Brantford Bulldogs acquired goaltender Ryerson Leenders, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, from the Brampton Steelheads in exchange for a series of OHL Priority Draft Selections.
Leenders, a native of Nanticoke, was originally selected by the Steelheads in the second round, 32nd overall in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection Draft, the top goaltender selected in the draft, and has quickly become one of the premier netminders in the Ontario Hockey League.
Over 81 starts, which leads all goaltenders taken in the 2022 draft, Leenders has posted a 3.27 GAA / .898 SV%.
On the international stage Leenders has collected gold medals for Team Canada at both the World U-18 Hockey Championships and Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
Following his outstanding 2023-24 season where he posted a sterling 3.12 GAA / .909 SV% to go along with a trio of shutouts while racking up wins in 24 of his 46 starts. The 6’2” / 179lbs netminder was selected in the seventh round, 219th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
In exchange for Leenders the Bulldogs will send a series of eight selections to the Brampton Steelheads;
BAR 2nd 2025, WSR 2nd 2025, BFD 2nd 2026, OTT 3rd 2025, OTT 3rd 2026, SAG 3rd 2027, BFD 4th 2025, BFD 5th 2027.
“We are very excited to add Ryerson to our club.” said Matt Turek, General Manager of the Brantford Bulldogs. “Ryerson solidifies our goaltending tandem alongside David Egorov and gives our club a tremendous foundation for success. We know Ryerson is a player the fans will immediately gravitate to and look forward to his contributions both on the ice and in the community.”
