memorial cup decision irks barrie and windsor
May 15th, 2013
Not everyone is happy that the London Knights are hosting the 2014 Memorial Cup.
With all three teams, Barrie, London and Windsor, bidding to host Canadian Hockey League's biggest showcase next year, only one would come out on top.
In the end, it was London.
But they hosted the tournament less than a decade ago, in 2005.
“Very disappointed at decision on 2014 Memorial Cup. When will #barrie get a fair shake from the OHL?” Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman, who was on the Barrie Colts bid committee, tweeted.
Similarly, Windsor Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner was near identical when addressing media outlets in his city.
“London does have a good team coming back and so do we,” he was quoted as saying. “We have a good building and financial plan. There’s not a lot more to prove in that department.”
The general tone, was that small market teams needn't apply to host the Memorial Cup. The city of Barrie for instance, has bid five times, and has yet to host the event. CHL president David Branch though was quick to quash any such rumours.
“If for example, any one of the other two bids [Barrie or Windsor] had the returning roster of the London Knights, they would have been awarded this event,” Branch said. “That’s what it came down to this instance. It wasn’t a case of small market versus large market."
In terms of financial guarantee, two out of three teams had the exact figure while the third almost matched that number. In fact, all the bids were nearly identical, except when it came to the projection of the returning team for next season.
“We’ve had it [The Memorial Cup] in Guelph, Peterborough,” he added, listing two small market OHL venues, “but we recognize the importance of making this event accessible for all our markets and we’ll continue to do so.”
In the Spitfires case, missing the OHL playoffs didn't help their case, while their other two competitors Barrie and London squared off for the OHL title. Additionally, it's been less than a year since the club was fined $250,000 and the loss of four draft picks for violating OHL's player recruitment policies.
Windsor appeared to be behind Barrie and London in the pecking order, but Boughner was vocal is promising to never give up on hosting the tournament in the region.
Perhaps in 2017 when the Ontario Hockey League hosts the tournament next.
The 2014 tournament meanwhile takes place between May 16 and 25 and will feature the Knights as automatic qualifiers, as well as a representative from the Onatio Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
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Memorial Cup Hosts in the OHL in the Modern Era (1983 onwards):
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Not everyone is happy that the London Knights are hosting the 2014 Memorial Cup.
With all three teams, Barrie, London and Windsor, bidding to host Canadian Hockey League's biggest showcase next year, only one would come out on top.
In the end, it was London.
But they hosted the tournament less than a decade ago, in 2005.
“Very disappointed at decision on 2014 Memorial Cup. When will #barrie get a fair shake from the OHL?” Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman, who was on the Barrie Colts bid committee, tweeted.
Similarly, Windsor Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner was near identical when addressing media outlets in his city.
“London does have a good team coming back and so do we,” he was quoted as saying. “We have a good building and financial plan. There’s not a lot more to prove in that department.”
The general tone, was that small market teams needn't apply to host the Memorial Cup. The city of Barrie for instance, has bid five times, and has yet to host the event. CHL president David Branch though was quick to quash any such rumours.
“If for example, any one of the other two bids [Barrie or Windsor] had the returning roster of the London Knights, they would have been awarded this event,” Branch said. “That’s what it came down to this instance. It wasn’t a case of small market versus large market."
In terms of financial guarantee, two out of three teams had the exact figure while the third almost matched that number. In fact, all the bids were nearly identical, except when it came to the projection of the returning team for next season.
“We’ve had it [The Memorial Cup] in Guelph, Peterborough,” he added, listing two small market OHL venues, “but we recognize the importance of making this event accessible for all our markets and we’ll continue to do so.”
In the Spitfires case, missing the OHL playoffs didn't help their case, while their other two competitors Barrie and London squared off for the OHL title. Additionally, it's been less than a year since the club was fined $250,000 and the loss of four draft picks for violating OHL's player recruitment policies.
Windsor appeared to be behind Barrie and London in the pecking order, but Boughner was vocal is promising to never give up on hosting the tournament in the region.
Perhaps in 2017 when the Ontario Hockey League hosts the tournament next.
The 2014 tournament meanwhile takes place between May 16 and 25 and will feature the Knights as automatic qualifiers, as well as a representative from the Onatio Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
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Memorial Cup Hosts in the OHL in the Modern Era (1983 onwards):
- 1984: Kitchener
- 1987: Oshawa
- 1990: Hamilton (Host team Dukes of Hamilton weren't allowed to participate. Replaced by league runner up Kitchener.)
- 1993: Sault Ste. Marie
- 1996: Peterborough
- 1999: Ottawa
- 2002: Guelph
- 2005: London
- 2008: Kitchener
- 2011: Mississauga
- 2014: London
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