2014 Memorial Cup’s talent pool compares well with legendary 2005 tournament
The legacy from the 2005 Memorial Cup in London, nearly a decade on, pops up constantly.
When Team Canada celebrated the Olympic men's gold medal in Sochi, the players exulting on the ice included Shea Weber, who nine years ago was the linchpin of the Kelowna Rockets defence. Then there was Corey Perry, a 130-point scorer for the London Knights, who capped off one of the most dominant seasons in major junior annals by winning the city's first OHL title and first Memorial Cup title on home ice. London won the championship game by shutting out 17-year-old Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Océanic, who had the onerous task of regroup for the final after playing in a Saturday night semifinal. (The off-day between the semifinal and final is another legacy from 2005. As former Knights trainer Don Brankley says in reference to complaints about the schedule from Crosby and former Rimouski coach Doris Labonté: "They cried and cried and now they add the extra day.")
That tournament, along with the 2005 world junior championship where Crosby, Perry and Weber were also part of Canada going a perfect 7-0 en route to the gold medal, satisfied many a hockey fix during a season when the NHL went dark thanks to a season-scuttling lockout that many swore would be the end of the sport. (How did that work out?) It was considered one of the most talent-studded ensembles ever to descend on the Canadian Hockey League's year-end showcase. The proof is in who has gone on to a sustained NHL career. Along with three superstars, the '05 tournament included notable NHLers such as Brian Bickell, David Bolland, Dan Girardi and Jamie McGinn (then a 16-year-old with the Ottawa 67's) and Marc Methot.
Comparing past performance to potential is dicey. Only four NHL first-rounders played in the '05 tournament, or fewer than half of the 10 that will lace 'em up in London, starting Friday. So it's worth asking if this Memorial Cup might surpass that seemingly unsurpassed previous tournament at Budweiser Gardens.
Here's the 2005 alumni roll call, ranked by games played.
2005 Memorial Cup alumni | CHL team | Age | Draft slot | NHL games |
---|---|---|---|---|
Corey Perry | London | 19 | 28th/2003 | 655 |
Shea Weber | Kelowna | 19 | 49th/2003 | 622 |
Dan Girardi | London | 20 | Free agent | 569 |
Sidney Crosby | Rimouski | 17 | 1st/2005 | 550 |
Blake Comeau | Kelowna | 18 | 47th/2004 | 422 |
Marc Methot | London | 19 | 168th/2003 | 397 |
Brandon Prust | London | 20 | 70th/2004 | 369 |
David Bolland | London | 18 | 32nd/2004 | 355 |
Jamie McGinn | Ottawa | 16 | 36th/2006 | 347 |
Bryan Bickell | Ottawa | 18 | 41st/2004 | 279 |
Dan Fritsche | London | 19 | 46th/2003 | 256 |
Marc-Antoine Pouliot | Rimouski | 19 | 22nd/2003 | 192 |
Troy Bodie | Kelowna | 19 | 278th/2003 | 154 |
Kyle Cumiskey | Kelowna | 18 | 222nd/2005 | 132 |
Derek Joslin | Ottawa | 17 | 149th/2005 | 116 |
Rob Schremp | London | 18 | 25th/2004 | 114 |
One can only project current teenage prospects so much. This tournament might not have the top-end talent of the 2013 tournament in Saskatoon that boasted three of the top four NHL picks with the Halifax tandem of Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin and Portland's Seth Jones. It also boasted six of the first 16 selections.
The field makes up for it with depth. Fifteen players are top-50 selections. The chart below doesn't even take into account the best draft-eligible talent, Guelph's Robby Fabbri, who just became the third 17-year-old player to ever be the Ontario Hockey League's playoff MVP.
2014 Memorial Cup | CHL team | Age | Draft slot | NHL org. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Griffin Reinhart | Edmonton | 19 | 4th/2012 | Islanders |
Bo Horvat | London | 18 | 9th/2013 | Canucks |
Max Domi | London | 18 | 12th/2013 | Coyotes |
Nikita Zadorov | London | 18 | 16th/2013 | Sabres |
Curtis Lazar | Edmonton | 18 | 17th/2013 | Senators |
Kerby Rychel | Guelph | 19 | 19th/2013 | Blue Jackets |
Anthony Mantha | Val-d'Or | 19 | 20th/2013 | Red Wings |
Michael McCarron | London | 18 | 25th/2013 | Canadiens |
Henrik Samuelsson | Edmonton | 19 | 27th/2012 | Coyotes |
Jason Dickinson | Guelph | 18 | 29th/2013 | Stars |
Mitch Moroz | Edmonton | 19 | 32nd/2012 | Oilers |
Matt Finn | Guelph | 19 | 35th/2012 | Maple Leafs |
Tristan Jarry | Edmonton | 18 | 44th/2013 | Penguins |
Anthony Stolarz | London | 19 | 45th/2012 | Flyers |
Brock McGinn | Guelph | 19 | 47th/2012 | Hurricanes |
In the here and now, it seems astounding the Detroit Red Wings were able to trade down last June to draft Mantha, who only scored 24 goals in as many playoff games, including the last-minute Game 7 winner. Still, it's a list of NHL aspirants that bumps out Winnipeg Jets signing Scott Kosmachuk (the No. 70 pick in 2012), who had 101 points in the OHL regular season.
The Memorial Cup is not always going to have a breakout star on the level of MacKinnon, Crosby, Taylor Hall with the 2009 and '10 Windsor Spitfires and Jonathan Huberdeau with the 2011 Saint John Sea Dogs. Having one player to focus on is great for TV purposes, but if anyone bemoans the lack of star power in London, let it go in one ear and out the other. It's a deep talent pool.
London will inevitably end up hosting the Memorial Cup again in another nine or 12 seasons, sure as shooting, so that might be a good time to look back at how everyone fared at the next level.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.