NHL Notebook: Canada eliminated from World Championships

There is only one former Oiler remaining in the tournament: Gaëtan Haas. He spent two seasons with the Oilers in 2019-20 and 2020-21, scoring seven goals and 13 points. This season with Biel HC, he had 12 goals and 31 points and captains the team.

Team Switzerland is looking for their first-ever IIHF World Championship Gold Medal, but they face a tough Czechia team loaded with a ton of NHL’ers.

Memorial Cup kicks off

Here’s a fun fact: This season was the first time in Canadian Hockey League history that all three championship series (Ontario Hockey League, Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and Western Hockey League) all had a sweep.

The four teams involved in the 2024 Memorial Cup are the London Knights (OHL winner), Saginaw Spirit (OHL, host), Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL winner) and Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL winner).

On Friday, the Spirit defeated the Warriors 5-4. Game 2 went to the Knights, as they defeated the Voltigeurs 4-0.

Drummondville has appeared in three Memorial Cups prior to this, most recently in 2009, when they lost to the Windsor Spitfires, which had Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique on the roster. The London Knights are the clear favourites and have won the tournament twice, once in the fantastic 2005 Memorial Cup and again in 2016.

This is Saginaw’s first Memorial Cup as the Spirit, but won twice back in 1954 and 1960 when they were the St. Catharines Teepees. Moose Jaw has never been to a Memorial Cup, making the WHL finals just once.

No Edmonton Oiler prospects are involved in the tournament, as James Štefan’s Portland Winterhawks were eliminated in the finals to the Warriors.

Scott Arniel named as Winnipeg’s head coach

Moving to some NHL news, Winnipeg will have a new head coach starting in the 2024-25 season, as they announced Scott Arniel will coach the team.

Rick Bowness, who has been excellent on the Sportsnet panel this week, stepped down in early May after the Jets were eliminated. Along with Scotty Bowman and the late, great Pat Quinn, he is one of three coaches to have coached in five different decades.

Arniel played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League, scoring 149 goals and 338 points in 730 games. Six of those seasons were with the original Winnipeg Jets. He also played for the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres.

This isn’t Arniel’s first time as a head coach, as he spent two seasons at the helm of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11 and 2011-12, where he had a 45-60-18 record in 123 games. He bounced around the league as an Associate Coach and an Assistant Coach, but managed to coach 25 games in an interim role for the past two seasons, where he has a 15-7-3 record.

PWHL Minnesota needs one more win

Minnesota’s PWHL team needs just one more win to become the inaugural Walter Cup winners.

On Friday, they defeated Boston 4-1, seeing an early goal, before jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Boston would score late in the second period to cut the lead in half. However, Minnesota’s Michela Cava would score early in the third period for an insurance goal, before Grace Zumwinkle finished the game off with an empty net goal.

Minnesota will have a chance to clinch The Walter Cup at home on Sunday at 4:00 PM MT. They are undefeated at home, so Boston is in tough as they need to win the next two games.

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