Coaches talk opportunity ahead of Memorial Cup openers
With the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia beginning Monday in Saint John with the host Sea Dogs as well as the three member league champions in the Edmonton Oil Kings, Hamilton Bulldogs, and Shawinigan Cataractes, the four head coaches met with the media Saturday to highlight the special opportunity on the horizon.
“It is the most prestigious amateur tournament in the world,” said Sea Dogs interim head coach Gardiner MacDougall who following a month-long preparation will make his debut Monday when the Sea Dogs take to the ice against Hamilton.
“It is a big challenge but it is the opportunity of a lifetime,” MacDougall added. “The last month has been an exhilarating experience for everyone. (Our players) went through probably the most adversity they have had. They have proven that they can be very successful in the regular season. I give full credit to the players as they have been very receptive and the buy-in has been terrific.”
Of course, the Sea Dogs won’t be the only team looking to overcome adversity once play begins as the Edmonton Oil Kings will be without star forward and Arizona Coyotes 2021 first-round selection Dylan Guenther who sustained a knee injury in the WHL Championship Series.
“It is disappointing that (he) is not going to be available. He is a guy who is not going to be replaced by one player. It is going to be done by committee,” said Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. “Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game, so our philosophy is ‘Next Man Up’. Dylan is very disappointed because this is junior hockey’s prize and he can’t be a part of it, but we will find a way.”
For the Bulldogs, adversity came where following the initial three rounds of the OHL playoffs in which the club went undefeated, the OHL Championship Series ran the distance in a hard-battled seven-game set against Windsor before raising the J. Ross Robertson Cup.
“We were fortunate enough to win 12 in a row but it certainly wasn’t a cakewalk,” said Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee. “The whole experience for these kids, to be off hockey for a year-and-a-half and to come in and then play a Game 7, I think it is really important to go into those pressure moments. The kids gained a lot from that, putting on the ice bags after big wins, as those marks and that soreness contribute to winning hockey games. It is kind of a badge of honour.
“Coming to the Memorial Cup, it is very unique. It’s not a playoff format, so to go through that tough series and play in a do-or-die mimics what we could be doing here.”
Rounding out of the competing four, the Cataractes were well tested in the QMJHL playoffs, requiring extra time on seven occasions and coming out on the winning side each time en route to claiming the franchise’s first league title.
“The best way to be successful is to focus on that one game,” said Cataractes head coach Daniel Renaud. “It is about having a good shift and a good game. If you project yourself too far in the future, you are going to get lost. It is about making the best of the day and you will be successful.”
