Memorial Cup tourney put on ice

Junior hockey’s premier tournament cancelled for the second straight year

The Memorial Cup has been cancelled for the second consecutive year.

The premier junior hockey tournament was supposed to run last year in Kelowna, B.C., but was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Hockey League cancelled this year’s tourney, which was set for Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie, for the same reason.

“The CHL is committed to the health and safety of our players, their families and billets, our teams, staff and officials, and the communities in which we play,” CHL president Dan McKenzie said Tuesday in a news release. “That has driven all of our difficult decisions for the last year as we have dealt with this global pandemic.”

The trophy has been awarded annually since 1919 but will remain idle until next year’s plans are unveiled.

“The decision was made based on the limitations on travel, border restrictions, and quarantining requirements that would make it impossible to produce league champions,” said McKenzie.

The tournament rotates between the CHL’s three leagues — the OHL, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League — and is supposed to go to a city in the QMJHL next year, but no plans have been announced yet.

Typically held in May, this year’s tournament had been pushed back about a month to give the leagues more time to fit in regular season and playoff games.

The QMJHL started playing games in October but took a pause in December before resuming in January. The WHL launched its season in late February, while the OHL has yet to drop the puck or announce a return-to-play plan.

The Oshawa Generals and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were bidding to host

this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, but a winner had not been announced. Both clubs have been tailoring their rosters over the past couple of years to make a run at the Cup.

Despite the news, the OHL remains committed to working with the government to get back on the ice safely.

The cancellation of the Memorial Cup actually gives the league more time to work with for a potential return, since clubs don’t have to finish a regular season schedule by a certain date to qualify for the tournament anymore.

Ontario is currently on lockdown with stay-at-home orders in place until May 6.

Ideally, the OHL would like to get in some games before the NHL draft, which is scheduled for July 23 and 24.

Josh Brown is a Waterloo Regionbased reporter focusing on sports for The Record. Reach him via email: jbrown@therecord.com