Moncton Wildcats named finalists to host 2028 Memorial Cup

Bid to hold hockey championship was inspired by the late Robert K. Irving, team says

The Moncton Wildcats have been named as finalists to host the 2028 Memorial Cup, alongside the Quebec Remparts, the Canadian Hockey League has announced.

The Quebec Remparts are the other team in the running to host the national championship for men’s major junior hockey.

The round-robin tournament is made up of the champions from the CHL's three regional leagues — the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League — and the host city.

“Moncton is known as an event city and when the community rallies behind it, it's shown to be, you know, truly first class at hosting those events,” said Taylor MacDougall, the director of hockey operations and general manager of the Moncton Wildcats.

The news comes 20 years after the Moncton Wildcats last hosted the Memorial Cup and just over three years since Moncton hosted the world junior hockey championship with Halifax.

MacDougall said they decided to put in a bid because a lot has changed since the last time the team hosted. The team now plays in downtown Moncton’s Avenir Centre, which was completed in 2018 and is a 8,800 seat venue.

“There's a lot of great momentum in the community and behind the team right now,” he said of the Moncton Wildcats, who were in the QMJHL finals the past two seasons.

The team’s decision to put in a bid was also inspired by Robert K. Irving, the founder of the Moncton Wildcats who died this spring.

“I know this was his ultimate goal, to host this tournament, so we certainly carry out this bid and his legacy … at a standard that he would approve,” MacDougall said.

He said the final stages of the process include a fair amount of detailed and thorough work.

Both finalists will now submit written bids, followed by a presentation and a site visit by the selection committee.

“This isn’t a Moncton Wildcats bid,” MacDougall said. “It's a community bid, it's a provincial bid, and it's a bid for Atlantic Canada.”

According to CHL news release, the selection committee consists of an independent panel of five people with a background in sports.

The committee will evaluate the final teams based on local atmosphere, community engagement, logistics, and hockey and business operations.

While the cost of hosting the tournament and the potential economic impact on the city are unknown, CBC News reported in 2018 that it cost the Regina Pats $3.65 million to host the championship.

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“We are confident either city would provide an exceptional stage for the 2028 Memorial Cup,” CHL president Dan MacKenzie said in the release about the bids from the Wildcats and Remparts.

The host city is expected to be announced in October.

Hope Edmond is a reporter based in Moncton.

With files from Information Morning in the Summer