Rangers win 2026 Memorial Cup

Steve Dunsmoor/CHL

For the first time since 2003, the Kitchener Rangers are Memorial Cup champions.

The Rangers defeated Landon DuPont and the Everett Silvertips 6-2 in Sunday's championship game in Kelowna. The first half of the contest was close but the Rangers blew it open with a pair of power play goals early in the third period.

It's the third Memorial Cup title for the Rangers franchise, who also won their first OHL championship since 2008.

Sam O'Reilly, who won the Memorial Cup with the London Knights last year, was named tournament MVP.

Captain Cameron Reid hoists the #MemorialCup as the @OHLRangers are crowned 2026 champions! pic.twitter.com/KVPxOkPBpY

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 1, 2026

Kitchener's coaching staff includes Brad Flynn, the son of former Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn.

It's the third straight Memorial Cup title for the OHL. The WHL, meanwhile, still haven't won a national championship since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

The QMJHL's Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1-3-0) finish the tournament third overall while the host Kelowna Rockets (0-2-1) finish fourth. The Rockets were outscored 12-2.

Next year's tournament will take place in Guelph while the QMJHL will host in 2028.

Saguenéens eliminated in Memorial Cup semi

Steve Dunsmoor/CHL

For a third straight year, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League had a disappointing showing at the Memorial Cup.

The QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Saguenéens fell 6-1 to the Everett Silvertips in Friday's semifinal. The game was tight early on but, once Everett got rolling, there was no looking back. The Silvertips scored three times in the middle frame while Landon Dupont was named player of the game with a pair of goals.

Everett, playing in their first Memorial Cup, will face the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers in Sunday's championship game. The Silvertips will try and capture the WHL's first Memorial Cup title since 2014.

The Saguenéens head home with a 1-3-0 record. Their lone win came in overtime against the winless host Kelowna Rockets.

Not having overage defenseman Jordan Tourigny, who played with the Shawinigan Cataractes at the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John, was less than ideal for Chicoutimi. Tourigny was suspended for the remainder of the tournament for this play against Kitchener.

Since the Quebec Remparts hoisted the Memorial Cup in 2023, no QMJHL team has made it past the semifinals. That Remparts win was the last of four straight Memorial Cup championships for the QMJHL.

Les Silvertips d'Everett ont rendez-vous avec les Rangers de Kitchener en finale de la Coupe Memorial, dimanche soir, une troisième consécutive sans formation de la LHJMQ.

Une première depuis 2010.

Depuis 2023, la fiche de la Q est de 1-12 vs #WHL et #OHL dans le tournoi.

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) May 30, 2026

The host Rockets, meanwhile, went 0-2-1 and were outscored 12-2. While host teams have had success recently (Saginaw in 2024 and Saint John in 2022), it continues to feel like we're at a point where the format really needs to be looked at, especially if the the way teams build is changing with the new NCAA rules.

The good news for Kelowna: every game has been announced as a sell out.

Next year's tournament will take place in Guelph.

Notebook: Five Sea Dogs make NHL Central Scouting final rankings

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Five Saint John Sea Dogs were listed in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Olivers Murnieks, Cameron Chartrand, William Yared and Dylan Rozzi were all ranked amongst North American skaters while Rafaël Courchesne was listed amongst North American goaltenders.

98 - Olivers Murnieks

155 - Cameron Chartrand

172 - William Yared

195 - Dylan Rozzi

27 - Rafaël Courchesne

Penn State forward Gavin McKenna was the top-ranked skater. Quebec Remparts forward Maddox Dagenais was the top-ranked skater from the QMJHL at No. 15.

Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, was ranked seventh.

The full rankings can be found here.

The 2026 NHL Draft takes place June 26-27.

JOSEPH NOMINATED

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was nominated for two QMJHL awards.

Joseph was nominated for the Michel-Bergeron Trophy, which is awarded annually to the offensive rookie of the year, and the Paul-Dumont Trophy, which is awarded to the personality of the year.

Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy while Newfound Regiment president Glenn Stanford won the Paul-Dumont Trophy.

Jonathan Huberdeau won the Paul-Dumont Trophy in 2012 while Thomas Chabot won in 2017. No Sea Dog has ever won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy.

SUMMERSIDE ELIMINATED

The Summerside Western Capitals had their Maritime Junior Hockey League playoff run come to an end last week.

The Western Capitals fell 3-2 to the Truro Bearcats in Game 7 of the North Division final on Thursday in Summerside. The Bearcats advance to the MHL final where they'll face the Edmundston Blizzard.

Summerside is hosting this year's Centennial Cup national championship. Their first game is on May 7 against the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean had an assist in Game 7, giving him a goal and six helpers in 14 playoff games. Goaltender Justin Robinson only made one appearance, going 0-1.

Notebook: Two games to go

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It all comes down to this.

The Saint John Sea Dogs' playoff hopes will be on the line Friday when they host the Cape Breton Eagles at 7 p.m. Just one spot remains in QMJHL's post-season and it will go to either the Sea Dogs or Gatineau Olympiques.

The Olympiques currently own the 16th and final playoff spot and are three points ahead of the Sea Dogs. Saint John owns the tie-breaker, so they need to earn at least three points this weekend and hope the Olympiques do not pick up any wins.

Saint John hosts Cape Breton on Friday and Saturday. Gatineau visits the last-place Victoriaville Tigres on Friday and then hosts the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Saturday.

The Sea Dogs have not missed the playoffs since the 2018-19 season.

LOTTERY TIME

No matter where the Sea Dogs finish at this point, they'll be entered into the QMJHL's draft lottery, giving them a shot at selecting first overall.

Current state of the QMJHL Draft Lottery

Victoriaville 18th: 9 balls, 43% chance of drafting 1st
⁰Saint John 17th: 6 balls, 28%
⁰Gatineau (NL Regiment own the pick) 16th: 3 balls, 14%
⁰Halifax 15th: 2 balls, 10%
⁰Quebec 14th: 1 ball, 5% pic.twitter.com/tEYAHdnfrp

— Scott MacIntosh (@scottmacintosh4) March 18, 2025

The date for this year's lottery has not been announced yet. The 2025 QMJHL Entry Draft will take place June 6-7 in Quebec City.

The first overall pick is expected to be either forward Alexis Joseph – who is listed at 6'4" and 192 lbs as a 15-year-old – or forward James Scantlebury, who played with Cameron Chartrand and the Bishop Kearney Selects under-16 squad this past season.

Tuesday night news and notes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs have just five games remaining before the Christmas break.

The Sea Dogs will play five contests between Dec. 4 and Dec. 14. The team won't return to action until Dec. 28.

Saint John begins this final stretch on Wednesday night when they host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 7 p.m. The Titan sit six points ahead of Saint John in the standings and are 3-2 against the Sea Dogs this year.

On Friday the Sea Dogs will travel to Cape Breton for a single matchup with the Eagles. They'll return home to host the Eastern Conference leading Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Saint John will close out the "first half" next weekend when they host the Eagles on Friday night and the Titan on Saturday afternoon. Note the 3 p.m. start time for the Dec. 14 contest.

Kamloops to host 2023 Memorial Cup

CHL Twitter

The Memorial Cup is returning to Kamloops.

The Canadian Hockey League awarded the 2023 Memorial Cup hosting rights to the Kamloops Blazers on Friday. It'll be the second time the city has hosted the event and first since 1995.

“We are very excited to bring back the Memorial Cup to Kamloops after an almost 30-year hiatus,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a news release. “The Blazers and the City of Kamloops put together a first class bid and will be outstanding hosts.”

The Blazers are currently playing in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final and are projected to be a strong team again next season. The team's successful bid was announced before Game 5 of their series against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Kamloops‼️

See you in 2023 for the #MemorialCup presented by @KiaCanada! pic.twitter.com/ZIapb4mbPw

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2022

The 2023 tournament will be (fingers crossed) the first time the WHL has hosted the event since Regina in 2018. Kelowna was supposed to host the 2020 Memorial Cup but that was cancelled by the pandemic.

Notebook: Richard named to U-18 team

Photo: USHL

SAINT JOHN - Defenseman Guillaume Richard will represent Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Texas.

25 players - three goaltenders, eight defensemen and 14 forwards - were named to the team this past week. As expected, there were no current QMJHL players named to the squad with the league's regular season and playoffs continue to roll along.

Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft, has two goals and 10 assists in 43 games with the USHL's Tri-City Storm this season. He is committed to join fellow Sea Dogs draft pick Lynden Breen at the University of Maine this fall.

The under-18 tournament takes place April 26 - May 6 in Frisco and Plano, Texas.

SAVOIE INJURED; LEONARD SUSPENDED
The Sea Dogs announced a couple roster moves before Friday's game at TD Station.

🗒️Player Notes

Following an upper body injury sustained in Tuesday's game in Moncton, Charles Savoie will be out 2-4 weeks.

Liam Leonard has been suspended for 3 games for a high sticking penalty during last night's game against Acadie-Bathurst.

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) April 2, 2021

Forward Charles Savoie will miss 2-4 weeks with an upper body injury suffered in Tuesday's game in Moncton. Savoie took a push from Moncton's Nicolas Pavan in the third period and went hard into the corner boards. He left the game appearing to favour his shoulder.

Savoie, playing mostly on Saint John's third and fourth lines, has four goals and seven assists in 24 games this season.

Leonard, meanwhile, received a three-game suspension for a high stick in Thursday's game in Bathurst. Leonard was given a five-minute major and a match penalty for the play. The league website also notes that Leonard being a repeat offender factored into the decision.

Thursday's match was Leonard's first game back after serving a two-game suspension and missing another due to injury.

Notebook: Schedule getting busier

MONCTON - The schedule is picking up and it's not slowing down for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Beginning Tuesday night in Moncton, the Sea Dogs will play four games over a six day period. The following week they'll play three games.

Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

Sunday, April 4 at 3 p.m. vs Titan

Wednesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Sunday, April 11 at 4 p.m. at Moncton

Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Saturday, April 17 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

The Sea Dogs have had a busy but manageable pace of games over the past few weeks. In normal times you'd typically see busy weeks followed by a light week or two - but that's not happening this year. This upcoming schedule will certainly test the Dogs and the other New Brunswick teams as they inch closer to the playoffs.

Saint John and Bathurst have both played 23 games each while Moncton has played the fewest in the league at 21. Victoriaville has played 24 games, the fewest of the Quebec-based clubs.

STANDINGS

The Sea Dogs go into action Tuesday sitting third in the Maritimes Division with an 11-8-3-1 record for a .565 points percentage. They've yet to catch the Titan who sit in second with a 13-8-1-1 record for a .609 points percentage.

As the schedule above shows, the Sea Dogs play the Titan five times over the next few weeks, which will be crucial games if Saint John wants to move into second.

The top three teams in the Maritimes Division will avoid the single elimination knockout games scheduled for early May.

The Charlottetown Islanders, winners of 13 straight games, sit comfortably in first with a 28-4-0-0 record for a .875 points percentage.

Memorial Cup Participants Finalized

The four teams that will participate in the 2015 Memorial Cup in Quebec City have been confirmed.

The Oshawa Generals become the final team to book their ticket to the tournament, defeating Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters last night to win the OHL championship.

The Kelowna Rockets won the WHL title earlier this week. The Rimouski Oceanic and Quebec Remparts have already earned spots as well.

Here is the full schedule for this year’s tournament:

Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs Quebec

Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs Oshawa

Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs Oshawa

Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs Kelowna

Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs Kelowna

Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs Rimouski

Thursday, May 28: Tie-breaker game

Friday, May 29: Semifinal game

Sunday, May 31: Championship game

In the QMJHL final, neither team has yet to win a home game. Quebec took a 3-2 series lead with a 3-2 victory in Rimouski last night. Game six is on Sunday afternoon in Quebec City.