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Starting Friday, major junior hockey’s most prestigious tournament — the Memorial Cup, which crowns the winner of the Canadian Hockey League — will bring an air of excitement to Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C.
It comes 22 years after the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) won the tournament on home ice and the team hopes to repeat that feat in 2026.
Rockets assistant coach Josh Gorges is from Kelowna and captained the 2004 team that won the Memorial Cup. He said seeing how “electric” Prospera Place was made the championship win extra special.
“A moment that I will remember for the rest of my life … it’s hard to argue that there’s a greater moment in my personal hockey career than being able to win a Memorial Cup here in Kelowna,” Gorges said.
For someone who went on to long career in the NHL, Gorges’ observation shows how important the Memorial Cup is for those involved.
The 10-day, four-team round robin tournament features the team from the host city, along with the champions of the three leagues within the CHL. The Rockets will face the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, and the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.
Chris Ray, another player on the 2004 team, said alumni from that championship squad will make their way to the tournament, including Hockey Hall of Famer Shea Weber.
“A lot of the guys live around here in Kelowna. I think that speaks to Kelowna itself as a city,” he said.
Daybreak South9:32Sharing Memorial Cup memories with a former Kelowna Rocket
Chris Ray is a former Kelowna Rocket. He joins the show to reflect on the season he won the Memorial Cup 22 years ago in 2004.
Team focused on preparation
Gorges said the Rockets have increased the intensity of practices to make up for a five-week break after falling to the Silvertips in the WHL playoffs.
Defenceman Nate Corbet said the team was “pumped and ready to go” for the tournament, and the Rockets weren’t thinking about the pressure that comes with being hosts.
“I think our biggest focus is just staying in the moment,” he said.
Steve Thomson, co-chair of the tournament’s host organizing committee, said the city will feature a number of community events to go alongside games at Prospera Place.
“This is a great community to host events. We’ve got a great volunteer base and we have great partnerships all across the community to help put these on,” he said.
Kelowna was supposed to host the Memorial Cup in 2020, but the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rockets will face the Kitchener Rangers in their first game of the tournament, with puck drop at 6 p.m. PT on Friday. The championship game will be held on May 31.
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