The 2023 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team round-robin format ice hockey tournament held at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia, from May 26 to June 4, 2023. It was the 103rd Memorial Cup championship, which determines the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament was hosted by the Kamloops Blazers, who won the right to host the tournament over the Kelowna Rockets. The Quebec Remparts defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds, for their third Memorial Cup title. Remparts forward James Malatesta was named the tournament's most valuable player, with five goals in four games.[1]

2023 Memorial Cup
Tournament details
Venue(s)Sandman Centre, Kamloops, British Columbia
DatesMay 26 – June 4, 2023
Teams4
Host teamKamloops Blazers (WHL)
TV partner(s)TSN, RDS
Final positions
ChampionsQuebec Remparts
(QMJHL) (3rd title)
Tournament statistics
Games played9
Attendance48,405 (5,378 per game)
← 2022
2024 →
Silver bowl trophy with two large handles, mounted on a wide black plinth engraved with team names on silver plates.
The Memorial Cup trophy

Road to the Cup

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OHL playoffs

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The J. Ross Robertson Cup, championship trophy of the OHL
Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals OHL Championship
            
1 Ottawa 4
8 Oshawa 1
1 Ottawa 2
4 Peterborough 4
4 Peterborough 4
5 Sudbury 0
2 North Bay 3
Eastern Conference
4 Peterborough 4
2 North Bay 4
7 Mississauga 2
2 North Bay 4
3 Barrie 3
3 Barrie 4
6 Hamilton 2
E4 Peterborough 4
W2 London 2
1 Windsor 0
8 Kitchener 4
2 London 4
8 Kitchener 1
2 London 4
7 Owen Sound 0
2 London 4
Western Conference
3 Sarnia 2
3 Sarnia 4
6 Guelph 2
3 Sarnia 4
4 Saginaw 0
4 Saginaw 4
5 Flint 3

QMJHL playoffs

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The Gilles-Courteau Trophy, championship trophy of the QMJHL

In the first two rounds seeding is determined by conference standings, and in the two final rounds seeding is determined by overall standings.

Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Semifinals QMJHL Championship
            
W1 Sherbrooke 4
W7 Blainville-Boisbriand 0
W1 Sherbrooke 4
W6 Drummondville 0
W2 Gatineau 4
E9 Saint John 1
1 Quebec 4
4 Gatineau 0
W3 Victoriaville 1
W6 Drummondville 4
W2 Gatineau 4
W4 Rouyn-Noranda 0
W4 Rouyn-Noranda 4
W5 Shawinigan 1
1 Quebec 4
2 Halifax 2
E1 Quebec 4
E8 Charlottetown 0
E1 Quebec 4
E5 Rimouski 0
E2 Halifax 4
E7 Cape Breton 0
2 Halifax 4
3 Sherbrooke 2
E3 Moncton 4
E6 Baie-Comeau 3
E2 Halifax 4
E3 Moncton 1
E4 Chicoutimi 1
E5 Rimouski 4

WHL playoffs

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The Ed Chynoweth Cup, championship trophy of the WHL
Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals WHL Championship
            
E1 Winnipeg 4
E8 Medicine Hat 0
E1 Winnipeg 4
E4 Moose Jaw 2
E2 Red Deer 4
E7 Calgary 1
E1 Winnipeg 4
Eastern
E3 Saskatoon 0
E3 Saskatoon 4
E6 Regina 3
E2 Red Deer 3
E3 Saskatoon 4
E4 Moose Jaw 4
E5 Lethbridge 0
E1 Winnipeg 1
Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.
W1 Seattle 4
W1 Seattle 4
W8 Kelowna 0
W1 Seattle 4
W4 Prince George 0
W2 Kamloops 4
W7 Vancouver 0
W1 Seattle 4
Western
W2 Kamloops 2
W3 Portland 4
W6 Everett 1
W2 Kamloops 4
W3 Portland 0
W4 Prince George 4
W5 Tri-City 2

Team rosters

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Tournament games

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All times local (UTC − 7)[6]

Round-robin

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May 26 Quebec Remparts 8–3 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap  
James Malatesta (1) – 7:36 First period 16:40 – ppCaedan Bankier (1)
James Malatesta (2) – 1:05
Nathan Gaucher (1) – 3:07
Théo Rochette (1) – pp – 5:42
Kassim Gaudet (1) – 15:20
Second period 16:11 – Daylan Kuefler (1)
Kassim Gaudet (2) – sh – 9:19
Zachary Bolduc (1) – 11:33
James Malatesta (3) – 15:32
Third period 4:30 – Matthew Seminoff (1)
William Rousseau (27 saves / 30 shots) Goalie stats Dylan Ernst (25 saves / 33 shots)


May 27 Peterborough Petes 3–6 Seattle Thunderbirds Sandman Centre Recap  
J. R. Avon (1) – 1:24 First period No scoring
Owen Beck (1) – 15:53 Second period 0:39 – Lucas Ciona (1)
16:45 – Kyle Crnkovic (1)
Avery Hayes (1) – pp – 13:56 Third period 10:00 – Kyle Crnkovic (2)
11:22 – Nolan Allan (1)
16:45 – Jordan Gustafson (1)
18:26 – en, sh – Kyle Crnkovic (3)
Michael Simpson (34 saves / 39 shots) Goalie stats Thomas Milic (23 saves / 26 shots)


May 28 Kamloops Blazers 10–2 Peterborough Petes Sandman Centre Recap  
Ryan Michael (1) – 5:14
Fraser Minten (1) – pp – 9:08
Ashton Ferster (1) – 13:18
First period No scoring
Matthew Seminoff (2) – pp – 0:35
Dylan Sydor (1) – 3:01
Logan Stankoven (1) – 4:17
Jakub Demek (1) – pp – 8:17
Second period 15:34 – ppAvery Hayes (2)
Connor Levis (1) – 1:55
Matthew Seminoff (3) – pp – 8:10
Ryan Hofer (1) – 12:49
Third period 19:37 – Quinton Pagé (1)
Dylan Ernst (28 saves / 30 shots) Goalie stats Michael Simpson (15 saves / 20 shots)
Liam Sztuska (24 saves / 29 shots)


May 29 Quebec Remparts 3–1 Seattle Thunderbirds Sandman Centre Recap  
Théo Rochette (2) – 0:54 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Théo Rochette (3) – 16:55
Charle Truchon (1) – en – 19:42
Third period 17:38 – Nolan Allan (2)
William Rousseau (35 saves / 36 shots) Goalie stats Thomas Milic (19 saves / 21 shots)


May 30 Quebec Remparts 2–4 Peterborough Petes Sandman Centre Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
James Malatesta (4) – 13:36
Nathan Gaucher (2) – 15:34
Second period 9:03 – Tucker Robertson (1)
11:36 – J. R. Avon (2)
15:07 – Avery Hayes (3)
No scoring Third period 3:37 – Connor Lockhart (1)
William Rousseau (25 saves / 29 shots)
Quentin Miller (7 saves / 7 shots)
Goalie stats Michael Simpson (26 saves / 28 shots)


May 31 Seattle Thunderbirds 6–1 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap  
Lucas Ciona (2) – 4:02 First period 10:50 – Ryan Hofer (2)
Jared Davidson (1) – pp – 6:39
Jordan Gustafson (2) – 6:47
Second period No scoring
Kyle Crnkovic (4) - 5:33
Luke Prokop (1) – 6:37
Colton Dach (1) – 14:28
Third period No scoring
Thomas Milic (30 saves / 31 shots) Goalie stats Dylan Ernst (36 saves / 42 shots)


 
Interior of the Sandman Centre
Round-robin standings
Pos Team Pld W L GF GA Pts
1 Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) 3 2 1 13 8 4 Advanced directly to the championship game
2 Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) 3 2 1 13 7 4 Advanced to the semifinal game
3 Peterborough Petes (OHL) 3 1 2 9 18 2
4 Kamloops Blazers (WHL/host) 3 1 2 14 16 2
Updated to match(es) played on May 31, 2023. Source: CHLMemorialCup.ca

Tiebreaker

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June 1 Peterborough Petes 5–4 OT Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap  
Connor Lockhart (2) – 7:52 First period 11:19 – Logan Stankoven (2)
12:45 – ppOlen Zellweger (1)
17:33 – Harrison Brunicke (1)
Brennan Othmann (1) – 7:50
Samuel Mayer (1) – pp – 17:37
Brian Zanetti (1) – 18:50
Second period 4:23 – Logan Bairos (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
J. R. Avon (3) – 10:54 First overtime period No scoring
Michael Simpson (43 saves / 47 shots) Goalie stats Dylan Ernst (25 saves / 30 shots)


Semifinal game

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June 2 Peterborough Petes 1–4 Seattle Thunderbirds Sandman Centre Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 15:32 – Brad Lambert (1)
Brennan Othmann (2) – 2:41 Third period 1:28 – Colton Dach (2)
9:33 – Kyle Crnkovic (5)
17:51 – enNico Myatovic (1)
Michael Simpson (43 saves / 46 shots) Goalie stats Thomas Milic (27 saves / 28 shots)


Championship game

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June 4 Seattle Thunderbirds 0–5 Quebec Remparts Sandman Centre Recap  
No scoring First period 6:31 – Vsevolod Komarov (1)
No scoring Second period 8:50 – James Malatesta (5)
No scoring Third period 12:21 – shKassim Gaudet (3)
15:56 – ppZachary Bolduc (2)
17:55 – Charles Savoie (1)
Thomas Milic (30 saves / 35 shots) Goalie stats William Rousseau (32 saves / 32 shots)


Statistical leaders

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Skaters

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The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in the Memorial Cup playoffs
The Ed Chynoweth Trophy, awarded to the top scorer in the Memorial Cup tournament
  • GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Logan Stankoven Kamloops Blazers 4 2 7 9 0
Kyle Crnkovic Seattle Thunderbirds 5 5 3 8 2
Théo Rochette Quebec Remparts 4 3 3 6 4
Zachary Bolduc Quebec Remparts 4 2 4 6 0
Jared Davidson Seattle Thunderbirds 5 1 5 6 0
James Malatesta Quebec Remparts 4 5 0 5 8
Kassim Gaudet Quebec Remparts 4 3 2 5 2
Matthew Seminoff Kamloops Blazers 4 3 2 5 0
Ryan Hofer Kamloops Blazers 4 2 3 5 4
Brennan Othmann Peterborough Petes 5 2 3 5 0

Goaltenders

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Hap Emms Memorial Trophy, awarded to the best goaltender in the Memorial Cup tournament
  • GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (minutes)
Player Team GP W L OTL SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
William Rousseau Quebec Remparts 4 3 1 0 127 8 2.15 .937 1 224
Thomas Milic Seattle Thunderbirds 5 3 2 0 141 12 2.41 .915 0 298
Michael Simpson Peterborough Petes 5 2 3 0 180 19 4.19 .894 0 272
Dylan Ernst Kamloops Blazers 4 1 2 1 135 21 5.06 .844 0 249

Awards

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The CHL handed out the following awards at the conclusion of the 2023 Memorial Cup:[7]

2023 Memorial Cup Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy
Most outstanding player
James Malatesta, Quebec Remparts
Ed Chynoweth Trophy
Top scorer
Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers
George Parsons Trophy
Most sportsmanlike player
Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers
Hap Emms Memorial Trophy
Best goaltender
William Rousseau, Quebec Remparts
Memorial Cup All-Star Team
Position Recipient
Defenceman Olen Zellweger, Kamloops Blazers
Defenceman Nolan Allan, Seattle Thunderbirds
Forward James Malatesta, Quebec Remparts
Forward Kyle Crnkovic, Seattle Thunderbirds
Forward Théo Rochette, Quebec Remparts
Goaltender William Rousseau, Quebec Remparts

References

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  1. ^ Murphy, Bryan (June 3, 2023). "Memorial Cup 2023: Results, standings, times, schedule, TV channels to watch CHL tournament". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "Kamloops Blazers Official site". blazerhockey.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Seattle Thunderbirds". seattlethunderbirds.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Peterborough Petes - Official site". gopetesgo.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Quebec Remparts". remparts.ca (in French). Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Canadian Hockey League announces new dates for 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia". Memorial Cup. Canadian Hockey League. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "Québec Remparts cap off impressive season by winning 2023 Memorial Cup". Canadian Hockey League. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
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