Patrick King

Patrick King says Taylor Hall should be the top pick in this summer's NHL draft.

BRANDON, Man. -- With all due respect to the Stanley Cup playoff commercials, history was made at Westman Place on Sunday.

Not since the 1994-95 Kamloops Blazers has a team repeated as MasterCard Memorial Cup champions. The Windsor Spitfires emphatically took their place in junior hockey history with a decisive 9-1 victory over the host Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday.

Much of the conversation in Brandon throughout the tournament revolved around whether the Spitfires would be considered a dynasty with another national championship. The answer is now a resounding yes, as the Spitfires became only the eighth team in tournament history to repeat.

"I'll let you guys write about that," head coach Bob Boughner said. "I know one thing: it's going to be tough to match what we've done here in the last two years."

Twelve members of the Spitfires carried over from last year's championship-winning team, including the only two-time tournament Most Valuable Player, Taylor Hall. His trophy case is getting so crowded it's hard to imagine the Edmonton Oilers won't be making the obvious pick with the Spitfires forward at the draft.

"That's not for me to decide," the always-humble-and-modest Hall said. "I feel like I had a really good season. I did everything I could and if Edmonton feels I'm their guy that's great, but I'm not going to be depressed, I'm not going to be sad if I don't go there."

As exceptional as Hall had been in the tournament, many of the Spitfires' unsung heroes shone bright.

One of those players was Toronto Maple Leafs second-round pick Kenny Ryan who left Boston College just days prior to the NCAA's season. Ryan doesn't make a lot of headlines, but will be remembered for his heart and soul play.

"All along this was the right decision for me, but this is kind of icing on the cake," Ryan said.

Early in the game with his team leading 1-0, Ryan dove head first to block a point shot. It was far from a textbook block, but the execution and those types of winner-take-all plays separated the defending champs from the hosts in the final.

"I don't know about that one, it's kind of instinct," he said of his unusual block attempt. "When you get into this kind of game it's whatever it takes."

It's hard to imagine this year's Spitfires not being considered one of the greatest teams in junior hockey history. The team won 12 straight games through the playoffs and tournament combined after losing the first three to the Kitchener Rangers in the Western Conference final.

German goaltender Philipp Grubauer had been inconsistent early in his Spitfires career, but answered a lot of critics after watching Game 3 of the Kitchener series from the bench. Grubauer and the Spitfires never lost since that game and the maligned goaltender proved his critics wrong.

"I kind of needed that," he said of the humbling experience in Game 3. "After that game I said I had to refocus, get more confidence after my start in Game 4. That was the key to the whole thing here."

The Spitfires equaled the total for the widest margin of victory in a MasterCard Memorial Cup final. The 1973 Toronto Marlboros defeated the Quebec Remparts by that same 9-1 score.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Spitfires' two victories is the method in which they came. Windsor won both championships on a different league's soil.

That feat has been accomplished just twice before: the 1980-81 Cornwall Royals and the 1987-88 Medicine Hat Tigers won back-to-back championships in opposing leagues.

That feat was not lost on general manager Warren Rychel.

"We did it the hard way," he said. "It's not like we got in because we won the conference or we were the host, we went out of our league twice. I'm pretty happy with that."

The Wheat Kings were outmatched by the defending champs for the second straight game. Windsor dominated en route to the title this year and left nothing to chance after needing to go through the tiebreaker to get to the final last season.

The Spitfires' historical journey could continue next season, in spite of the fact many of their players will graduate. A new crop of players coming in next season could ensure the team is strong enough to contend for a record third-straight national championship.

As for Hall, rated second by the NHL's Central Scouting, he will go out a champion and set the bar awful high for superstars that will follow.

"He's as good as gone, he's sick," Rychel said. "Sometimes NHL Central try to create a story of who's rivaling who, but obviously there's no comparison (between Hall and No. 1 ranked Tyler Seguin). I thought he was the best player in the Canadian Hockey League."

Much like a large core of this team, Hall will ride off in the sunset, but left plenty of memories for junior fans.

Boughner described his team's accomplishments perfectly in another historical run for the Spitfires.

"This is a team you may never see again."