Remparts blank Thunderbirds 5-0 in CHL final
The WHL’s drought for winning the Memorial Cup hit an
unwelcome milestone for the major junior circuit.
On Sunday, the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts blanked the WHL
champion Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0 in the title game of the Memorial Cup
tournament played at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C. The Remparts skated
away as CHL champions for the second time in team history with the first
Memorial Cup championship win coming in 2006.
Since the WHL came into existence in the 1966-67 campaign,
it is going through its longest drought of not winning the Memorial Cup and
that includes times when the circuit was ineligible to compete for the storied
championship trophy. In three of the first four seasons the WHL existed, the
circuit wasn’t eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup as the circuit was
originally viewed as an “outlaw league” by the Canadian Amateur Hockey
Association that governed the game in Canada at that time.
The WHL didn’t have any Memorial Cup victories in its first
seven seasons of existence, and that winless run came to an end when the Regina
Pats won storied trophy for the third time in team history to conclude the
1973-74 campaign. Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial
Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-71 campaign.
The WHL’s current drought spans seven seasons including the
tournaments played from 2015 to 2019, 2022 and 2023. The Memorial Cup
tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.
The current drought matches the drought the WHL had at the
beginning of its existence that included seasons the league wasn’t allowed to
compete for the trophy that was first awarded in 1919. Including the two years
the Memorial Cup tournaments that were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the WHL is in its longest drought for winning major junior hockey’s biggest
prize when it comes to considering how much time has elapsed since the last
win.
The Edmonton Oil Kings were the last team from the WHL to
win the Memorial Cup, and that victory came back in 2014. Edmonton captured the
WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player
Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and
passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.
In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament
played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings
downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3. It has been nine years since a WHL
team last captured the Memorial Cup.
On the other end of the spectrum, teams from the QMJHL have
won the Memorial Cup the last four times the CHL’s championship tournament was
held. That included the Saint John Sea Dogs winning the event as the host squad
last year after being eliminated in the first round of the QMJHL Playoffs.
This year’s WHL champion in the Thunderbirds was the deepest
squad the circuit sent to the Memorial Cup since the Oil Kings championship win
in 2014. The Thunderbirds and Remparts were two of the CHL’s top clubs
throughout the 2022-23 campaign.
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| Kyle Crnkovic was a Memorial Cup tournament all-star. |
The Thunderbirds topped the WHL’s Western Conference and
finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2
record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10
Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new
regular season club records.
In the WHL Playoffs, the Thunderbird proceeded to win the
league title posting a 16-3 mark.
The Remparts finished first overall in the QMJHL regular
season standings with a 53-12-1-2 record and were rated fifth in the final CHL
Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Remparts proceeded to win the
league crown posting a 16-2 mark.
Both clubs were 2-1 in the round robin portion of the
tournament, and the Remparts took first place and earned a bye to the
tournament final with a 3-1 victory in a head-to-head meeting with the
Thunderbirds on May 29. The Thunderbirds downed the OHL champion Peterborough
Petes 4-1 in a semifinal contest to advance to the final.
It was expected the Memorial Cup title game between the
Thunderbirds and Remparts would be a heavyweight tilt. It was apparent in that
contest Remparts head coach and general manager Patrick Roy and his staff used
the four days off between their last round robin game and the title contest to
ensure their team was ready for the final.
The Memorial Cup win just added to more to Roy’s hockey
legend and his image as an all-time hero in the province of Quebec rightfully
nicknamed “Saint Patrick.”
At the 6:31 mark of the first period, Remparts import
defenceman Vsevolod Komarov fired a shot to the top right corner of the Seattle
net converting a beauty pass on a two-on-one break from Remparts left-winger Kassim
Gaudet to open the game’s scoring.
The Remparts pushed their advantage out to 2-0 at the 8:50
mark of the second as star right-winger James Malatesta fired home his fifth
goal of the tournament converting a tick-tack-toe passing play involving star
centre Theo Rochette and Komarov. Malatesta’s tally came during a stretch were
the two sides were playing four skaters versus four skaters due to off-setting
penalties.
Seattle appeared to have a big chance to mount a comeback
after Remparts centre Mikael Huchette was given a minor penalty for
cross-checking sending the Thunderbirds to the power play with 8:58 remaining
in the third. On the Thunderbirds power play, the Remparts scored a
short-handed goal to go up 3-0 that proved to be a backbreaking tally to the
hopes of the WHL champs.
In the Remparts zone, Thunderbirds star centre Brad Lambert
had a shot blocked by Remparts defenceman Nicolas Savoie. The puck deflected
right to Remparts star centre Justin Robidas who quickly transitioned down the
right-wing on a two-on-one break with Gaudet.
Robidas passed the puck across the front of the Seattle net
to Gaudet, who buried the short-handed marker to give the Remparts their
three-goal lead with 7:39 remaining in the third. Gaudet’s goal ultimate
brought an end to the competitive part of the contest.
Zachary Bolduc tallied on the power play and Charles Savoie
scored at even strength for the Remparts to round out the 5-0 final.
William Rousseau stopped all 32 shots he faced to pick up
the shutout win in goal for the Remparts. Thomas Milic turned away 30 shots to
take the setback in goal for the Thunderbirds.
Malatesta took the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the
MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament. He was named to the tournament all-star
team along with teammates Rochette and Rousseau. Rousseau claimed the Hap Emms
Memorial Trophy as the event’s most outstanding goaltender.
Thunderbirds star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic and standout
defensive-defenceman Nolan Allan were also named to the tournament’s all-star
team.
While the Remparts on the scoreboard posted a convincing
win, the Thunderbirds did have chances to change their fate. After the Remparts
got ahead 1-0 and increased their edge to 2-0, the Thunderbirds were never able
to find a traction moment to change the complexion of the contest.
Had the Thunderbirds scored in the game’s first 50 minutes,
it could have changed how that whole contest played out. The Remparts did make
a handful of mistakes that resulted in scoring chances for the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds weren’t able to score off those mistakes,
and it ended up being a no harm and now foul situation for the Remparts.
Before the Remparts netted their first goal, Lambert had a
chance in alone in the Quebec zone to score for the Thunderbirds, but he as
stoned by Rousseau. Late in the first period with the Remparts holding a 1-0
lead, the Thunderbirds forced the Remparts to turn the puck over in their own
zone resulting in a scoring chance for Crnkovic, whose backhand shot was
swallowed up with some juggling by Rousseau.
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| Nolan Allan was a Memorial Cup tournament all-star. |
A short time after that scoring chance, Crnkovic created
another scoring opportunity. He intercepted a pass by a Remparts player behind
the Quebec goal. After getting the puck, Crnkovic fed a pass to the front of
the net to Thunderbirds captain Lucas Ciona. Ciona quick shot was swallowed up
by an alert Rousseau.
About eight minutes into the second, Thunderbirds
offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel had a point blank chance to score, but
Rousseau turned that shot away with a pad stop.
Had the Thunderbirds scored on any of those early chances,
it might have created some doubts for the players on the Remparts.
The Remparts were able to make the Thunderbirds hesitate and
second guess what they were able to do with the puck thanks to structured play.
Quebec created a number of Seattle turnovers.
Lambert had his struggles turning the puck over at least on
three occasions with backhanded passes that resulted in turnovers and offensive
zone rushes for the Remparts. Thanks to Milic, the Remparts didn’t score on any
of those turnovers.
Lambert, who is 19-years-old, was selected in the first
round and 30th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has a signed
entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets assigned Lambert to the
Thunderbirds in January from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, and Lambert looked like
a future NHL star in his half season with the Thunderbirds.
If he makes turnovers like he did in the Memorial Cup title
game at the NHL level, Lambert won’t be in the NHL for very long. He is already
under the microscope by Jets followers, so you can be sure his turnovers in the
Memorial Cup title game were noticed.
Had the Thunderbirds scored on the third period power play
they received due to Huchette’s cross-checking minor, a goal at that point
could have changed how the Memorial Cup title game played out.
Still, the Remparts were 27-3 overall in their last 30
contests, so they flat out deserved to win the Memorial Cup and soak in all the
praise that comes their way.
For the WHL as a league, maybe the “Curse of the Drop” still
lingers.
For the superstitious types, that event took place on May
25, 2008 after the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Kitchener
Rangers 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving
the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his
hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.
Since that drop, the WHL has only won the Memorial Cup once
coming with the Oil Kings win in 2014.
Going forward, one has to wonder how long the WHL’s Memorial
Cup drought will continue, and how much the hands of fate will play a part in
extending that drought.
Bedard makes history at CHL Awards
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| Connor Bedard collect three honours at the CHL Awards. |
Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard
continues to make history even when he isn’t skating in games on the ice.
On Saturday, Bedard cleaned up at the CHL Awards held in
Kamloops, B.C., as part of the Memorial Cup tournament that is held to crown a
CHL champion. Bedard claimed the David Branch Player of the Year Award, the CHL
Top Draft Prospect Award and the CHL Top Scorer Award.
The North Vancouver, B.C., product became the first play to
win all three awards since the CHL Top Scorer Award was first introduced in
1994.
In 57 regular season appearances for the Pats, Bedard, who
is the Pats captain, piled up 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points to go with a
plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department. In the WHL Playoffs, Bedard had 10
goals and 10 assists for 20 points to go with a plus-eight rating as Regina
fell in a tough seven game first round series to the Saskatoon Blades.
Bedard is rated number one among North American skaters in
the final ranking released by NHL Central Scouting. Barring something
unforeseen, Bedard will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL
Entry Draft set for June 28 to 29 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville,
Tennessee, and he will be skating in the NHL next season as an 18-year-old with
the Chicago Blackhawks, who hold the first overall selection.
At this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and
Moncton, N.B., Bedard set numerous Canadian team records helping Canada take
the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in
Halifax.
Bedard was named the most valuable player at world juniors
along with picking up accolades being named the event’s best forward and a
tournament all-star.
His tallies for assists (14) and points (23) were new
Canadian records for a single world juniors along with setting a new record for
points in a tournament by any player aged 18 or younger. In 16 career games
played at world juniors, Bedard set new Canadian career records at the event
for goals (16) and points (36).
Bedard’s own brand skyrocketed following world juniors. He
sold out rinks or set attendance records at arena across the WHL in most games
he played in following world juniors.
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| Connor Bedard had 143 points in 57 regular season games in 2022-23. |
It likely won’t be long when Bedard is in his NHL career
that a new appreciation hits fans and followers of the WHL circuit that he
played his entire major junior career on that circuit. There are probably some
fans out there who are kicking themselves they didn’t get out to see Bedard in
his 16-year-old season in 2021-22.
In 2021-22 when the WHL clubs started playing in their home
rinks in front of fans after big shutdowns due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, WHL teams drew an average of 3,205 spectators per game for 748
regular season dates. This past season, WHL squads drew an average of 3,895
spectators per game for 748 regular season date.
At some point in time, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see
Bedard maybe one game become a sports cultural icon in Chicago like the late Walter
Payton with the NFL’s Bears and Michael Jordan with the NBA’s Bulls.
In making the rounds on the interview trail around Game 2 of
the NHL’s Stanley Cup final in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday, Bedard looked
poised. He also displayed a cool and confident strut when he was on an NHL on
TNT panel with Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Henrik Lundquist and Paul
Bissonnette.
You have to think it is going to be fun watching Bedard’s
NHL journey play out.
Besides the continuing excitement with Bedard, Olen
Zellweger was the other winner at the CHL Awards from the WHL. The Kamloops
Blazers star defenceman claimed the CHL Defenceman of the Year Award.
Nathan Darveau of the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres claimed
the CHL’s Goaltender of the Year Award, Maxim Masse of the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi
Sagueneens took home the CHL Rookie of the Year Award, Dave Cameron of the OHL’s
Ottawa 67s captured the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award, Evan Vierling of
the OHL’s Barrie Colts won the CHL Sportsman Player of the Year Award, Colby
Barlow of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack claimed the CHL Scholastic Player of the
Year Award and Dalyn Wakely of the OHL’s North Bay Battalion took home the CHL
Humanitarian of the Year Award.
On Sunday, Zellweger picked up another honour as he was named
an all-star on defence for the Memorial Cup Tournament following the Quebec
Remparts 5-0 championship game win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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| Connor Bedard will be selected first in the NHL Entry Draft. |
Blazers star captain Logan Stankoven picked up a pair of
Memorial Cup tournament awards. Stankoven captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as
the event’s top scorer and George Parsons Trophy as most sportsmanlike player. The
skilled centre topped the Memorial Cup tournament with nine points coming off
two goals and seven assists in four games.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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