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Memorial Cup race could be wide open

When I finish up my time as a sports reporter, there will be a number of events that I will consider myself to be very lucky to have had a chance to cover.

When I finish up my time as a sports reporter, there will be a number of events that I will consider myself to be very lucky to have had a chance to cover.

One of them without a doubt will be this year’s Memorial Cup that took place in Red Deer, Alta. in May.

In the championship game, Matthew Tkachuk scored the winning goal in overtime as the London Knights won their second national title in franchise history in a dramatic 3-2 affair over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

That capped off one of the greatest runs in major junior hockey history as the Knights rattled off 17 straight wins on their way to the title.

Part of that was helped by the most dominant offensive trio in the country as Tkachuk, Mitchell Marner and Christian Dvorak had defences scratching their heads.

So with the three major junior leagues (the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League) all starting their seasons this week,  who will win this year’s Memorial Cup?

Personally, I had already penciled in the Knights to hoist the title once again in Windsor, Ont. this coming May.

Heck, I was ready to hand them the trophy once they won in Red Deer.

I still feel confident that will happen, but I’m starting to doubt myself just a little bit.

While the Knights are always strong, they might lose some of their top players to the pro ranks.

Dvorak has already moved on to the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes, while Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs), Tkachuk (Calgary Flames) and defenceman Olli Juolevi (Vancouver Canucks) could all leave the Knights depending on how their training camps go.

I expect Marner to be the only one to be moving up a level, but if Juolevi and Tkachuk join him in the NHL, this year’s Memorial Cup race will be wide open.

With the Windsor Spitfires hosting the tournament, you would expect them to stack their roster to try and get in through the front door as OHL champions.

There are a number of other strong contenders though, such as the Mississauga Steelheads and my hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (yes I’m biased).

Over in the QMJHL, a team that is in the mix is the Saint John Sea Dogs.

They have a ton of exciting young talent on their roster, including forward Joseph Veleno who was granted exceptional status to enter junior hockey a year early like Connor McDavid did.

Then there’s the WHL, where the Kelowna Rockets and Lethbridge Hurricanes are expected to be in the mix.

The favourite though looks to be the Regina Pats. As they are bidding to host the 100th Memorial Cup in 2018, they seem set to contend already.

A league title would be big for this province as well, as the Swift Current Broncos were the last team to win a WHL title in 1993.