Saint John Sea Dogs win 2022 Memorial Cup

The Saint John Sea Dogs have captured the 102nd Memorial Cup and are major junior champions for the second time in franchise history.

The tournament-host Sea Dogs defeated the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 Wednesday night. This is the first Memorial Cup victory for the club since Florida Panthers superstar Jonathan Huberdeau led the team to the franchise’s first championship in 2011.

Captain Vincent Sevigny opened the scoring early in the game, and Cameron MacDonald, Riley Bezeau, William Dufour, Josh Lawrence, and Peter Reynolds would also tally. The Sea Dogs became the first host team to win the Memorial Cup since the Windsor Spitfires in 2017. This is Sea Dogs general manager and president Trevor Georgie’s second Memorial Cup appearance with the club. He fell short of winning in 2016-17 when they lost in the semifinal against the Erie Otters. Sea Dogs interim head coach Gardiner MacDougall becomes the first Canadian Hockey League coach in history to win a USPORTS championship and Memorial Cup. MacDougall was named interim head coach on May 22nd following the clubs’ first-round playoff exit.

Eight NHL prospects make up the Sea Dogs, including Yan Kuznetsov, Jeremie Poirier, and Ryan Francis of the Calgary Flames, William Villeneuve of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raivis Ansons of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philippe Daoust of the Ottawa Senators, Cameron MacDonald of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dufour of the New York Islanders. Following a first-round loss to the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL playoffs, the team overcame adversity and battled hard throughout the tournament putting up a 3-1 record.  

Dufour earned the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the event’s most valuable player after he registered eight points in four games, including seven goals to help his team capture the Memorial Cup. He also won the QMJHL’s Michel Briere Trophy as the league’s most valuable player after putting up 116 points in 66 games.

The 103rd Memorial Cup tournament will take place in Kamloops, British Columbia, and will run from May 26 – June 4, 2023. The last time Kamloops hosted the tournament was in 1995.