The Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs are a family determined to make some noise at the OMHA championships beginning Friday.

The U16 squad finished the SCTA regular season in third place with a 14-6-3 record and led their playoff bracket with a 7-0-1 mark.

Despite that, head coach Adam Syring feels his team isn’t getting the attention it deserves.

“I’ll be honest, I think this team is underrated a lot,” he said. “We don’t get the respect or the kind of looks or talks around the rink as other teams would within our own league and other teams I’ve coached.”

His players are using that perceived slight as fuel for motivation and improvement.

“You’ve got to go and prove yourself, show these guys why they should be talking about you and what they’ve missed,” said Syring. “If you really want to be seen, then at the end of the day you’ve got to show results.”

Click here to get your official OMHA Championships Merchandise

The players agree, keeping that mentality in approaching their games and even practices.

Leading scorer Clark Dunford is working hard to keep his group confident, ready, and playing at their best.

“It pushes us more and we feel disrespected sometimes,” said 16-year-old prospect Clark Dunford. “But you know we feed off that, take that energy, and we put it into the game. We’re just trying to make a name for ourselves.”

As one of the leaders of the team, Dunford cherishes the chemistry the team has developed and everything else they have going for them. 

He considers them as a tightly knit group.

“Just being with them in the dressing room, on the ice during practice. Scoring goals, celebrating, even just going through losses with them. They're always with me and I’m always with them,” he said. “We’re like one big family.”

That family will be heading in different directions after the OMHA championships and the sense that they’ll be breaking up after awards is beginning to settle in and affect them.

Catch the Jr. Bulldogs in action - click here to watch the OMHA U16 AAA Championships presented by Egg Farmers of Ontario from March 25-27

Adding all these elements, especially nearing the end of a one-year run, makes for an incredibly tough challenge that can be difficult to overcome. A positive mindset and a desperation to stay together for as long as possible brings out the best in these athletes.

“I think it’s the culture in the room,” said forward Dean Deligeorgis. “We all make jokes and have fun, but when it gets down to business, we all work really well together.”

Dunford and Deligeorgis both have next month’s OHL draft and taking another step forward in hockey to look forward to. But they also want to focus on the present and lead the Jr. Bulldogs as far as possible, ready to surprise teams in the OMHA championship.

“We’re a tough team to play against,” said Syring. “That’s kind of what we pride ourselves on is fast, heavy hockey and grinding teams down.”