Memorial Cup: The Fantastic Four

With the Memorial Cup Tournament set to kick off tomorrow, today is a preview of the tournament that has been running under its current format since 1983, when the Portland Winterhawks took home the trophy.  This year's tournament is in Saskatoon, SK, and features the Saskatoon Blades, London Knights, Halifax Mooseheads, and the Portland Winterhawks.  Now, let's look at each team, how they got here, and the why they have a chance to take home the trophy.

The Halifax Mooseheads were the most dominant team in the QMJHL and were going back and forth with the Portland Winterhawks in the CHL Power Rankings for much of the season.  Led by the dynamic duo of Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, the Mooseheads are more than a two man team.  Detroit Red Wings prospect Martin Frk and top goaltending prospect Zachary Fucale are also important players in the Mooseheads' success.  The President Cup champions blazed through Saint John, Gatineau, Rouyn-Noranda, and Baie-Comeau, needing just 17 games to clinch their spot in the Memorial Cup Tournament, and can take home the trophy if Drouin remains the dynamic player that could make him a top three pick and MacKinnon shows the game that has him already being talked about with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux.

The London Knights were the best team in the OHL in the regular season, and like every team in this year's tournament, they have their own talent.  Led by Bo Horvat and Max Domi at forward and Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington on defense, the Knights are a team to watch.  Their road to the Memorial Cup wasn't quite as easy as Halifax's, as they swept Saginaw and dispatched Kitchener and Plymouth in five games each before running into trouble with Barrie, twice blowing big leads, yet they prevailed with 0.1 seconds in regulation to win their series.  Goaltending will be the key to any success the Knights have, as they switched Anthony Stolarz with Jake Patterson midway through the Barrie series.  The Knights have enough talent in front of whoever gets the start in goal to possibly take home the Memorial Cup this year and carry momentum into next year, when they will be hosting the Memorial Cup Tournament.

The Saskatoon Blades are hosting this year's Memorial Cup Tournament, which means they automatically have their spot regardless of whether they win their league tournament or not.  That is not to say they don't have talent, as the likes of Dalton Thrower, Lukas Sutter, Matej Stransky, and Andrey Makarov are good players.  An 18-game winning streak this season propelled them to the East Division title this year, but getting swept out of the first round by Medicine Hat was not how the team wanted to get momentum going into this year's tournament.  Home ice can mean something, and the Blades are hopeful it will translate for them in the same way it did for Shawinigan last year.

The Portland Winterhawks are the WHL champions and they dominated much of the league play.  They made the Memorial Cup on their third straight try, beating Everett, Spokane, Kamloops, and Edmonton (who beat them last year to get into the Memorial Cup Tournament) to get here.  Of all the teams in the tournament, the Winterhawks have the most talent, with Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan, and Ty Rattie being the top three scorers in the league.  Defensively, the Winterhawks are deep, with Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski, Tyler Wotherspoon, and Seth Jones comprising the top four.  Mac Carruth is the man in goal, and was a major spark in the team's fortunes when he returned to the team from Rockford of the AHL earlier in the season.  Adversity does not get this team down, as they had some sanctions handed down to them, which included coach Mike Johnston getting banished from the bench for the season.  The Winterhawks have the talent to take home the Memorial Cup, and are tested in just about every way possible this year, so nothing surprises them.