Brantford Bulldogs Name Scouting Staff
May 23, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. General Manager Spencer Hyman, Director of Scouting Mike Galati & Head Scout Peter Goulet officially announced the scouting staff for the Brantford Bulldogs on Friday with nine scouts joining the hockey club from across the province.
Goulet's team will be bolstered by the additions of NHL alumni Wayne Primeau, who will handle the GTA area with a focus on the GTHL, and Zac Rinaldo, who will take on the role as Bulldogs' GOJHL scout.
Primeau, was selected 17th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1994 Entry Draft, one year before Bulldogs Head Coach Jay McKee was selected by Buffalo 14th, and concluded a 15-year professional career in 2010 having played for Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Boston, Calgary & Toronto over the course of 774 games and won a Calder Cup with the Rochester Americans in 1996. Primeau stepped into coaching and scouting following his career, having coached multiple teams in the GTHL where he will now scout for the Bulldogs. Primeau brings an intimate knowledge of the OHL having skated for both the Owen Sound Platers & Oshawa Generals prior to his professional career.
Rinaldo, was originally a 6th round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers and went onto a 12 year professional career himself. Having suited up for Philadelphia, Boston, Arizona, Nashville, Calgary & Columbus over the course of 374 professional games, Rinaldo understands the hard work & determination needed to play at the OHL level. Having been selected in the 14th round in 2006, Rinaldo would defy the odds and play 185 games between Mississauga, London & Barrie in 4 years in the OHL. Following the conclusion of his playing career, Rinaldo stepped behind the bench as an Assistant Coach for both the Milton Menace of the OJHL & Toronto Red Wings U14 of the GTHL in the 2022- 23 season and earned his way to the Head Coach role with the GOJHL's Pelham Panthers where he will be the Bulldogs' eyes on the province's top junior B loop.
James Kennedy joins the Brantford Bulldogs from the Ontario Hockey League's Central Scouting Bureau where he will continue to oversee the ALLIANCE league and Michigan as an area scout for the club. Kennedy spent the last 9 seasons with OHL Central Scouting, looking after the same territory following a very successful 10-year tenure as the Head Coach of the Elgin-Middlesex U16 AAA program where he won the 2015 OHL Gold Cup, 2014 U14 OHF Championship & 2014 Ontario Winter Games gold medal and guided his teams to a combined 262-77-24 record.
John Barrett will be a familiar name and face to Bulldogs fans and local junior and minor hockey fans. Barrett has been a frequent guest coach at Bulldogs development and training camps and has been behind the bench for the past decade plus between the U16, U18 & GOJHL levels.
Barrett spent multiple seasons learning from Bulldogs Assistant Coach Ryan Kuwabara while both were coaching with the Ancaster Avalanche providing more familiarity to the organization. Barrett will take on the OMHA West area in scouting for the Bulldogs.
Looking at the OJHL/GTA area will be the pair of Steve McSwain & Vince Bonaiuto. McSwain returned to Canada after spending the 2016-17 season playing professionally in Sweden and began his way into coaching. A fixture with the Vaughan Kings program, McSwain has been Head Coach at each of the U14, U15 & U16 levels, having helped to produce a lengthy list of OHL talent. Additionally, McSwain has spent the past two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the OJHL's Toronto Patriots. Vince Bonaiuto has had a similar path as McSwain, finishing up a solid four-year OJHL career in the 2019-20 season Bonaiuto took his leadership qualities and hockey knowledge behind the bench with the Markham Royals where he has served as an Assistant Coach for the past three seasons with the OJHL club.
For the OMHA East and HEO leagues the Bulldogs will turn to the work of Kris LeBlanc and Josh Hardiman. LeBlanc comes to the Bulldogs from dual positions with TheScout.ca where he has been Director of Scouting for the past three seasons as well as the Head Scout for the OMHA East & HEO and spent 2024-25 with the Georgetown Raiders. Joining LeBlanc will be Josh Hardiman, the Montreal product who played his junior hockey first in the United States with Kent Prep School before a pair of seasons in the OJHL. After graduating as a player, Hardiman returned to the OJHL where he has worked alongside Peter Goulet from 2017 to 2024 in Kingston, Trenton & Powassan as an Assistant Coach before taking the same role with the Kingston Wranglers of the United States Premier Hockey League.
Handling the Bulldogs' U18 scouting will be Thomas Zubrick, who has role right in his wheelhouse as the Assistant Coach & Director of Player Development for the OJHL's North York Rangers stepped behind the bench for the Rangers U18 AAA side last season.
The Brantford Bulldogs are excited to welcome our new scouting team to the hockey club and look forward to their work in finding the next generation of Bulldogs.
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