If I were to ask you what is the toughest trophy to win in all of sports what would you answer? The World Cup? Stanley Cup? World Series?
Try the Memorial Cup.
First introduced to honor the lives of Canadian soldiers killed in World War I in 1919, The Memorial Cup is a prestigious tournament in which junior teams from Canadian Hockey League compete. The CHL is made up of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Every year, each league sends a representative (that is, its champion) to the tournament.
There are currently a total of 60 teams that make up the CHL. The Champions of each league get the chance to play in the tournament. A fourth team – the city that hosts the rotating tournament -is also included.
Not only do teams have to win their respective leagues they then go on to battle for the Memorial Cup to see who will reign supreme in Canadian hockey. Athletes generally only have a window of about five years to try and win it.
This is why it’s one of the toughest trophies to win.
Not only that, the Memorial Cup is an exciting tournament to watch.
The next logical step is to have the winner of the Memorial Cup take on the NCAA champion in the United States. One crowns the Canadian champions and the other the American. Why not seek a North American champion?
For 2008, the Memorial Cup was made up of the Kitchener Rangers (champions and host) and Belleville Bulls of the OHL, Gatineau Olympiques of the “Q” and Spokane Chiefs of the WHL.
The Chiefs, who became the first American team to win the MC in 1991, captured their second title after defeating the Rangers in the final 4-1.
Notes: Since 1969, The WHL has won the Memorial Cup 18 times, followed by the OHL with 15 and the ‘Q’ with 8.
