The 1998–99 OHL season was the 19th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Brampton Battalion and the Mississauga IceDogs were added as expansion teams. The league realigned from three divisions into two conferences and four divisions. Brampton were placed in the Midwest division of the Western conference, and Mississauga were placed in the Central division of the Eastern conference. The OHL inaugurated four new trophies this season. The Holody Trophy was created for the regular season champion of the Midwest division. Two conference playoffs champions were created; the Bobby Orr Trophy for the Eastern conference, and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy for the Western conference. The fourth new trophy was the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, to be awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. Twenty teams each played sixty-eight games. The Belleville Bulls won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the London Knights.
On December 3, 1996, the Brampton Battalion was granted an expansion franchise owned by Scott Abbott. The team began play in the 1998–99 season, playing in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Battalion's arena was the newly constructed Brampton Centre.
Brampton played in their first game on September 24, 1998, losing 5–1 to the Peterborough Petes on the road. Their first home game was on October 9, as the Battalion dropped a 5-1 decision to the Kitchener Rangers in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,800 at the Brampton Centre. After beginning the season with six losses, Brampton won their first game, defeating the Sudbury Wolves 5–4 on October 18.
On January 21, 1997, the Mississauga IceDogs was granted an expansion franchise which included former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry in their ownership group. The IceDogs began play in the 1998–99 season, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The IceDogs arena was the newly constructed Hershey Centre.
The IceDogs played in their first game on September 25, 1998, losing a road game to the Kingston Frontenacs by a score of 10–0. Mississauga began the season with an 11-game road trip, as the club lost each game. In their home opener on October 30, Mississauga recorded their first win in franchise history, defeating the Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4–3 in front of a sold out of 6,000 fans at the Hershey Centre.
With the Brampton Battalion and Mississauga IceDogs joining the Ontario Hockey League for the 1998–99 season, the league underwent a massive realignment in which two new conferences, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, were created. Within each conference was two five-team divisions. The playoff format changed that the top eight teams in each conference made the post-season.
The East Division consisted of five teams that played in the division during the 1997-98 season. The teams were the Belleville Bulls, Kingston Frontenacs, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67's, and Peterborough Petes. The Toronto St. Michael's Majors left the division, joining the Central Division.
The Central Division underwent some major changes following the 1997-98 division. The Barrie Colts, North Bay Centennials and Sudbury Wolves remained in the division, however, the Guelph Storm, Kitchener Rangers, and Owen Sound Platers all left the division, joining the newly formed Midwest Division in the Western Conference. Joining the Central were the Toronto St. Michael's Majors from the East Division, and the expansion Mississauga IceDogs.
The Midwest Division was a newly created division in the Western Conference. Joining the division were the Guelph Storm, Kitchener Rangers and Owen Sound Platers from the Central Division, while the Erie Otters joined from the West Division. The expansion Brampton Battalion also joined the division.
The West Division consisted of five teams that played in the division during the 1997-98 season. The teams were the London Knights, Plymouth Whalers, Sarnia Sting, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Windsor Spitfires. The Erie Otters left the division, joining the newly formed Midwest Division.
The Sarnia Sting moved from the Sarnia Arena to their new home, the Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre. The Sting defeated the Kitchener Rangers 5–2 in their first game at their new home on September 25, 1998, in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,635 fans.
Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
| Rank | Team | DIV | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central | 68 | 49 | 13 | 6 | 104 | 343 | 192 | ||||
| 2 | East | 68 | 48 | 13 | 7 | 103 | 305 | 164 | ||||
| 3 | East | 68 | 39 | 22 | 7 | 85 | 334 | 246 | ||||
| 4 | East | 68 | 39 | 24 | 5 | 83 | 280 | 217 | ||||
| 5 | East | 68 | 40 | 26 | 2 | 82 | 266 | 213 | ||||
| 6 | Central | 68 | 25 | 35 | 8 | 58 | 261 | 288 | ||||
| 7 | Central | 68 | 22 | 40 | 6 | 50 | 215 | 248 | ||||
| 8 | East | 68 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 48 | 240 | 320 | ||||
| 9 | Central | 68 | 20 | 42 | 6 | 46 | 214 | 316 | ||||
| 10 | Central | 68 | 4 | 61 | 3 | 11 | 145 | 426 |
| Rank | Team | DIV | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West | 68 | 51 | 13 | 4 | 106 | 313 | 162 | ||||
| 2 | Midwest | 68 | 44 | 22 | 2 | 90 | 300 | 218 | ||||
| 3 | Midwest | 68 | 39 | 24 | 5 | 83 | 312 | 293 | ||||
| 4 | West | 68 | 37 | 25 | 6 | 80 | 279 | 216 | ||||
| 5 | West | 68 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 72 | 260 | 217 | ||||
| 6 | West | 68 | 31 | 29 | 8 | 70 | 244 | 242 | ||||
| 7 | Midwest | 68 | 31 | 33 | 4 | 66 | 271 | 297 | ||||
| 8 | West | 68 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 52 | 203 | 294 | ||||
| 9 | Midwest | 68 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 52 | 205 | 257 | ||||
| 10 | Midwest | 68 | 8 | 57 | 3 | 19 | 198 | 362 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes [1]
| width:30%;" | Player | width:30%;" | Team | width:7.5%;" | GP | width:7.5%;" | G | width:7.5%;" | A | width:7.5%;" | Pts | width:7.5%;" | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Sarno | Sarnia Sting | 68 | 37 | 93 | 130 | 49 | |||||||
| Norm Milley | Sudbury Wolves | 68 | 52 | 68 | 120 | 47 | |||||||
| Sheldon Keefe | Toronto/Barrie | 66 | 51 | 65 | 116 | 140 | |||||||
| Adam Colagiacomo | Plymouth Whalers | 67 | 40 | 68 | 108 | 89 | |||||||
| Mike Fisher | Sudbury Wolves | 68 | 41 | 65 | 106 | 55 | |||||||
| Daniel Tkaczuk | Barrie Colts | 58 | 43 | 62 | 105 | 58 | |||||||
| Harold Druken | Plymouth Whalers | 60 | 58 | 45 | 103 | 34 | |||||||
| Kevin Colley | Oshawa Generals | 63 | 39 | 62 | 101 | 68 | |||||||
| Justin Papineau | Belleville Bulls | 68 | 52 | 47 | 99 | 28 | |||||||
| Ivan Novoseltsev | Sarnia Sting | 68 | 57 | 39 | 96 | 45 |
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses;
SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average [2]
| width:25%;" | Player | width:25%;" | Team | width:5%;" | GP | width:5%;" | Mins | width:5%;" | W | width:5%;" | L | width:5%;" | T | width:5%;" | GA | width:5%;" | SO | width:5%;" | Sv% | width:5%;" | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Holsinger | Plymouth Whalers | 40 | 2252 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 78 | 5 | 0.924 | 2.08 | |||||||||||
| Levente Szuper | Ottawa 67's | 32 | 1801 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 70 | 4 | 0.920 | 2.33 | |||||||||||
| Seamus Kotyk | Ottawa 67's | 41 | 2314 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 92 | 5 | 0.915 | 2.39 | |||||||||||
| Brian Finley | Barrie Colts | 52 | 3064 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 136 | 3 | 0.920 | 2.66 | |||||||||||
| Rob Zepp | Plymouth Whalers | 31 | 1663 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 76 | 3 | 0.907 | 2.74 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes [4]
| width:30%;" | Player | width:30%;" | Team | width:7.5%;" | GP | width:7.5%;" | G | width:7.5%;" | A | width:7.5%;" | Pts | width:7.5%;" | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Papineau | Belleville Bulls | 21 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 20 | |||||||
| Ryan Ready | Belleville Bulls | 21 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 22 | |||||||
| Tom Kostopoulos | London Knights | 25 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 32 | |||||||
| Richard Pitirri | London Knights | 25 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 24 | |||||||
| Jonathan Cheechoo | Belleville Bulls | 21 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 27 | |||||||
| Krys Barch | London Knights | 25 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 15 | |||||||
| Chris Kelly | London Knights | 25 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 22 | |||||||
| Jay Legault | London Knights | 25 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 40 | |||||||
| Mike Dombkiewicz | Owen Sound Platers | 16 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 22 | |||||||
| Glenn Crawford | Belleville Bulls | 21 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 22 |
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average [5]
| width:25%;" | Player | width:25%;" | Team | width:5%;" | GP | width:5%;" | Mins | width:5%;" | W | width:5%;" | L | width:5%;" | GA | width:5%;" | SO | width:5%;" | Sv% | width:5%;" | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seamus Kotyk | Ottawa 67's | 5 | 338 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0.912 | 2.31 | ||||||||||
| J.F. Perras | Erie Otters | 5 | 245 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0.937 | 2.69 | ||||||||||
| Levente Szuper | Ottawa 67's | 4 | 241 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0.924 | 2.73 | ||||||||||
| Brian Finley | Barrie Colts | 5 | 324 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0.917 | 2.78 | ||||||||||
| Greg Hewitt | Sarnia Sting | 5 | 323 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0.939 | 2.79 |
On June 5, 1999, the OHL conducted the 1999 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the Brampton Centre for Sports & Entertainment in Brampton, Ontario. The Mississauga IceDogs held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Jason Spezza from the Brampton Battalion. Spezza was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1999 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.[6]
Canada
United States