Brandon Hope - Biography

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Brandon Hope - Biography

 

Early Years

Brandon Hope was born and raised in Canton, Michigan, a suburb west of downtown Detroit. Being from Canton Michigan, a hop skip and a jump away from downtown Detroit, Brandon Hope from a young age was surrounded and immersed in a region with an incredibly rich hockey culture. Growing up in Detroit long after the automotive industry has long moved on, Hope and his family initially struggled to make ends meet. His love of hockey was fostered from a very young age and goaltending felt natural for him to try out as he's a very family and friends driven person, and wants to help in any way he can, even by putting his body on the line for it. Despite the costs of being a goalie in the modern day, Hopes family made it possible for him to chase his dream of being a professional hockey player and got him into programs and puck and stick open ice events at local arenas.

 

Brandon Hope began his hockey career in local youth leagues, quickly distinguishing himself from his peers as a very promising goaltender starting at age 11. He played in many different U12 and U14 leagues across the state of Michigan for many years, but had his big break at 16 during a state championship in which his team came extremely close to winning the title, falling 3-2 in overtime. This instilled a drive in him to do whatever it took to win, and allowed him to experience suffering hardship early on, and to use it as a driving force to improve and come back stronger. Despite losing on the biggest stage he had been on to the point, his game was noticed by OHL scouts, which led to him being selected by the Sarnia Sting in that years Priority Selection draft.

 

Major Junior

During his time with Sarnia, Brandon Hope gained valuable experience playing against the best Canadian Major Junior hockey had to offer. In his 47 games with the team over the span of two seasons, he put up respectable numbers, but never had an opportunity to really shine like he had wanted. He was later then traded to Owen Sound, where in his time with the team, he started to pick up the pace a bit to really put his name on the board in big ways. After winning the Dave Pinkney Trophy for having the lowest GAA in the league, he started to get noticed by VHLM scouts who were looking to sign a young goalie who could potentially become something one day. After a very strong showing with Owen Sound, achieving a 28-19-4 record, with a 2.89 GAA & .916 save percentage, he was surprised to find himself traded yet again, this time to Niagara to round out the season.

 

Hope couldn't believe it. Here he is at the end of his Major Junior career, and despite having relatively impressive numbers, he could never find a team to truly dedicate himself to and win big with. But not all "hope" was lost. Those VHLM scouts started to notice his skill, and wanted to provide him with a better opportunity than what the CHL could offer him, and he was more than willing to take on a change of scenery.

 

VHLM

On April 7th, 2025, Brandon Hope was approached by the management of the Las Vegas Aces in the VHLM to play a few games to round out the season. While not quite the glorious beginning he was hoping to begin a minor professional career with, he was grateful to the team for taking a chance on him. (The 1.5 million dollar contract they offered him to play those three games didn't hurt as well.) Despite only playing three games, the team rallied around Hope and gave him the best chance possible to help his team end the season on a positive note. A loss and two overtime losses later, and Hope was still chasing the high of winning his first professional hockey game. This didn't deter him though, as the league started to notice his massive potential and started trying to schedule interviews with him for the upcoming VHLM draft. 

 

Scouting Report

Brandon Hope is everything you'd want in a goalie. He has stellar rebound control, style control, reaction time and hand speed. His skating, size and agility leave a lot to be desired, but as a goalie fresh out of the CHL joining the VHLM, he can only get better with time. He has a drive for winning, and will go to any lengths to ensure his team can make deep runs into the playoffs. While not being the flashiest or the coolest goalie out there, he is a goalie you can see in the starting lineup and think "Yeah, we've got this on lock." Fundamentals is the name of his game, and his hunger for success and dedication to his team make him a goalie teams can rely on and trust to go all the way with.

 

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