Patrick King

Puck drops on the tournament Friday.

Examining several burning questions heading into the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The best aspect of junior hockey is its constant turnover and ability to produce new championship-winning teams on an almost yearly basis. This year's winners could be next year's rebuilding teams.

In fitting fashion, three of the four MasterCard Memorial Cup participants will be making history with their first inclusion in the tournament. The only team that has been here before are the Kootenay Ice, winners of the 2002 tournament, and participants in 2000.

The Saint John Sea Dogs, a franchise in just its sixth season of existence since expansion, are the newest newcomers. The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors had never been to the league final since the franchise's rebirth in 1997. And the Owen Sound Attack, winners of their first Ontario Hockey League title, will also play in their first national championship since moving from Guelph in 1989.

As with any year, this year's tournament should be wild and unpredictable. Here are five burning questions in advance of Friday's puck drop:

Can the Attack win with three goaltenders?

The OHL champs may be the only team in history to start three goaltenders in a series and still win. Scott Stajcer, Michael Zador and Jordan Binnington each started at least two games in the Rogers OHL championship series.

Head coach Mark Reeds simply went with the hot goalie down the stretch and played a hunch going back to Binnington in Game 6 of the final. Reeds won't have the luxury of playing the hot hand, since each game in the tournament is so much more crucial than in a seven-game series. Just ask Brandon head coach Kelly McCrimmon how much it helped rotating Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes in last year's tournament.

Now more than ever, Owen Sound needs to figure out which of these three goaltenders is their man. The answer could determine their fate.

How much will Zack Phillips' injury impact Saint John?

Phillips is one of Saint John's most lethal weapons offensively. The product of Fredericton, N.B. possesses a deadly shot and offensive creativity that will be hard to replace. Phillips missed the final two games of Saint John's championship run after being injured in Game 4 against Gatineau.

Word is Phillips will be healthy enough to play, but there's a difference between being dressed and actually making an impact. The Sea Dogs will still have plenty of scoring punch with the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Kirkpatrick, Stanislav Galiev and Nathan Beaulieu, but will no doubt be missing a key cog -- even if Phillips plays sparingly. His timeframe for a full recovery may be Saint John's biggest worry heading into the tournament.

Can the Sea Dogs finally win one for the Q?

The MasterCard Memorial Cup hasn't been good to representatives from the QMJHL in recent years. It's been five years since a team from the QMJHL won the national championship and the Quebec Remparts' 2006 victory was the only one in the last 10 years.

Not only has a QMJHL team failed to win in the last four years, but no Q team has even reached the final since both Quebec and Moncton met in the 2006 championship game. The Lewiston MAINEiacs, Gatineau Olympiques, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Rimouski Oceanic and Moncton Wildcats all fell short of the final in recent years.

The good news is the Sea Dogs represent the QMJHL's best opportunity to win the coveted MasterCard Memorial Cup in years. Saint John tied the mark for wins in a season with 58 and their 119 points are among the highest all-time. The time for a QMJHL champion has never been better.

Can the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors rebound from losing the OHL final?

I may be part of a select few that believe losing the OHL final actually works in Mississauga's favour. As hosts, the Majors were always in the conversation as favourite to win not only the league, but the national championship as well.

Now that they've fallen back down to earth, the Majors will have a rare second chance at redemption and the chip on their shoulder is growing bigger by the day.

Never has a host team been so disrespected heading into a tournament, from its lack of fan support to its defensive-style of play to the notion of a head coach that can't win the big one. The Majors are getting so sick of hearing the negatives that it will undoubtedly give them the added motivation to silence their critics.

Are the Kootenay Ice this year's Cinderella team?

It would be hard to argue a higher power isn't watching over the Kootenay Ice right now. In addition to not being pegged WHL favourite, many believed Kootenay would have seen their playoff run end in Round 2 against Saskatoon.

After sweeping the Blades and Tigers before dismantling the Winterhawks in five games in the final, the Ice is the scariest team entering this tournament. The Ice have never been better than they are right now and the time off hasn't hurt them in between previous rounds.

If Kootenay can keep playing the way they did through their playoff run, there's no reason to believe the Ice can't triumph and win their second MasterCard Memorial Cup.