Ryan Brown Named 55th London Knights Captain In Franchise History

The London Knights have named Ryan Brown as the team's 55th captain in franchise history, the team has announced.

Brown, 18, was named as captain as someone with a lack of history with the team, only having played 38 games as a member of the London Knights, but Brown has earned the trust of the "C", having been chosen in a team vote.

Along with Brown as captain for the 2026-27 OHL season, Evan Van Gorp and Cohen Bidgood have been named as assistant captains.

Ryan is a player that carries our team motto and principals with pride, passion and leadership" said London Vice President and General Manager Mark Hunter. "He is a high character person that has shown tremendous growth both on and off the ice as a London Knight."

"It’s an incredible honour and privilege to wear the C for such a historic organization that has agreat tradition of captains before me", said Brown. "I’m humbled to be voted by my teammates as their captain. We have strong leaders in our room that I’m sharing this with in Evan (Van Gorp) and Cohen (Bidgood).”

Acquired in a trade from the Sarnia Sting in December 2025, Brown has eight points, all assists, in five games this season for London. Since being acquired by the Knights, Brown has 16 goals, 32 assists, & 48 points in 38 regular season games.

An NCAA commit to Ohio State, Brown is expected to join for the 2028-29 season, which would give Brown potentially another year as captain next season for London.

Ethan Van Gorp, 20, has five goals and nine points this season for the Knights in nine games. Entering his fourth OHL season, Van Gorp has 42 goals, 59 assists, and 101 points in 182 games.

Van Gorp has earned a reputation as a high-effort player, having gone undrafted in the OHL Priority Selection and U18 draft to a key player for the Knights.

Cohen Bidgood, 19, is in his third OHL season, having appeared in 79 career games for London with 55 points. A seventh round pick of the Knights in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, Bidgood leads London this season with 12 points in nine games.

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