1998–99 OHL season

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.

Expansion

Brampton Battalion

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.

Mississauga IceDogs

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.

Realignment

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.

Eastern Conference

East Division

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.

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.

Western Conference

Midwest Division

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 expanion Brampton Battalion also joined the division.

West 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.

New Arena

Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre

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.

Regular Season

Final standings

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

Eastern conference

Western conference

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	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

Leading goaltenders

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

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	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

Playoffs

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern conference quarterfinals

(1) Barrie Colts vs. (8) Kingston Frontenacs

(2) Ottawa 67's vs. (7) North Bay Centennials

(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (6) Sudbury Wolves

(4) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Peterborough Petes

Western conference quarterfinals

(1) Plymouth Whalers vs. (8) Windsor Spitfires

(2) Guelph Storm vs. (7) Erie Otters

(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (6) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

(4) Sarnia Sting vs. (5) London Knights

Conference semifinals

Eastern conference semifinals

(1) Barrie Colts vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

(2) Ottawa 67's vs. (3) Belleville Bulls

Western conference semifinals

(1) Plymouth Whalers vs. (5) London Knights

(2) Guelph Storm vs. (3) Owen Sound Platers

Conference finals

Eastern conference finals

(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

Western conference finals

(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (5) London Knights

OHL finals

J. Ross Robertson cup finals

(E3) Belleville Bulls vs. (W5) London Knights

J. Ross Robertson Cup Champions Roster

Playoff scoring leaders