The 2025 Memorial Cup is less than 10 days away from kicking off on the southern shore of the St Lawrence River in Rimouski, Quebec.

The winners of the Ed Chynoweth Cup (WHL), the Gilles-Courteau Trophy (QMJHL) and the J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHL) each earn a berth into junior hockey’s most prestigious tournament, alongside the host team, in this case, the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL.

This year’s Memorial Cup might be laden with Flames content as there could potentially be two Calgary prospects competing.

Each CHL member league is in the final stage of its playoffs, and two Flames’ draft selections are still competing in their respective leagues. Andrew Basha of the Medicine Hat Tigers, drafted 41st overall in 2024, and Etienne Morin of the Moncton Wildcats, drafted 48th overall in 2023, are the final remaining Flames’ prospects still vying for their league championship.

Morin and the Moncton Wildcats have technically already punched their ticket into the Memorial Cup as their opponent in the QMJHL Championship is the Rimouski Oceanic, who are automatically invited as the host team. This means that even if the Wildcats fall to the Oceanic, Moncton will still receive a berth in the tournament as the runners-up in the QMJHL.

Morin has appeared in the QMJHL playoffs in all four years playing for the Wildcats, but had yet to make it past the second round prior to this season. The 20-year-old defenceman has been instrumental in Moncton’s dominant playoff run, posting 20 points in 16 playoff games on route to a near-perfect 15-1 team record this post-season. They are currently up 3-0 in the championship series versus Rimouski and show no signs of slowing down following a 6-4 win on Wednesday night.

Morin’s Wildcats went 53-9-2-0 in the regular season and were ranked as the number one team in the CHL’s top-10 rankings for its final four weeks. They could be one of the favourites to claim junior hockey’s ultimate prize later this month.

As for Andrew Basha, the Calgary native hadn’t suited up for his Medicine Hat Tigers since Dec. 28, due to an ankle injury. Initial reports indicated his injury was likely season-ending, but the Tigers stayed alive long enough to see their star winger return in game one of the WHL Championship series against the Spokane Chiefs.

Basha scored 54 seconds into his return and gave his squad an early 1-0 lead in the series opener, and it’s clear how much it meant to him.