Kitchener Rangers win 2026 Memorial Cup

It marked the third time the team has won the Memorial Cup. The Rangers previously won the championship in 1982 and 2003. They join the likes of the Cornwall Royals, Kamloops Blazers, Windsor Spitfires and London Knights as the only teams to win the event three times.

Kitchener is also the third straight team from the OHL to take home the Memorial Cup.

The Rangers saw another outstanding performance from Chicago Blackhawks draft pick Jack Pridham. He posted a goal and an assist, giving him a tournament-leading five goals, along with seven points in four games. Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Sam O’Reilly posted three points in the victory, giving him three goals and seven points, earning the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament’s most valuable player. He, along with Los Angeles Kings prospect Jared Woolley is now a two-time Memorial Cup winner, having helped the London Knights win it all last year.

Kitchener has been one of the best teams all season long. They finished with the second-best record in the OHL, finishing atop the Western Conference standings. They ran through the playoffs with relative ease, losing just twice en route to the franchise’s fifth J. Ross Robertson Cup, and first since 2008, sweeping the Barrie Colts in the final. The Rangers didn’t slow down in Kelowna. They went undefeated in the round-robin, and thanks to a pair of lopsided wins over Silvertips, outscored their opponents 22-7 across four contests.

The Silvertips were in their first Memorial Cup after winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League champions for the first time. Led by the likes of Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear, Seattle Kraken draft pick Julius Miettinen and Mathis Vanhanen, Everett finished second in the round-robin, beating the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the semifinal to reach Sunday’s final. Vanhanen led the Silvertips with four goals and six points in the tournament.

It was the third time in four years that a team from the WHL had made it to the final and lost. The last champion from the league was the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.