The 2026 Memorial Cup gets underway tomorrow for two LA Kings prospects.
Defenseman Jared Woolley and forward Vojtech Cihar have both qualified and will participate in the final tournament of the CHL season. The Memorial Cup is contested by four teams – the champions of the OHL, QMJHL and WHL, as well as the host team. Woolley is participating for the third consecutive season, having won three straight OHL championships. He qualified with the London Knights in 2024 and 2025, winning a Memorial Cup championship last season alongside fellow Kings prospect Henry Brzustewicz. Woolley was traded to Kitchener midseason and skated to another OHL title in 2026, winning four series in a total of just 18 games to reach the Memorial Cup. For Cihar, his Kelowna Rockets team fell in the second round of the WHL Playoffs but they were already qualified for the Memorial Cup as the host team. Having a guaranteed place at the Memorial Cup was a big reason Cihar chose to play in the WHL in the second half of the season, as he moved to Kelowna following an MVP performance at the 2026 World Junior Championships.
Woolley and the Kitchener Rangers were the top-seeded team in the OHL Playoffs, with the Kings draft pick playing a shutdown role on the first defensive pairing. Across four series, Woolley and the Rangers lost just two total games, sweeping twice and winning the other two series’ in five games. Throughout the course of the OHL Playoffs, Woolley collected seven points (1-6-7) in 18 games played. That came after his strongest offensive season at the OHL level, when he scored 12 goals and tallied 36 points (12-24-36) in 66 regular-season games played, split between Kitchener and London. His 12 goals were one shy of a spot in the OHL’s Top-10 in goals by a defenseman this season and his +31 rating combined between his two teams was tied for eighth in the OHL among all blueliners.
For Cihar, he’ll participate in the Memorial Cup for the first time, during his first season playing hockey in North America. Cihar spent the first half of the 2025-26 campaign playing in Czechia, as he collected eight points (4-4-8) in 27 games played with Karlovy Vary HC. Then came the World Junior Championships and Cihar was named the tournament’s MVP as he led his team to a silver medal. Citing the chance to compete in the Memorial Cup as a big reason, Cihar moved to Kelowna and was a point-per-game player in the regular season, with 31 points (12-19-31) in 31 games played before he led his team with 13 points (6-7-13) in two playoff series. It’s certainly been a long layoff for Cihar and his teammates, having not played a game since April 17, so it’s been over a month. Will be interesting to see how that impacts things, for a Kelowna team that does have the firepower to compete at this level.
Both players get their respective tournaments underway tomorrow evening at Prospera Place in Kelowna. Each team will play a minimum of three games, once against each other team, before the tournament progresses. Woolley and Cihar will play against each other in the first game at 6 PM before each will play against the WHL (Everett) and QMJHL (Chicoutimi) champions.
Memorial Cup Round-Robin Schedule
Kitchener vs. Kelowna – Friday, May 22 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
Everett vs. Chicoutimi – Saturday, May 23 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
Kelowna vs. Chicoutimi – Sunday, May 24 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
Kitchener vs. Everett – Monday, May 25 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
Kitchener vs. Chicoutimi – Tuesday, May 26 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
Kelowna vs. Everett – Wednesday, May 27 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
After the conclusion of these six games, the top three teams in the standings will advance to a single-elimination, knockout round. With May 28 held for a potential tiebreaker game, the second-seeded team will play the third-seeded team on May 29 in the semifinal, with the winner advancing to take on the first-seeded team in the championship game on May 31. I’ll have an update here after these six games, once we get a sense of where the two Kings prospects are seeded entering the final games.
The tournament will be broadcast in the United States on NHL Network. A full programming schedule for NHL Network is available HERE, including game times and broadcast information for the Memorial Cup.
