The road to the Memorial Cup is now completely finished. Let’s examine how it ended and maybe cast some predictions about what might occur at the Big Dance.

OHL:

London Knights defeat Oshawa Generals in five games

Game 3 provided the most excitement as the combined efforts of Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs), Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks), and Jacob Julien (Winnipeg Jets) gave London a 5-1 lead going into the third period. However, Luca D’Amato, Colby Barlow (Winnipeg Jets), and Beckett Sennecke (Anaheim Ducks) cut into that lead in the final frame to demonstrate that the game is never truly over. Unfortunately for Oshawa, though, Jesse Nurmi was able to score what ultimately stood as the game-winner as they were not able to follow up on Sennecke’s answer tally before Cowan iced the game. London therefore took a 2-1 series lead via a 7-5 victory on the road. The remaining couple of games had little Sturm und drang for London, as they closed the series out by a combined 11-4 goal differential. Reinforcements also arrived by the end of the series, as captain Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers) was in the lineup for Game 5 and looked good in his limited, “easing him back in” minutes. It was a good sight to watch him lift the trophy after having actually played, as the Knights went back-to-back for the first time since 2012/2013. In recognition of his phenomenal finishing on this run with 15 goals to his name, Halttunen received the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP. This made the Finn the first-ever European to win it. With a dominant run with only one loss the entire postseason in their back pocket, phenomenal depth, and continued reliability from G Austin Elliott (UMass Lowell) in between the pipes, one has to have high expectations for this incarnation of the Hunter dynasty in the Memorial Cup.

QMJHL:

Moncton Wildcats defeat Rimouski Océanic in Game 6

After a 6-4 defeat powered by Moncton RW Vincent Collard’s 4 goal game, Rimouski had their backs against the wall. While both teams were automatically qualified for the Memorial Cup due to Rimouski’s host team status, they were not going to want to have their QMJHL season end in disappointment and disgrace. Boy, did they fight back. In Game 4, they stayed alive with a dominant, wire-to-wire 5-1 victory with five different goal scorers getting on the board. In Game 5, there was a bit of a pivot as they extended things further by winning a close game in which they were outplayed throughout most of it, as G Mathis Langevin stood tall and made 33 saves on 34 shots against in the 3-1 victory. However, despite an impressive Rimouski comeback effort in the third period, Moncton ultimately won Game 6 3-2 to close out the series, with forward Gabe Smith (Utah Mammoth) scoring two goals including the series winner. Despite being goalless in the finals, C Caleb Desnoyers (2025 NHL Entry Draft) was voted as the Guy Lafleur Trophy recipient as postseason MVP, having recorded 30 points in 19 games on the run. The best team in the QMJHL will enter the Memorial Cup with hardware to their name (their first league championship since 2010), while Rimouski will seek redemption as hosts.

WHL:

Medicine Hat Tigers defeat Spokane Chiefs in five games

Despite having some volatility when it came to the availability of some of the best members of their group, Medicine Hat ended their WHL run on top of the mountain in pretty emphatic fashion after splitting the first two games. Gavin McKenna (2026 NHL Entry Draft) was absent from Game 3, but Medicine Hat nevertheless defeated Spokane 6-0 with six different goal scorers finding the back of the net. The Tigers then took Game 4 and Game 5 by scores of 5-2 and 4-2 to capture their first league title since 2007. Scoring depth was huge for them, but so was the work of Harrison Meneghin in between the pipes. The Lightning prospect was awarded WHL Playoff MVP after going 14-1-0 with a 2.35 GAA and a .906 SV%. This has been a difficult road for him due to the personal tragedy he suffered back in late March, but he has been an unbelievable presence in net for MHT despite that. It is truly the most inspiring narrative I’ve watched in the CHL this year and it is outstanding that he has been signed by Tampa Bay in recognition of his efforts.

The Memorial Cup commences round robin play on Friday, May 23rd, with Medicine Hat facing Rimouski at 7:00 PM ET.