Wayne Gretzky buys a junior team

The Ontario Junior League (OHL) transferred ownership of the Niagara IceDogs to a group that includes hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as a minority investor on Thursday.

Wayne Gretzky buys a junior team

The Ontario Junior League (OHL) transferred ownership of the Niagara IceDogs to a group that includes hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as a minority investor on Thursday.

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"La Merveille" is trying its luck again in the Canadian junior ranks, 37 years after acquiring the Hull Olympics, in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ). Gretzky had sold the future formation of Gatineau after only five years, in 1992.

The National Hockey League's all-time leading scorer has teamed up with majority investor Darren DeDobbelaer, who served as president and general manager of the lower-tier Brantford 99ers and Brantford Bandits.

“I'm very excited to be back in junior hockey and I've always loved it. Forming a partnership with a friend also from Brantford is exciting for both of us and we can't wait to get started,” Gretzky said in a statement.

In April, the OHL suspended IceDogs CEO and head coach Joey and Billy Burke for making inappropriate comments to a female colleague in a WhatsApp group. The two brothers were fined $150,000 and will not be able to return to the circuit until June 2024.

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