Remparts Named Memorial Cup Host

If you haven’t heard, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League awarded Quebec City the 2015 Memorial Cup tournament today.

The Remparts and Chicoutimi Sagueneens were the only teams to bid on the tournament. The selection committee chose Quebec “based on the fact that their bid had all the elements from top to bottom to convince us that they would present an excellent 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup: great hockey team, good organizing committee and superior installations.”

Today’s decision could potentially be huge for the Saint John Sea Dogs. This certainly makes the Remparts an even more attractive destination for players next season. They’ve been able to attract plenty of top talent in the past and you have to wonder if they may try and land Jack Eichel, the American forward who is one of the top prospects for the 2015 NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs currently hold Eichel’s rights, and although it would be awesome to see him playing in a Saint John jersey, the assets the team would get in return for trading him would be greatly beneficial in the team’s quest to peak in 2017. No matter where Eichel ends up playing next season he is likely in the NHL come the 2015-16 campaign.

But, y'know, maybe Eichel will fulfill his commitment to Boston University and spend the entire season there and none of this speculation will even matter. We shall see.

In related news, the Sagueneens said they are uncertain on whether or not they will bid on the 2017 Memorial Cup. The 2015 tournament will be the third straight time the QMJHL has awarded the tournament to a Quebec city so there will probably be some added pressure on the league to give it to a Maritime city come 2017.