There was little fanfare as the four teams slated to hit the Memorial Cup did so with little resistance in the finals. The Medicine Hat Tigers, who had early trouble in the first round, steamrolled to the finals. After dropping a home game against the Spokane Chiefs, the Tigers lost their home ice advantage. Took three straight in Spokane to end up 4-1 in the series. MVP was Harrison Menneghin, whose father passed suddenly at the last regular season game, was a strong backstop, rewarded with the series MVP and a 3 year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Only the Everett Silvertips had a better record than the Tigers, but the Tigers, who went 16-2 with losses to Swift Current in the first round and Spokane in the final round, were the only blemishes in the record.
Eight signed NHL players, including four draft-eligible players, complete this squad, which will be a tough team to beat at the Cup. Medicine Hat starts Friday vs. Rimouski and is the designated home squad for games against the London Knights on Monday and Moncton on Tuesday.
Should two teams have equal records, a tiebreaker will occur on Thursday, May 29. Semi-Finals will go on May 30 and Finals on June 1
The Ontario Hockey League sees the London Knights as the OHL representative after dropping just one game to the Oshawa Generals before three straight wins in almost a cakewalk to the Memorial Cup. This is London’s seventh Memorial Cup appearance appearance – 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2024 & 2025 and being champion of the Memorial Cup in 2005 & 2016 13 players have been drafted or invited out of this team by the NHL and they have an abundance of 2005 born players which they’ll divest themselves of this off season. They have two goaltenders who will age out this year, one who was involved in the playoffs, with 2 having a couple of years to go in their system. Twenty-five players are listed in their roster, larger than most teams carry.
The QMJHL saw Moncton Wildcats have their toughest test during the 2025 playoff run in finally beating Rimouski Oceanic in six games Moncton and Rimouski were scoreless in the first with Moncton posting 3 in the second period and Rimouski after scoring twice in the third, ran out of gas to give the Wildcats the QMJHL rights to the Memorial Cup entry. Rimouski still enters the Cup as the host team, but know that Moncton is the President’s Cup winners of the QMJHL. Most eyes will see the Moncton/ London series as the tell-all game. While one team is fourth in the round robin, these teams are heavy hitters. Fifteen players are 19 on this squad, with 11 NHL-drafted or invited. 3 players will age out this year, so the Wildcats have the oldest team in the tournament.
Rimouski Oceanic, the host team, has 10 players on its roster who will be turning 20 and 10 who were drafted or invited by the NHL. Like the Wildcats, this squad will undergo some rebuilding unless some trades are made to restock younger players and draft picks. Rimouski has the youngest goaltender playing regularly, William LaCelle, who was born in 2007, which gives them solid backstopping for a couple more years.
Overall, it promises to be a solid showcase of four tough teams. All games have been announced as appearing on the Victory app. They will start at 8 pm EST or 5pm Pacific.
With OSN off Memorial Day and the games slotting the teams into brackets this coming weekend, we’ll update the weekend games this coming week to see if a tiebreaker will be necessary and how the powerhouses stack up.
The look is good on Moncton hoisting the Cup and London holding second. Medicine Hat will attempt a third, and Rimouski has no shame in last place, as the teams coming in are packed with talent.
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