The 2025 Memorial Cup tournament game schedule gets underway on May 23 in Rimouski, Quebec
The 2025 Memorial Cup tournament game schedule gets underway on May 23 in Rimouski, Quebec. The annual tournament to determine the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) pits four teams against one another in round-robin format, followed by a playoff round.
This year’s field: The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champion London Knights, the Western Hockey League (WHL) titleist Medicine Hat Tigers, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) champion Moncton Wildcats, and the tournament host/ QMJHL playoff runner-up Rimouski Oceanic. Each year, the tourney host club receives an automatic berth in the Memorial Cup competition regardless of whether the team won its league championship.
Two Flyers prospect are directly involved in this year’s tournament: London Knights defensemen Oliver Bonk (1st round, 22nd overall selection in 2023) and his London teammate, forward Denver Barkey (3rd round, 95th overall in 2023). London has won the OHL championship in each of the last two seasons.
Last year, however, London lost to a fellow OHL club, the Saginaw Spirit in the Memorial Cup championship game. Saginaw, the 2024 tournament host team, lost to London in the Western Conference Final during the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. London beat the Oshawa Generals in the OHL Final.
Subsequently, the Knights also beat Oshawa in the 2025 OHL Final. The Knights went 16-1 during the playoffs this year on their march to back-to-back championships.
Barkey, London’s team captain, got off to a scorching start in the OHL playoffs with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) over the first nine games of the postseason. Unfortunately, in Game One of the Western Conference Final, Barkey suffered a high ankle sprain. He returned for the championship clinching win over Oshawa, playing limited minutes. During the regular season, Barkey notched 82 points (25g, 57a) in 50 games despite dealing with mononucleosis before the campaign.
Bonk, a member of Team Canada’s squad in each of the last two World Junior Championship tourmanents, posted 40 points (11g, 29a) in 52 regular season matches. He added 14 points (2g, 12a) in the 17 OHL playoff games. A power play regular in the bumper for London, Bonk is expected to be more of a stay-at-home blueliner when he and Barkey turn pro next season.
Rimouski defenseman Spencer Gill (drafted by the Flyers in the second round, 59th overall in the 2024 Draft) was sidelined for the entire QMJHL playoff run. He enjoyed a strong regular season, however, posting 35 points (6g, 29a) and a plus-30 rating in 51 games. Gill is a potential Team Canada selection for the 2025-26 World Juniors.
