Quote:
Originally Posted by lirette
There's actually no obvious next time for the Wildcats to get it now.
Gatineau is very likely in 2028
Chicoutimi, if their new rink is built would have a great chance in 2031.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the memorial cup format. I find its worn on me over the years, watching SJ win after losing in the first round hurts its legitimacy. It also leads to scorched earth rebuilds, and the trading rules across leagues are not even aligned. While I wish I could see the Avenir Centre full for 10 days worth of hockey, the on ice product of the Wildcats in theory will benefit from this, as they won't focus all of their assets on one season. If they do it right they could be competitive for the next 3.
While I had my suspicions about the fact that the Wildcats got the draft & the top prospects game in the same year, I still felt quite strongly they would get the memorial cup. Looking back that probably should have been the first hint they weren't getting it.
It wont ever happen. But I'd prefer a format sort of like the UEFA Champions league. I havent fully thought it through but if you reduced the regular season to 62 games you could have a situation where the first half of the season is qualifiers for the "memorial cup".
Say the top 4 teams in each the WHL/OHL/QMJHL after 31 games qualify. In the 2nd half, that group of 12 teams is divided into 3 groups based on points & league and you play each team in your group of 4 once at home and once on the road (total of 6 games). Find a major sponsor like an airline to cover the team travel.
After the group stage, the top 2 teams in each group qualify, plus 2 wildcard teams (total of 8 teams), and you now have a knockout tournament occur where the Memorial Cup normally would. To add some more stakes, you could have the top team in group play earns the host, rather than bids taking place. This means any team in the CHL can get this opportunity.
I think this adds a few interesting layers compared to the Memorial Cup
1. Fans get a chance to see teams from other leagues play. Think Conor Bedard playing in Quebec against the Remparts in front of 18,000, or playing in Valdor and what that would do for that town for a night.
2. Better competitive integrity for the Memorial Cup. It can only be earned, and not through a highly flawed bidding system where only large markets have a chance. It also plays out over 9 total games compared to the current format which is too small a sample size. You could potentially make the knockout round best of 3 if you wanted.
3. Ticket sales - this will be 3 key games for those 4 teams to add into their schedule that can be promoted in the 2nd half if they qualify, spreading around the revenue to other teams in the league who in many cases could be smaller markets. If done correctly these should be guaranteed sellouts.
While the format is abit confusing, we are seeing a large increase of Soccer fans in Canada, and this type of format should begin to be all too familiar for anyone who follows premiere league or other leagues.
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I think people really forget how great that Saint John team was. Their run-in to the playoffs they were 22-2. I'm sure in the team there was a bit of complacency after that stretch of games. But, they lost a close game 4 by a score of 1-0 and game 5 went to overtime.
However, I agree with your idea of more cross league play. Maybe instead of a european cup style format you take a Coupe de France style.
Qualifying Round -
The winner from each of the Junior A teams play a 1 game final.
8 leagues to chose from. To save cost every year have Maritime v Quebec. Ontario v Northern Ontario, Manitoba v Saskatchewan, Central Canada v Alberta.
Those 4 winners get added to round 1.
Round 1 teams:
22 - WHL
18 - QMHJL
20 - OHL
4 - Junior A
In my generated cup tie from, we got 8 same division games out of 32.
Some fun ones it gave were:
Cape Breton vs Vancouver Giants
Victoria Royals vs Granby Inouk (Quebec Junior A).
London Knights vs Quebec Remparts
The big question becomes what to do around the final. Do you play 2 games and combined score wins? Best 2 out of 3 where the team that had the best win percentage the year before between finalists gets the 2 first games and game 3 required to the other team?
Just a fun thought experiment through lunch.
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