Flyers prospects Oliver Bonk (London Knights, OHL), Denver Barkey (London) and Alexis Gendron (Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL) are headed for the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament in Saginaw, Michigan. The Knights and Voltigeurs completed four-game sweeps this week to win the championship in their respective CHL circuits.
On Tuesday evening, Drummondville held off a late rally by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to earn a 4-3 home win and complete a sweep of the 2023-24 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's Gilles-Courteau Cup Final.Drummondville swept three of their four playoff series, going 16-1 overall.
Gendron, who had a hat trick in Game 1 of the final series, collected a pair of assists in the championship clincher. Overall, for the QMJHL playoffs, Gendron posted 19 points (11g, 8a) in 15 games.
On Wednesday in Oshawa, Ont., the Knights skated to a 7-1 blowout victory over the Oshawa Generals to finish off a sweep of the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League Final. London posted a 16-2 record over their four playoff series, sweeping the first, second, and final rounds.
Barkey notched one goal and two assists in Game 4 of the playoff final. Overall, he posted 27 points (6g, 21a) in 18 playoffs games. Defenseman Bonk did not record a point in the last game but was a plus-one to finish the OHL playoffs with 16 points (7g, 9a) and a traditional plus-16 rating. Six of his seven tallies came on the power play.
In the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Moose Jaw Warriors also won the championship in a sweep. The Warriors closed out the series on Wednesday with a 4-2 road win against the Portland Winterhawks. Flyers defense prospect Carter Sotheran was unavailable to play in the championship round due to an injury he suffered in the clinching game of the Western Conference Final.
The Saginaw Spirit, who lost to London in the OHL Western Conference Final, are the Memorial Cup host team. As such, Saginaw automatically earned the fourth and final spot in the Canadian Hockey League's championship tournament.
With all four participating teams set, the complete schedule for the 2024 Memorial Cup is as follows:
May 24: Moose Jaw vs. Saginaw
May 25: London vs. Drummondville
May 26: Saginaw vs. Drummondville
May 27: London vs. Moose Jaw
May 28: Drummondville vs. Moose Jaw
May 29: Saginaw vs. London
May 30: Tiebreaker game (if necessary)
May 31: Semifinal
June 2: Final
