Memorial Cup closes, attention turns to Guelph
Photo by Steve Dunsmoor / CHL
CALGARY — The trophy has been awarded, the final standings are set and the 2025-26 Canadian Hockey League season is officially complete.
What remains from the 2026 Memorial Cup is a tournament that delivered a dominant champion, historic individual performances and a glimpse at some of junior hockey's brightest emerging stars.
The Kitchener Rangers completed one of the most impressive runs in recent CHL history, following a 16-2 Ontario Hockey League playoff record with a perfect 4-0 performance at the Memorial Cup in Kelowna.
Kitchener outscored opponents 20-6 during the tournament and captured its first Memorial Cup championship since 2003. The title also continued the Ontario Hockey League's recent success at the national championship, following victories by Saginaw in 2024 and London in 2025.
No player better represented the Rangers' dominance than Sam O'Reilly.
Already named OHL regular-season MVP and playoff MVP, O'Reilly added the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after recording eight points in four games. He became just the fourth player in CHL history to sweep league MVP, playoff MVP and Memorial Cup MVP honours in the same season.
Kitchener's collection of awards extended throughout the roster.
Jack Pridham led all tournament scorers with nine points and five goals in four games to claim the Ed Chynoweth Trophy, while goaltender Christian Kirsch earned the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy after posting a tournament-best 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.
Kirsch also became only the third European goaltender selected through the CHL Import Draft to win a Memorial Cup championship.
While Kitchener finished atop the hockey world, the Everett Silvertips left Kelowna with a season that may prove equally memorable in franchise history.
The Silvertips captured their first Western Hockey League championship, reached their first Memorial Cup final and completed a remarkable campaign without suffering back-to-back losses across 91 combined regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup games.
Among Everett's standout performers was Calgary product Landon DuPont.
The exceptional-status defenceman earned Memorial Cup all-star honours and became the first exceptional-status blueliner to score a goal at the tournament. His performance further cemented his reputation as one of the most intriguing young players in junior hockey.
Joining DuPont on the Memorial Cup all-star team were O'Reilly, Pridham, Everett forward Matias Vanhanen, Kitchener defenceman Cameron Reid and Kirsch.
Behind the bench, Rangers head coach Jussi Ahokas added another milestone by becoming the first European-born coach to lead a team to a Memorial Cup championship.
With the 2025-26 season now in the books, attention begins shifting toward the next major events on the junior hockey calendar.
The Guelph Storm will host the 2027 Memorial Cup at Sleeman Centre, while many of the sport's future stars will gather in Alberta this summer for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scheduled for Aug. 3-8 at Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton.
Later this year, the CHL will turn its attention toward selecting the host city for the 2028 Memorial Cup.
For one week in Kelowna, however, junior hockey's spotlight belonged to Kitchener, Everett and a tournament that provided plenty of storylines that will carry into next season.