Memorial Cup Spirit

As a Sault Ste. Marie resident, I was hoping that the Soo would be chosen as host city for the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament over fellow Ontario Hockey League bids from Kingston and Saginaw. But I can see clearly as to why Saginaw was chosen over both the Soo and Kingston.

And the way I see it — cities and facilities aside — the choice came down to the fact that Saginaw is in a way better position than both the Soo and Kingston to ice a contending team for the 2023-2024 OHL season. Let us not forgot that the City of Saginaw not only will play host to the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament but along with that distinction, the Spirit gets automatic entry into the prestigious event. And the last thing that the Canadian Hockey League selection committee wanted is for the host team to be anything less than an OHL contender.

While nothing is ever certain, chances are that the Spirit will again be a contending team in 2023-2024. Saginaw is coming off of a 2022-2023 regular season in which the Spirit finished a strong fourth in the 10-team Western Conference standings with 77 points from a record of 36-27-5. On the other hand, the Greyhounds finished in ninth place and missed the Western Conference playoffs with just 55 points from a record of 20-33-15. And the Frontenacs also missed the playoffs, placing ninth in the Eastern Conference standings with 57 points from a record of 27-38-3.

Granted, both the Greyhounds and Frontenacs can return a lot of players from this year’s team to next. But they missed the playoffs this season with their current lot. Meanwhile, Saginaw can also return a lot of players from this year’s team — including six of its top eight scorers — and Saginaw actually made the playoffs with that impressive record of 36-27-5.

The Sprit boasts a number of high end players who excelled this season and are eligible to return next season. That list, as previously noted, includes six of its top eight scorers from this season, namely forwards Hunter Haight, Matyas Sapovaliv, Michael Misa, Calem Mangone and Joey Wills and standout rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh.

Notably, Haight (Minnesota Wild) and Sapovaliv (Vancouver Canucks) were both second round picks at the 2022 National Hockey League draft. Misa, meanwhile, is a 2007 birth year skater who was granted exceptional status for the 2022 OHL priority selections draft and was picked first overall by Saginaw.

Saginaw also has as its general manager one of the very best in the business in Dave Drinkill. Drinkill not also drafts extremely well but he is very sharp, thorough and astute when it comes to making trades.

At any rate, from a Sault Ste. Marie standpoint, while the Soo may have lost out on its bid to be the host for the 2024 Memorial Cup, a pair of local lads are poised to return to Saginaw next season. They are the aforementioned Calem Mangone, who netted 18 goals, 29 assists, 47 points in 67 games this regular season, as well as rookie forward Lincoln Moore, who potted seven goals, four assists, 11 points in just 43 games of spot duty. It should be noted that Moore, who hails from Garden River First Nation, had three of those goals and one assist in the final three games of the regular season.

So, Saginaw it is as the host city and host team for the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament. And I can’t say that I disagree with the choice.