Sea Dogs to bid on 2022 Memorial Cup

The Saint John Sea Dogs are doing it.

After many years of anticipation and then a year-or-so of unknown, the Canadian Hockey League confirmed Wednesday that the Sea Dogs are one of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams intending to bid on hosting rights for the 2022 Memorial Cup.

As expected, the Quebec Remparts on the only other QMJHL team bidding.

“We are excited to have two outstanding franchises express their interest to bid for the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a news release. “The excitement for this event will be at an all-time high given the events of the past 18 months and we look forward to both celebrating our great game and honouring the brave men and women who served and continue to serve our country.”

According to the CHL, "the Quebec Remparts and Saint John Sea Dogs will each submit their bids prior to the CHL deadline the week of August 23, with the winning bid then announced the week of September 6."

The Sea Dogs have been publicly discussing their intentions on bidding for the 2022 tournament for a number of years and have built the core of their team around this coming season. But, like everything, the pandemic threw uncertainty into the bid.

"We certainly have interest in hosting but given all that has gone on in the last 12 months, the landscape has changed considerably," said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in an interview in April.

This will be Saint John's second bid to host the tournament after losing in 2012 to the eventual champion Shawinigan Cataractes.

“It has been my goal since founding this franchise in 2005 to host the Memorial Cup tournament right here where I grew up, in New Brunswick,” said Sea Dogs CEO and owner Scott McCain in a news release. “The legacy of the Memorial Cup and its significance in paying tribute to fallen Canadian Military Personnel is deeply important to the organization. Our team, our community and most importantly our fans have waited for the opportunity to host this historic event and now is the time to showcase what makes Saint John so special.”

The 2022 Memorial Cup will take place June 3-12, 2022. It will be the first time the tournament has been played since 2019 in Halifax due to the pandemic.