Junior hockey and the Memorial Cup.

Status in October 2026

The 2026 Memorial Cup was decided on 31 May 2026. The 2026-27 seasons of the three CHL leagues are in progress: the CHL's site carries Ontario Hockey League regular-season games from October 2026. No 2027 champion has been decided. The next international junior event is the World Junior Championship, which starts on 26 December 2026.

How the Memorial Cup works

As AP and TSN described the 2026 tournament, the Memorial Cup brings together four teams: the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL), plus a host team. They play a round robin, followed by a semifinal and a final. In 2026 the team that topped the round robin earned a bye straight to the final. We have described the format from how the 2026 event was reported, not from a CHL rulebook.

Results by year

2026: Kitchener Rangers

The OHL champion Kitchener Rangers beat the WHL champion Everett Silvertips 6-2 at Prospera Place in Kelowna on 31 May 2026. Kitchener's goals came from Jack Pridham, Sam O'Reilly, Luke Ellinas, Dylan Edwards, Jared Woolley and Christian Humphreys; Matias Vanhanen and Carter Bear scored for Everett. Christian Kirsch made 30 saves.

Kitchener went through the tournament 4-0. In the round robin it beat Kelowna 5-0, Everett 6-2 and the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi 3-2, which earned the bye to the final. Everett reached the final by beating Chicoutimi in the semifinal.

The sources count Kitchener's titles differently. TSN and the CHL's headline call it the third in franchise history. AP calls it the third Memorial Cup title and the fourth in franchise history, listing 1952, 1982 and 2003 as the earlier wins; a search summary says the 1952 win came under the name Guelph Biltmores.

2025: London Knights

The London Knights beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in Rimouski on 1 June 2025. FlamesNation reports that Denver Barkey scored twice, with Jacob Julien and Easton Cowan also scoring for London, and Gavin McKenna scoring for Medicine Hat.

2024: Saginaw Spirit

The host Saginaw Spirit beat the London Knights 4-3 for their first Memorial Cup, Josh Bloom scoring the winner with 21.7 seconds left. According to Wikipedia and a search summary of CBC coverage, Saginaw was the eighth first-time participant to win since 1972.

Junior hockey under Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Playing Rules

Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Playing Rules treat Junior as its own category, with some rules that apply only there. A few examples from the rulebook text:

• No-change on icing (Rule 6.7(d)): in U18 AAA and Junior, and at a Member's option in Senior, a team that ices the puck may not change players before the next faceoff, except to replace a goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, to replace an injured player, or when a penalty has been called.
• Hybrid icing (Rule 6.7(e)): in the same categories, when there is no race for the puck icing is not called until a defending player other than the goaltender crosses the line of the defending-zone faceoff spots and the puck has fully crossed the goal line. When there is a race, the linesperson has to make two judgements: whether the puck will cross the goal line, and which player would be first to touch it.
• Jersey tie-down (Rule 3.9(a)): in Junior and Senior, every player must wear a secure jersey tie-down.
• Face protection (Section 3, Note 2 on facial protectors): players registered with Senior and Major Junior teams must wear a CSA-certified full facial protector or visor (the note calls this recommended but optional for male adult recreational hockey). In all other categories and divisions, including female hockey, a CSA-certified full facial protector is compulsory.
• Roster size (Rule 2.2(a)): a team may have at most 20 players in uniform, up to 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders.

We have not confirmed which of these rules each CHL league applies in its own games; the leagues' own rulebooks were not among our sources. For face protection standards, see face protection, and always check your own association's current rules.