The 105th Memorial Cup tournament to determine the champion of the Canadian Hockey League will take place at Sun Life Financial Coliseum in Rimouski, Quebec, beginning Friday and concluding with the championship game June 1.
The four-team, round-robin tournament includes the host team, Rimouski of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, along with QMJHL champion Moncton, Ontario Hockey League champion London, and Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat.
Rimouski is playing in the Memorial Cup for the fifth time since joining the league in 1995. It will be hosting the event a second time, the first since 2009. The Oceanic this season celebrate the 25th anniversary of their historic 2000 championship team that featured center Brad Richards, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2004) and Chicago Blackhawks (2015).
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby led Rimouski to the 2005 Memorial Cup final, where it lost 4-0 to host London. The last QMJHL club to host the tournament was 2022 Memorial Cup champion Saint John.
The host team has won 12 times since the current four-team round-robin format was adopted in 1983, most recently last season when host Saginaw of the OHL defeated OHL champion London 4-3 in the championship game. In the past 40 tournaments, the WHL has won 16 times, the OHL 13 times, and the QMJHL 11 times. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here's a closer look at the participating teams:
RIMOUSKI OCEANIC
Coach: Joel Perrault
Previous Memorial Cup appearances: (2000, 2005, 2009, 2015)
Memorial Cup championships: (2000)
How they got here: Rimouski received an automatic berth as tournament host. The Oceanic finished the regular season with their best win total (46-14-4) since 2014-15. Rimouski defeated Charlottetown in the best-of-7 first round of the QMJHL playoffs in four games, Chicoutimi in the second round in six games, and Shawinigan in the league semifinal in seven games, with forward Eriks Mateiko (Washington Capitals) scoring the game-winner 17:08 into the second overtime of Game 7 at Sun Life Financial Coliseum. It lost to Moncton in the league championship series in six games. Rimouski captain Jacob Mathieu led all QMJHL players with 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 23 playoff games. Goalie Mathis Langevin (12-4, 1.57 goals-against average, .944 save percentage, three shutouts in 18 playoff games) has been solid. He finished the QMJHL playoffs with the second highest save percentage in QMJHL postseason history (minimum 480 minutes played).
NHL prospects: Forwards Alexandre Blais (Anaheim Ducks, No. 100, 2024 NHL Draft), Mathieu Cataford (Vegas Golden Knights, No. 77, 2023 Draft), Eriks Mateiko (Washington Capitals, No. 90, 2024); defensemen Spencer Gill (Philadelphia Flyers, No. 59, 2024), Basile Sansonnens (Vancouver Canucks, No. 221, 2024), Luke Coughlin (Florida Panthers, No. 191, 2023).
2025 draft-eligible prospects: None.
LONDON KNIGHTS
Coach: Dale Hunter
Previous Memorial Cup appearances: 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2024
Memorial Cup championships: Two (2005, 2016)
How they got here: London went 16-1 in the OHL playoffs to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as league champion for the second straight season, capped by a five-game series victory against Oshawa in the best-of-7 championship series. The Knights averaged 5.35 goals per game during the playoffs, and forward Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs) led all players with 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) in 17 postseason games. Forward Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks) won the Wayne Gretzky 99 award as the most valuable player of the OHL playoffs after he had 21 points (15 goals, six assists) in 17 games, including nine goals in the series against Oshawa. Defenseman Henry Brzustewicz, No. 19 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2025 draft, had five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 playoff games. With a CHL-best 12 NHL prospects on the roster, London became the first CHL team in 12 years (London, 2011-12, 2012-13) to repeat as league champion and the first OHL team in 27 years (Guelph, 1998) to win the title with one loss or fewer.
NHL prospects: Forwards Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs, No. 28, 2023 Draft), Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks, No. 36, 2023 Draft), Jacob Julien (Winnipeg Jets, No. 146, 2023 Draft), Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers, No. 95, 2023 Draft), Sam O'Reilly (Edmonton Oilers, No. 32, 2024 Draft), Jesse Nurmi (New York Islanders, No. 113, 2023 Draft), Blake Montgomery (Ottawa Senators, No. 117, 2024 Draft), William Nicholl (Edmonton Oilers, No. 196, 2024 Draft); defensemen Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers, No. 22, 2023 Draft), Sam Dickinson (San Jose Sharks, No. 11, 2024 Draft), Cam Allen (Washington Capitals, No. 136, 2023 Draft), Jared Woolley (Los Angeles Kings, No. 164, 2024 Draft).
2025 draft-eligible prospects (Number in parenthesis is ranking by NHL Central Scouting): Forwards Noah Read (No. 157, North American skaters), Evan Van Gorp (No. 193, North American skaters); defenseman Henry Brzustewicz (No. 19, North American skaters); goalie Aleksei Medvedev, No. 6, North American goalies).
