Memorial Cup: Five things to know ahead of junior hockey's biggest event
After a dominant regular season followed by a 16-2 playoff run, the London Knights are headed as Ontario Hockey League champions to the Memorial Cup, set to run from May 24 to June 2. Here are five things to know about the biggest trophy in junior hockey – which is also one of the toughest to win in all of sports.
The Memorial Cup’s history goes back more than 100 years when the trophy – originally known as the OHA Memorial Cup – was donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in 1919 and awarded to the junior ice hockey champion of Canada. It was created in remembrance of Canadian soldiers who died in the First World War. Starting in 1972, the Memorial Cup was contested by three teams who championed their respective leagues: the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (now the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League), the Ontario Hockey Association (now the Ontario Hockey League) and Western Canadian Hockey League (now the Western Hockey League). In 1983, the tournament added a fourth pre-determined team to host the competition and to compete for the trophy, which was done to boost the tournament’s attendance.
The 104th installment is being held in Saginaw, Michigan, home of the Saginaw Spirit. The team was ousted from the third round of the OHL playoffs, by London, but gets a berth as the host city. This is the first Memorial Cup to be held in Michigan and the first in the U.S. since 1998, when the Spokane Chiefs played host in Washington State. The first time the tournament was held in an American city was 1983, when it was played in Portland, Oregon and the hometown Winterhawks won it.
For the first time ever, the Quebec, Western and Ontario league finals were all won in four-game sweeps, sending three teams to compete with Saginaw for the Memorial Cup: The London Knights, Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Moose Jaw Warriors. This is the sixth appearance for the Knights in the past two decades; by contrast, Moose Jaw has had a team for 40 years and this spring marks their first berth.
It took London 40 years to finally appear in a Memorial Cup – in 2005, on home ice no less – but this spring will mark their sixth time participating. It's an unparalleled run of success over the past two decades that has resulted in two Memorial Cup wins, '05 and 2016. The 2014 event was held in London, and the Knights took part as the host team after being eliminated from the OHL playoffs. There's history on the line this time around: A win by London would tie the franchise for most Memorial Cup wins with the Windsor Spitfires (2009, 2010, 2017); Kamloops Blazers (1992, 1994, 1995) and the Cornwall Royals (1972, 1980, 1981). The Peterborough Petes hold the record for most appearances in the Memorial Cup, with nine.
Few players who go No. 28 overall in the NHL draft become well-known within 12 months – but there are few players like Easton Cowan, who is the top prospect for the high-profile Toronto Maple Leafs and surpassed expectations by being named regular-season and playoff MVP in the OHL. He powered London's playoff run, with 10 goals and 34 points in 18 games. Meanwhile, Saginaw's Michael Misa followed the likes of Connor McDavid and John Tavares in joining the OHL as an "exceptional" 15-year-old and he'll step into the spotlight here. Now 17, Misa tallied 75 points in 67 regular season games, followed by 11 points in the playoffs. A couple of other notable names: Blue-liner Denton Mateychuk was picked No. 12 overall by NHL Columbus in 2022 and he's followed up a strong stint on Canada's world junior team with Moose Jaw's WHL title; and Maveric Lamoureux, another NHL first-rounder (Arizona/Utah, 29th overall, 2022) who played defence for Canada at the world juniors and has helped lead Drummonville to the Memorial Cup.
bwilliams@postmedia.com
Brian Williams, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, London Free Press
