67’s make pitch for 2018 Memorial Cup

The Ottawa 67’s will push ahead with an application to host the 2018 Memorial Cup.

If all goes according to plan, Ottawa will play host to a national major junior hockey championship for the first time since 1999 — also the last time the 67’s won the Memorial Cup.

By Canadian Hockey League guidelines, teams must declare an intention to bid by Sept. 1. The OHL will put forward two bids by Nov. 15 and the CHL will announce a shortlist by Nov. 30.

The winning bid will be announced in the first week of February 2017.

“One hundred per cent, we’re bidding,” said Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president of sports Jeff Hunt. “We’ve had that Memorial Cup in our sights for a number of years, so it’s not a spontaneous thing.”

That season will also be the 50th anniversary of the 67’s, who have been in a rebuilding process that Hunt believes will make them very competitive and able to meet the criteria for hosting a national championship.

“We’ve been making moves so we can compete in and hopefully win the 2018 Memorial Cup,” she said. “To win a Memorial Cup at home in our 50th season would be something special. I’m really pumped.”