http://leaderpost.com/sports/hockey/regi...memorial-cup-bid-makes-strong-impression
The Regina Pats threw everything they had at the site selection committee for the 2018 Memorial Cup.
Now it’s a waiting game.
The WHL club’s delegation made its pitch on Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto — delivering a 45-minute presentation that exceeded the hopes of Pats part-owner Shaun Semple, who served as Regina’s bid chairman.
“I don’t want to overbuild expectations but I was very happy,” offered Semple, proudly representing the CHL’s top-ranked team. “There was no question from the comments made (by the selection committee) that they were very, very impressed with all the components of our bid. (They) said it was one of the best bids they’ve ever seen.”
As Canada’s oldest junior franchise, the Pats are generally regarded as a sentimental favourite over the other two finalists: The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals.
The 2018 tournament is expected to be a celebration of the Memorial Cup’s 100-year history — aligned precisely with the Pats’ own centennial anniversary. Regina played in the very first Cup final in 1919.
The team’s bid also emphasized a shared connection to the military as the namesake of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. The Memorial Cup trophy is dedicated to all Canadian soldiers who’ve died serving their country.
“Of the three presentations, I thought Regina’s was probably the most sentimental and emotional,” said Gord Kirke, the CHL’s legal counsel and chairman of the selection committee. “The film work was an incredible addition because it was very, very professionally handled.
“It was a tremendous presentation and very well considered — including the emotions of it, the psychological aspects of it, the business sense of it, et cetera. It’s very hard to nitpick and say this was lacking or that was lacking. It was just well done.”