Patrick King

Nazem Kadri's Kitchener Rangers team went cold when it mattered in 2008.

The Memorial Cup has a history of talent-laden teams that were unable to lift the trophy.

The MasterCard Memorial Cup is perhaps the most unique tournament in sports.

As both the pinnacle and culmination of each season across the Canadian Hockey League, the national championship serves as the most historical reference point in determining success and failure.

Although the tournament has undergone many changes since beginning in 1919 - when it was created in honour of the veterans who served in the first World War - the heritage and history of junior hockey's grandest stage has become a fixture in its near hundred year existence.

But for all the winners, there are always notable losers - teams that accomplished so much, but whose history is not underlined with the biggest championship.

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors head coach Dave Cameron surprised many in the days leading up to the Rogers Ontario Hockey League championship series when he called the MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament a "crapshoot." Cameron's point was that the league championship meant more to him, since the tournament format provides such hazards as sudden-death games and a lack of familiarity from out-of-league opposition.

The nature of the tournament dictates not all MasterCard Memorial Cup champions were the best team each junior season. Whether fighting through injuries, running out of gas or simply not being the best team the day of the final, the tournament's history will always include teams who will be remembered for near misses.

Here are five teams who failed to turn phenomenal regular season records in to a Memorial Cup, in a feature we call 'Missing Rings'.

The 2007-2008 Kitchener Rangers

The Kitchener Rangers would host the tournament for the second time in its history in 2008, but unfortunately for their passionate fan base, it would witness its team lose in the championship final, just as they did in 1984 to the Ottawa 67's.

There was a definite chip on the Rangers' shoulders entering the season as hosts. Many felt the Oshawa Generals, a team with a newer and state-of-the-art facility and junior hockey's current poster-boy, John Tavares, should have been hosts. But the Rangers not only captured the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions, they tied for what was then the second-most points by an OHL team in one season with 110.

The Rangers were a team loaded with talent. The team featured the CHL's Player of the Year and the OHL's Most Outstanding Player, forward Justin Azevedo. The Rangers also had the likes of Nazem Kadri, Mikkel Boedker, Nick Spaling, Matt Halischuk, Yannick Weber and a future Calder Trophy winner in goal with Steve Mason.

While many will point at the team's difficulty to close out the league championship series -- where it squandered a 3-0 lead to the Belleville Bulls before taking Game 7 by a 4-1 final -- it actually came two rounds earlier. After mortgaging their future in a trade with arch-rival London to acquire Mason, the Rangers lost the star goaltender to a season-ending injury in Game 3 of their second-round series with Sarnia.

The Rangers were then forced to go with rookie Josh Unice, who played well, but was frustratingly inconsistent at times.

Although the Rangers survived a scare to Belleville in the final, they never fully returned to the dominant team they had been through much of the playoffs and regular season. Kitchener wound up finishing third in the round robin, but dusted the Bulls 9-0 in the semifinal.

Despite scoring the first goal of the final, the Rangers lost 4-1 on home ice to the Western Hockey League champion Spokane Chiefs. Unice posted an underwhelming .897 save percentage during the tournament. Conversely, the Chiefs' starter, Dustin Tokarski, shone brightly with a .953 percentage.

While the Chiefs were worthy winners of the 2008 championship, many still wonder how the tournament may have been different had Mason been healthy to participate.

The 1978-1979 Trois-Rivières Draveurs

The Trois-Rivières Draveurs were one of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League's founding members when the league formed in 1969. The Draveurs, who were originally the Ducs, were also one of its most successful franchises up until it relocated to Sherbrooke, Que. in 1992.

While the franchise may now be in Lewiston, Me., the team's place in league history still stands strong from its time in Trois-Rivières, Que. The 1978-79 season was the Draveurs' most successful and remains the best season statistically enjoyed by any team in QMJHL history. The Draveurs finished with 122 points and 58 wins, both league records, and just three points shy of the CHL record for points in a season.

The Draveurs were led by an explosive offence that featured the likes of Jean-Francois Sauvé, Bob Mongrain, Pierre Lacroix, Jean-Gaston Douville and Michel Leblanc, who all posted more than 100 points that season. Sauvé led the league with 65 goals and 111 assists for 176 points. The team had a goal differential of plus-294 during the regular season. Goaltender Jacques Cloutier had also been integral to the team's success.

There was little surprise the Draveurs stormed through the playoffs with relative ease and advanced to the three-team Memorial Cup tournament, which was partially hosted in Trois-Rivières. The tournament format in 1979 dictated each of the three teams would play each other twice in a round robin, with the top two teams playing in a one-game final.

In spite of winning the first two games against Peterborough and Brandon, the Draveurs lost the final two and were eliminated due to their minus-2 goal differential. It was a tough pill to swallow and there were allegations that the Petes threw the final game against Brandon in order to eliminate the Draveurs.

The team's 58 wins is tied amongst the most all-time in QMJHL history with the 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers and this year's Saint John Sea Dogs, but their 122 points remains unmatched.

Although the 1978-79 Draveurs enjoyed plenty of junior success, they are also an example that junior success doesn't always translate into pro success. Cloutier, Sauvé and Normand Rochefort enjoyed solid NHL careers, but many of the players hardly made an impact professionally. Regardless, their place in history as one of the best remains undisputed even without a Memorial Cup title.

The 1980-1981 Victoria Cougars

Long before the Cougars relocated to Prince George, B.C., they were among the best teams in the Western Hockey League. The team was consistently strong throughout the early 1980s, but never better than the 1980-81 season.

The Cougars posted what was then the second-best statistical season in WHL history with 121 points. While 60 wins in the NHL had long been the record for wins in a season, the Cougars' 60 wins in that season remains the benchmark and no team in CHL history has since tied the mark set that season by the Cougars.

Victoria had plenty of star power. The team had a solid mix of veterans and youth, with future NHLers Barry Pederson, Paul Cyr, Bob McGill and young stars Geoff Courtnall Grant Fuhr.

But for all its firepower, the Cougars nearly didn't even make it to the Memorial Cup in 1981. After sweeping the Spokane Flyers and Portland Winter Hawks, the Cougars trailed the Calgary Wranglers 3-1 in the WHL final. Victoria stormed back to tie the series at three and in the seventh game, Terry Sydoryk scored the championship-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining in the third period to complete the comeback.

Victoria's near-miss in the WHL finals may have been an indication the team's invincibility was being stripped. For all the winning in the regular season, similar success wasn't carried over into the Memorial Cup.

The Memorial Cup still consisted of three teams with a non-host team in 1981. The tournament, which was held in Windsor, Ont., featured the defending Memorial Cup champion Cornwall Royals and the Kitchener Rangers. The Cougars won their first game 7-4 over the Rangers, but lost the next three by a combined 15-7 score.

They weren't mathematically eliminated when they played their final game against Cornwall, but it didn't take long. In spite of firing 20 shots on Royals goaltender Corrado Micalef in the first period alone, the Cougars lost 8-4. Fuhr allowed all eight goals on just 33 shots for a disappointing final game to his junior career.

The Cougars never won another WHL championship despite a few more good seasons. Victoria, meanwhile, was without a WHL team since 1994, but will return next season after the Chilliwack Bruins were sold and relocated to the B.C. provincial capital.

The 2008-2009 Calgary Hitmen

The term "missing rings" is a suitable description of the Calgary Hitmen from three seasons ago. While all the remaining teams on this list saw their Memorial Cup dreams shattered during the tournament, the Hitmen weren't even able to participate in the CHL's final four.

The Hitmen were outright dominant and in contention to break a few records in the process. Calgary wound up finishing with 122 points, good for second all-time in WHL history and tied for the second-most in CHL history with the 1978-79 Trois-Rivières Draveurs. The 59 wins posted were also just one shy of tying the 1980-81 Victoria Cougars.

Calgary was as deep as it was talented. The team didn't just rely on one player or one line and may be considered one of the best teams ever assembled. Its offence was led in part by Brandon Kozun, Brett Sonne, Joel Broda, Kyle Bortis and defencemen Paul Postma and Michael Stone. Martin Jones rounded out the talented squad with solid goaltending.

	The Hitmen team of 2008 was full of WJCH players like Brandon Kozun.

All the talk throughout the season revolved around the potential dream league championship series between the league's two biggest markets. While the Hitmen dominated the Eastern Conference, the Vancouver Giants were nearly just as strong in the West. Vancouver finished with 57 wins, two fewer than Calgary, and 119 points, three fewer than the Hitmen.

The Kelowna Rockets, who had quietly put together a strong and unassuming performance throughout the regular season, gained steam as the playoffs began. The Rockets ruined any chance of a Calgary-Vancouver final by coming back from 2-1 down to win the Western Conference final in six over the Giants.

The Rockets then turned their three-game winning-streak into a six-game streak after shocking the Hitmen by winning the first three games of the WHL final. Calgary posted a perfect 12-0 record through the first three rounds of the playoffs until facing the Rockets.

Kelowna did what few other teams had managed when playing Calgary by eliminating the point shot. The Rockets forwards were black and blue following the series with their unrelenting sacrifice by blocking shots.

Calgary managed to win Games 4 and 5 to stave off elimination and many believed the Hitmen were able to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. However, the powerful Hitmen lost in overtime of Game 6 in Kelowna, B.C. and weren't able to win either the WHL or Memorial Cup championships.

Calgary did claim a league title the following year, but weren't as strong or dominant as they were the year before. They lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the semifinal of last year's MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament and are now rebuilding. But the 2008-2009 season will always be looked upon as the year the trophies got away.

The 1978-1979 Brandon Wheat Kings

The Brandon Wheat Kings have had many challengers, but none have surpassed the magical season from 1978-79. Brandon continues to hold the all-time WHL and CHL record for points in a season with 125. The 2008-2009 Calgary Hitmen and 1978-79 Trois-Rivières Draveurs are the next two closest teams with 122 point seasons. But like the Hitmen and Draveurs, Brandon's record-setting season ended without the distinction of being Canada's best.

The Wheat Kings cruised through the WHL that season and were really only tested once, in a six-game final against the Portland Winter Hawks. Their roster featured a group including Brian Propp, Ray Allison, Laurie Boschman, Brad McCrimmon, Kelly McCrimmon, Rick Knickle and a large cast of other junior stars.

Propp led the league with 94 goals and 100 assists for 194 points while Knickle was named the league's top goaltender. Dunc McCallum had also been named the league's coach of the year in 1979.

But none of those awards could replace the loss of the Memorial Cup. Brandon may have been the favourite entering the tournament, but was at a disadvantage where experience was concerned. Both the Draveurs and the Peterborough Petes had reached the Memorial Cup the year prior, where the New Westminster Bruins were crowned champions.

The Wheat Kings were ready to play a rough and intimidating style even before the puck dropped in their first game against Trois-Rivières. What started with taunting and stick jabs turned into an all-out brawl during warm-up. Each player, including both teams' goaltenders, was involved and the brawl lasted 12 minutes until Trois-Rivières police intervened.

The Draveurs won the penalty-filled game 4-1. When the dust settled, 115 minutes in penalties had been handed out and both teams had been fined. Neither team was allowed within 10 feet of the faceoff circle for future warm-ups.

Brandon lost its next game, 7-6 in overtime, to Peterborough to drop to an 0-2 record and ran the risk of missing out on the final altogether. They wound up winning the final two round-robin games 6-1 and 3-2 to advance to the final against Peterborough.

By the time the Wheat Kings reached the final, they were missing three of their top defencemen due to injury. With Mike Perovich, Don Dietrich and Kelly Elcombe unable to play, Brad McCrimmon achieved a rare feat by playing the entire game. The only time he missed was when he was in the box for a two-minute penalty. The rest of the game saw a rotating defensive partner by his side. Following the game, he insisted to reporters he was not tired.

However, McCrimmon's tireless effort wasn't enough. The Petes -- who were the only team not to have set a league record for points heading into the tournament that season -- wound up winning the game in overtime on a controversial goal. McCrimmon went back to retrieve what he thought was an icing call. The play was not blown dead and the puck was stolen from him, resulting in the Wheat Kings' demise.

The Wheat Kings went on to win another WHL championship in 1996, but are still without a Memorial Cup title to their history. They participated in the 1995 event as WHL representatives and hosted the tournament last season. They reached the final last year, but were trounced 9-1 by the defending champion Windsor Spitfires.

Honourable mentions

The 1965-1966 Oshawa Generals

Although the Generals finished fourth in the nine-team OHA that season, they were dominant throughout the playoffs. They were led by a young defenceman playing in his final junior season by the name of Bobby Orr. The defenceman was a generational talent soon about to star for the Boston Bruins.

Orr helped lead the Generals back to the Memorial Cup for the first time in more than two decades. Along with future NHL star Wayne Cashman, the Generals were a good bet to beat the Edmonton Oil Kings in the seven-game series, which was how the tournament was decided before 1972. But Orr was severely hampered by a groin injury throughout the series which limited his effectiveness. Had he been healthy, the 1966 Memorial Cup may have turned out differently.

The 1998-1999 Calgary Hitmen

In just their fourth season of existence, the Calgary Hitmen captured their first WHL championship. The team was led by a junior phenom by the name of Pavel Brendl. The Czech sharpshooter scored 21 times in 20 playoff games and potted another four in the Memorial Cup.

The Hitmen had a deep team with future NHLers Brad Moran, Brad Stuart and Jerred Smithson. After going 2-1 in round robin play, the Hitmen were granted a berth in the final. The Ottawa 67's, who were also hosting the tournament, ended Calgary's dream season by winning the national championship in overtime on a goal by Matt Zultek.

Calgary had another promising season a year later, but would not reach the Memorial Cup. After finishing with 120 points in 1999-2000, they were upset in the Eastern Conference final by the Kootenay Ice. The Hitmen continue to search for their first national championship.

The 2004-2005 Rimouski Océanic

If not for the fact the Océanic were in the same tournament as one of junior hockey's biggest powerhouses, the London Knights, the 2005 tournament would likely have been theirs. Rimouski was led by the sensational Sidney Crosby, whose final junior season was capped with six awards (Most Valuable Player, Top Scorer, Playoff MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Best Pro Prospect and the Personality of the Year).

The Océanic set a QMJHL record for going 28 consecutive games without a loss during the season and playoffs. Crosby led the tournament in scoring with 11 points, followed by three teammates: Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Dany Roussin and Mario Scalzo Jr. But the biggest distinction, as national champions, would be bestowed upon the host Knights. Rimouski never got its game going in the final and ultimately lost 4-0. Any other year this team would have likely triumphed with Crosby leading the charge.