King Rebellion is the newest team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League

The King Rebellion is the newest team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), the league has announced.

Approvals have been granted to relocate the Brantford 99ers franchise from the OJHL to King Township for the 2024-2025 season.

“On behalf of the OJHL Board of Governors, we are excited about Brantford’s move to the King Township market,” OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy said in a press release.

“The community, working through the details of the relocation, has gone above and beyond to welcome our franchise, which will be known as the King Rebellion, and we are confident that the team will be successful in King Township.”

“I am extremely excited beyond words to relocate the Brantford 99ers hockey team to King Township for the 2024-2025 season. The team will become King Rebellion,” said Rebellion Governor Willa Wang.

“I would especially like to thank Marty Savoy and Chris Vanstone of the OJHL and Chris Fasciano and Jonathan Bell of King Township for their unwavering support and guidance in making this a reality.”

“King Township has been fantastic and we look forward to working closely with their minor hockey teams and getting involved in community events throughout the year.”

“We are excited to welcome King’s Rebellion to our community,” said King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini. “This relocation not only adds to our vibrant sports culture, but also creates new opportunities for our local athletes. We look forward to supporting the Rebellion at the City Recreation Center (TWRC), a state-of-the-art, carbon-neutral facility that reflects our commitment to sustainability and community engagement.”

The name Rebellion was chosen to align with the current name of the King Township Minor Hockey Association’s minor hockey team. The team name also pays homage to the Lloydtown Rebellion of 1837, which was part of the Upper Canada Rebellion.

King Township has a population of over 27,000.

The King Rebellion will play their home games at the new recreation center, which is slated to open in the fall of 2024. The team’s grand opening will take place in September, with an exact date to be determined.

The Rebellion will be coached by Mark Joslin, who was named the 2023-24 OJHL Coach of the Year and was a finalist for this year’s CJHL Coach of the Year award.

Joslin took over as head coach of the Brantford 99ers in the summer of 2023. Under his leadership, the 99ers’ record went from 5-46-1-2 in 2022-23 to 26-26-0-4 this season season.

His previous four seasons with the Toronto Patriots included being named the OJHL Executive of the Year in 2018. He also coached with the North York Rangers, Aurora Tigers, Pickering Panthers and Stouffville Spirit of the OJHL.

“We’re excited to move into a nice, small community that hasn’t had a junior hockey team before,” said Joslin, a lifelong York Region resident. “The league and the town have been very supportive. There is so much potential in King.”

Joslin said the township provided improvements for the Rebellion, including building “an OHL-quality locker room with individual stands” and installing a clock over center ice in the new arena.

Rebellion will be involved in the community, Joslin said, starting with a festival in King next month. Players will also attend minor hockey practices during the 2024-25 season.

The TWRC, where the King Rebellion will play, will include an aquatics center, two NHL-sized ice rinks, an artificial turf field house and a multi-purpose community space.

A ceremony to unveil the Rebellion shirt with the new logo was scheduled for last night’s King’s council meeting.