The 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia will be hosted by the Saginaw Spirit, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced Wednesday.
It will be the first time that the CHL’s championship series is hosted south of the border in 26 years, and the very first time that the Memorial Cup will be hosted by an American city in the Ontario Hockey League.
The last time the prestigious tournament was hosted in the United States was back in 1998 when the Portland Winterhawks hosted and won the Memorial Cup.
“We are thrilled to bring the Memorial Cup to the state of Michigan for the first time in the event’s history,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie via a press release. “The Spirit and City of Saginaw submitted a remarkable bid and we have no doubt that they will do an outstanding job of hosting our CHL championship next year.”
The Spirit are set to make their Memorial Cup debut next season, after arriving in Saginaw, Mich. back in 2002. In their brief history, the Spirit have three OHL West Division titles to their name.
Some notable NHL alumni to come from the Spirit include names such as Cole Perfetti, Filip Hronek, Owen Tippett, Brandon Saad and Vincent Trocheck.
“On behalf of Dick Garber and the Saginaw Spirit franchise, we are grateful to the Memorial Cup Selection Committee. It is an honour for the community of Saginaw and the 400,000 people that call the Great Lakes Bay Region home to be the host of the 2024 Memorial Cup,” Craig Goslin, President and Managing Partner of the Spirit, said. “Saginaw is both honoured and prepared. We respect and understand the significance that the Memorial Cup has in Canadian culture and we plan to illustrate this respect and honour throughout the event. It is our intent, that when it is completed, the CHL, all visiting players, staff, sponsors, fans and stakeholders, will leave by saying: ‘that was an exceptionally managed Memorial Cup and we had a fabulous experience.’”
Led by exceptional status forward Michael Misa, the Spirit finished this season with 36-27-3-2 record and will face off against Flint Firebirds in an I-75 first-round showdown beginning Thursday.
Misa, 16, had 56 points (22G, 34A) for the Spirit in 2022-23, the most by an OHL rookie. His 1.24 points per game were the highest ever by an OHL Exceptional Status player, even better than John Tavares’ 1.18 with the Oshawa Generals back in 2005-06.
In the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia, the Spirit will participate alongside the playoff champion from each of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL).
The year’s Memorial Cup will take place in Kamloops, B.C. from May 25 to June 4.