Windsor being handed the Top Prospects game establishes the Spitfires as early favourites to host the 2011 Memorial Cup.
The Windsor Spitfires might be one step closer to their goal of hosting the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
The Canadian Hockey League announced Wednesday the Spitfires would host this year's CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, a showcase of the top draft eligible prospects playing major junior in Canada.
The game will be played at the Spitfires' new home, the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre, on Jan. 20. It's the third major event the new rink will host in a little more than a year, as sure as any sign of the viability of hosting the CHL's crown jewel - the annual Memorial Cup tournament.
The WFCU Centre was home to last year's Ontario Hockey League All-Star Game and will have the national spotlight in November when it hosts one of six Canada vs. Russia games.
The Spitfires intend to bid for the right to host the 2011 Memorial Cup, meaning January's Top Prospects Game is just another opportunity to demonstrate their ability to handle big events.
"I think it's no different than a player playing in the Prospects Game; it can only help (their chances)," CHL president David Branch said. "I think hosting another event like this, in a positive way, will only help their desire and interest in pursuit of hosting the 2011 Memorial Cup."
What might help their chances even more is that they have quickly become the CHL's go-to franchise. The league originally planned to play the game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, home of the NHL's Canadiens.
Much like the Memorial Cup, the league planned on alternating a home league for the Top Prospects Game. With the last two having gone to the OHL and the Western Hockey League, the CHL was interested in a location within the Québec Major Junior Hockey League.
Plans for the Bell Centre were derailed due to a shortened NHL schedule thanks to this year's Olympics. Once Montreal was no longer viable, the league skipped the rotation and went back to an OHL destination.
"Windsor was the first center that came to mind," Branch said. "We gave them a call to see if that interest would be there and not surprising, it was."
The league targets NHL facilities for the event, Branch said, and will pursue the Bell Centre as a possible candidate again next season.
The WFCU Centre is a state-of-the-art facility, a junior-sized replica of most NHL buildings. The game has previously been played in such venues as: Edmonton's Rexall Place, the Pepsi Colisée in Québec City, the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome.
The most peculiar part of the announcement is that the Spitfires did not bid to host this year's event. The league's decision to offer the Top Prospects Game to the team shows the level of confidence it has in the Spitfires' ability to handle big events.
Several factors come into play when the CHL determines a host city for the Memorial Cup. The building which houses the home team must be able to support three other teams, media, scouts, and fans. The city also has to be big enough to accommodate the tournament's visitors. But most of all, the host team needs to be strong on the ice.
In each respect, Windsor passes with flying colours.
The Spitfires won last year's Memorial Cup and are the odds-on favourites to repeat this season. Their core includes three potential first-round NHL picks in this year's draft in forwards Taylor Hall and Austin Watson and defenceman Cam Fowler, all of whom expect to be named to the Top Prospects Game.
Watson might be the only one of the three returning next season as Hall and Fowler have long been considered candidates for first overall in the 2010 draft.
But just as the team may lose some stars, the possibility remains that the Spitfires could attract some big name players from Michigan, just as they did Fowler.
"I think we'll be a very good team next year also and I think we have the resources to do it," Warren Rychel, general manager and vice-president of the Spitfires, said. "Obviously people know we're going to bid on (the Memorial Cup) but we don't want to say too much right now. We just want to go through the process."
The process could be more of a formality once the Spitfires officially throw their hat in the ring. With all the franchise has accomplished on and off the ice the last couple seasons, Windsor has become the most appealing destination in the CHL.
"We're very proud," Rychel said. "We're all from Windsor, we're proud to show off the new building and proud to show off what the city of Windsor can do so we're truly excited."
As Branch said Wednesday, it certainly wasn't an accident that the league chose Windsor for such a prestigious event. The league's decision for the next Memorial Cup host won't be an accident, either.
