Bulldogs have now added six players from the United States in recent weeks.
With tons of roster turnover expected after an all-in season and a run to the Eastern conference final, the Brantford Bulldogs have really pulled in a lot of talent from the U.S. over the past couple of weeks to fill out their roster for next season.
In addition to Jason Musa, Brantford has now added Abe Barnett, Xavier Lieb, Noah Lapointe, Nathan Hauad and Owen DeGraff as options to their team for the 2026-27 campaign.
With the likes of Caleb Malhotra, Marek Vanacker, Adam Jiricek, Jett Luchanko, Jake O'Brien, Ben Danford and more all likely leaving, there will definitely be some gaps that need to be filled. Brantford sure hopes these players can step up where their predecessors left off.
Barnett, 17, is joining from the USNTDP. After coming up through the Chicago Mission youth ranks, he joined the development program in 2024-25, playing his U17 and U18 seasons with the program.
Since he's a late-2008 birthday, he's not NHL draft eligible until 2027. Considering the 6-foot-1 blueliner's path and experience with the U.S. national team, a good season in Brantford could see him get drafted next summer.
Barnett is committed to join the NCAA's University of Michigan, joining his brother Asher.
The 5-foot-9 Lieb is joining the Bulldogs from the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, after a 27 (8+19) point campaign in his first full season with the team.
The 18-year-old Penn State commit should provide some speed and tenacity to the bottom of the Brantford forward group.
Lapointe is another player with NTDP experience, though he's a bit older and will be joining as an overager.
The 19-year-old played his two years with the program before playing two more USHL seasons, first with the Chicago Steel before heading to the Tri-City Storm for 2025-26.
While the defensive defenseman isn't a big scorer, the Arizona State commit's physicality and experience should be a big boost to a blue line that will see a lot of turnover heading into next year.
Hauad is another late-2008 birthday, coming over after being a depth forward on a Des Moines Buccaneers team, scoring five goals and four assists in 47 games.
The Chicago-born UConn commit should play a similar depth role in Brantford next season.
Finally, DeGraff should be another depth addition to the Bulldogs forward core. The 18-year-old had seven goals and two assists with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL last season, his first coming out of the Long Island Gulls youth system.
The 6-foot-2 winger should bring some size and physicality down the lineup, and is committed to Penn State following his junior career.
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