been another bright spot for the Petes, as he has a .917 save percentage through his first four starts of the season as the team has gone 2-2 over that span.

Brantford will be looking to see if red-hot Caleb Malhotra can continue his dominance, but I'd also expect the veterans to have a bigger influence on the game as both Jake O'Brien and Marek Vanacker really get back in the swing of things after returning from NHL camps. 

How To Watch OHL Free Streams On YouTube

On Friday nights throughout the season, the OHL and FloHockey will present Friday Night Faceoff, a free game of the week on YouTube. The game’s primary broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey’s YouTube page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and OHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch OHL Free Streams On X

On Friday nights throughout the season, the OHL and FloHockey will present Friday Night Faceoff, a free game of the week on X (formerly known as Twitter). The primary broadcast feed will stream on FloHockey’s X page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and OHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

How To Watch OHL Free Streams On Facebook

On Friday nights throughout the season, the OHL and FloHockey will present Friday Night Faceoff, a free game of the week on YouTube. The primary broadcast feed will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey’s Facebook page. Additionally, the game will stream live on the OHL’s Facebook page and on each participating teams’ Facebook pages. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and OHL social Channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

WATCH HERE

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