Posted on by John Humphrey
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19
May

2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup Preview –  WHL, OHL, QMJHL and Windsor Spitfires

The tournament is being held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor May 19-28, 2017.

The last time Windsor hosted the Memorial Cup tournament it was in 1981 and the event was held at the now-closed Windsor Arena. The three participant teams were the Quebec Major Junior A Hockey League’s Cornwall Royals, Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers. The tournament back then did not include a host team, but the Spitfires’ Ernie Godden was the OHL nominee for the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year.

The Royals, lead by the likes of Dale Hawerchuk and Doug Gilmour, won their second straight Memorial Cup by defeating the Kitchener Rangers, who who were captained by Brian Bellows, 5-2 in the championship game.

2017 teams

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS Erie Otters
OHL Regular-season record: 50-15-2-1

Final Canadian Hockey League ranking: 2

Erie’s Three Stars of their Game:

Alex Debrincat (65 goals during the OHL regular season enroute to winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Top Player) SECOND Round pick of Buffalo Sabres in 2016

Dylan Strome – third pick overall in 2016 NHL Draft (Arizona) returned midway through regular season to rack up 75 points in just 35 games.

Darren Raddysh – 81 points in 62 regular season games for the2016-2017 OHL Dfenceman of the Year

 

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Saint John Sea Dogs

QMJHL Regular-season record: 48-14-5-1

Final Canadian Hockey League ranking: 3

Three Stars of Saint John’s game:

Left Defenceman Thomas Chabot (first round pick of Ottawa Senators 2015)

Left Defenceman Jakub Zboril (first round pick of Boston Bruins

Goaltender Callum Booth had a sparkling 2.35 GAA in 26 games after being acquired mid-season from the Quebec Remparts

 

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS Seattle Thunderbirds

WHL Regular-season record: 46-20-4-2

Final Canadian Hockey League Ranking: Honourable mention

Seattle’s three stars of their game:

Everyone – The Thunderbirds pulled off an unlikely upset of the Regina Pats, the number one ranked team in the CHL, in 6 games in the WHL championship series

 

MEMORIAL CUP HOST TEAM: Windsor Spitfires

OHL Regular-season record: 41-19-5-3

Final Canadian Hockey League Ranking: Honourable mention

Windsor’s three stars of their game:

Left Defenceman Logan Stanley (first round pick of Winnipeg Jets 2016) is making his return to the Spits blueline after undergoing knee surgery in January

Left Defenceman Mikhail Sergachev (first round pick of Montreal Canadiens 2016)

Right Centre/Right Winger Gabriel Vilardi (ranked number four among North American skaters for 2017 NHL Entry Draft)

Memorial Cup Schedule

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John Humphrey

John Humphrey loves to write about any hockey team or player with particular interest in the OHL. He brings you a no holds barred view of the OHL and Windsor Spitfires. John Humphrey is a Windsor-born, raised and educated freelance writer whose career has spanned three decades. In addition to being a contributing writer for OHL Classics, a book published by the Ontario Hockey League, he has contributed to such publications as Hockey Weekly, The OHL News and The Hockey News. He also continues to serve as as a stringer for the Canadian Press, covering the OHL and the Windsor Spitfires.