67’s have eye on hosting Memorial Cup’s centennial

At first glance, it makes so much sense — a Memorial Cup in Ottawa, the home of one of the country’s most storied junior hockey franchises, in 2017. What a birthday party it would be, helping Canada blow out the candles for its 150th birthday, right here in the nation’s capital.

But when the bids went in prior to Wednesday’s deadline, there was nothing from the Ottawa 67’s. Turns out they’re looking at what they think is a better plan — hosting the Memorial Cup in 2018, a year that happens to be the 100th anniversary of the event.

Jeff Hunt, president of Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, which owns the 67’s, confirmed that Ottawa is strongly considering a bid. While the party list for 2017 keeps growing, Hunt’s rationale for holding off makes plenty of sense.

Said Hunt: “One factor for 2017 was would we be good enough? I don’t know that we were convinced we would be. If you look at our team and the age of our young players, 2018 is where we should be hitting our stride.”

Then there was the chance of getting lost in the shuffle in 2017, a year where Ottawa will host Roar of the Rings (the 2018 Winter Olympics curling qualifier), the national figure skating championships, national track and field championships, the Women’s Open (LPGA event), Red Bull Crashed Ice, along with a couple of huge possibles — a Grey Cup and an NHL outdoor game. There are other huge events, including the Juno Awards and the Canadian video game awards, also coming to the capital next year.

“When you look at it, 2017 is going to be a very special year for Canada, but it’s also going to be a very busy year in Ottawa,” said Hunt. “Having the Memorial Cup stand alone in 2018 may be a better reality — it wouldn’t be just one of a lot of very special major events. The city of Ottawa has a whole committee focused on populating 2017 with many, many major events. So in 2018, especially for the 100th anniversary of the game, having a little exclusivity might be a good thing.”

The 67’s haven’t played host to a Memorial Cup since 1999, when they won on home ice. In Hunt’s mind, a 2018 return of the tournament would be a very good thing and he’s hoping historical events, like a war history with troops trained on the Lansdowne Park grounds, work in an Ottawa bid’s favour.

“It would be the 50th anniversary of the 67’s, plus there’s a connection between Lansdowne and the First World War,” said Hunt. “We think maybe the planets could line up for Ottawa to make a very strong case for the 2018 game.

“We feel like we could make a strong pitch, but we haven’t officially put our hat in the ring. We don’t know what criteria the CHL will have, they’re still trying to figure out what to do with this very special occasion. It’s very much in our thoughts and until I hear something that tells me otherwise, I think it’s a great opportunity and it would be a tremendous honour to host a prestigious event like that. It would be an exciting opportunity for the Ottawa 67’s and the whole community.

“You look at the 100th Grey Cup (in Toronto) and the CFL did a masterful job engaging the whole country. The CHL, I think, would like to conceive something very similar in that it could engage the whole country. It wouldn’t be about Ottawa hosting it, it would be about Canada and the CHL hosting it.”