HOT CORNER: Strong local interest in Memorial Cup

Canada’s biggest showcase of junior hockey – the 100th Memorial Cup – is underway in Regina.
Four teams – Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Hamilton Bulldogs, Swift Current Broncos and host Regina Pats – will battle for junior hockey’s most coveted trophy. Interest in this year’s event will be strong locally as Summerside’s Noah Dobson leads the Titan to their second Memorial Cup since the franchise moved to Bathurst, N.B. in 1998. The Titan, with star goaltender Roberto Luongo, took part in the 1999 championship.
Dobson, a defenceman, is the seventh-ranked player by Central Scouting ahead of June’s NHL Entry Draft, and he will have a lot of eyes on him in the coming week. He is a leader on a very good Titan team, which stands a good chance of winning this prestigious event. One never knows going into a tournament where none of the teams have played the other, but there appears to be no clear-cut favourite.
Hamilton, like Acadie-Bathurst, had a strong playoff while Swift Current had a long post-season, playing 26 of the maximum 28 games to get there. The host Pats lost out early in the Western Hockey League’s playoffs, and have not played since April 2. The rest may do them good, and hope the event goes as it did last year as the host Windsor Spitfires had a long layoff and won it all.
The Memorial Cup was established 100 years ago to honour the men who gave their lives in World War I. It was rededicated at the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada. The present format of the tournament has been used since 1983, where the three major league winners, plus a host team, play a four-team tournament.
The Western Hockey League has enjoyed the most success winning 16 times while the Ontario Hockey League has won 12 times and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has earned seven titles.
Hopefully, that Quebec number will become eight and Noah Dobson wins the MVP.
The Titan play on Saturday at 6 p.m., local time, against Swift Current, and Sunday at 8 p.m., against Regina. All games are televised on Sportsnet.

Long season
It has been a long hockey season since this year began back in September, yet plenty of excitement lies ahead in the coming week – and hopefully beyond – for local hockey fans. Being able to watch Noah Dobson in the Memorial Cup will be great, and it sure looks like the Vegas Golden Knights are not going anywhere any time soon. There is quite a buzz everywhere about the Knights that has people talking about the Stanley Cup, and a possible visit to P.E.I. this summer.  
That possibility is very real as the Knights entered Friday night’s Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Winnipeg Jets only two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup final.
I thought the Jets had the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup when the playoffs began, but Vegas just finds a way to beat any team in their path, including the Jets. The Knights are on a mission, and being this close to winning hockey’s Holy Grail is something that does not come one’s way very often.
There is a lot to be impressed by when watching Vegas play, but their relentless work ethic stands out. They have lots of talent, but that is irrelevant if they don’t have the work ethic to go with it. Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant of Summerside, assistant coach Mike Kelly of Cornwall, P.E.I., and the entire staff have done a wonderful job with this team. That mission of winning the Cup, that not long ago seemed impossible, now seems very possible.
Have a great week!

Joe MacIntyre is a Summerside resident. His column appears every Saturday. Comments and suggestions can be sent to [email protected].