Gens looking to host 2018 Memorial Cup

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

The Oshawa Generals have made it clear – they want the 2018 Memorial Cup in Oshawa.

The tournament, set to be held May 17-27, 2018, will mark the 100th anniversary of junior hockey’s most prestigious trophy and will see the Canadian Hockey League’s top teams compete for the honour.

The bid application guidelines were released earlier this month and shared with all CHL teams. For Gens owner Rocco Tullio, his next steps are clear.

“My intention is to proceed with a bid,” he says.

“I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape with our team and with the additions of the hotels in Oshawa now and the new video board, I think we’ve got just as good an opportunity as anybody else.”

And for the 100th anniversary of the tourney, Oshawa will really need to compete with anybody and everybody.

The normal hosting schedule has the leagues rotating as host for the tournament. While 2018 would technically be the turn for Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), after the Western Hockey League (WHL) played host this year in Red Deer, and the 2017 tournament will be hosted by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the CHL is throwing those rules out the window, allowing any team to lace up their hosting skates and attempt to bid for the 100th anniversary.

A team’s intent to bid must be submitted to the league by the start of September, following which, each of the regional leagues conduct their own bid process, narrowing submissions down to two each. These will then be sent to the CHL by Nov. 15. A national site selection committee will review all of the bids before a final decision is made in February.

Across the OHL, word already has it that several teams are looking to play host as well.

Along with Oshawa, reports indicate the Ottawa 67s have also expressed interest in bidding, and the Kitchener Rangers have also apparently not ruled out the possibility.

And while any team is eligible to bid, some clubs are held back by numerous factors, including a weak team, lack of amenities in their city and the inability to guarantee a return on investment for the CHL.

Tulio says he believes Oshawa has what it takes, noting the GM Centre has played host to several big events, including the World Cup of Curling last year and a World Junior Hockey pre-tournament game. It also helps that the team is getting stronger through it rebuild process and recently won the 2015 Memorial Cup. The win makes Oshawa the only active CHL team with five Memorial Cup victories.

“As long as we meet and exceed all the criteria that are there, which we’ve demonstrated in the past when we host these events, we’re always successful, we always sell them and we do things first class,” Tulio says.

“I don’t know if there’s any other hidden agenda there with the league in terms of what they want, but I’m confident that once we put our best foot forward, we should have a great opportunity to get it.”