Bourque, Guhle, Morrison dazzle in postseason
For Mavrik Bourque, Kaiden Guhle and Logan Morrison, their trophy cabinet just got a little bit bigger.
All three dazzled throughout the postseason and were deservingly rewarded at its conclusion.
Bourque led the Shawinigan Cataractes to their first ever President Cup as captain where he tallied a team-high 25 points in 16 games, a franchise record, and was named the winner of the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the QMJHL’s Playoff MVP.
In the President Cup against Charlottetown, the Dallas Stars prospect scored five goals and had goals in four of the five games. Alongside Xavier Bourgault and Pierrick Dube, the 20-year-old registered nine points in the QMJHL Finals.
In what was a record-breaking postseason for Shawinigan, Bourque became the first Cataractes player in franchise history to be named the QMJHL’s Playoff MVP.
In the WHL, Guhle was a star from the blue line. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick led all WHL defencemen in postseason goals with eight, a number that also set a new club record for the Edmonton Oil Kings, who acquired him from Prince Albert Dec. 1.
“It’s nice but I couldn’t do it without the team,” Guhle said. “The guys have been so great to me and welcomed me halfway through the year with open arms and made me feel at home right away.
“I’m just happy to get the big one. That’s the main thing.”
His 16 points were tied for the third most in the WHL throughout the Playoffs while his +17 rating trailed only teammate Luke Prokop (+23). Guhle was also one of just four WHL d-men to score shorthanded in the playoffs while his 0.84 point-per-game average was the fifth best in the league among defencemen who played at least 10 games.
Guhle was the first defencemen to win the WHL Playoffs MVP since Griffin Reinhart in 2014 and only the fourth over the past 16 WHL seasons (Tyler Myers, 2009 / Shea Weber, 2005). It is the second time the 20-year-old has been crowned WHL Champion after he helped the Raiders claim the trophy in 2019.
Finally, Morrison had one of the greatest postseason’s in not just OHL history, but CHL history. The 19-year-old tallied an astonishing 39 points in just 19 games and registered at least one point in every Hamilton Bulldogs playoff game as he claimed the Wayne Gretzky ‘99’ Award as OHL Playoffs MVP.
“I can’t even describe it,” Morrison said. “There’s so many emotions going through my brain. We battled all year long … and to win the OHL is something you can’t describe.”
After a 100-point regular season, Morrison tallied 13 points in seven games in the OHL Championship and concluded the series with four straight two-point efforts. His 39 points are tied for the 20th most in an OHL postseason.
His 39 points established a postseason franchise record for the Bulldogs while his 100 points in the regular season were the second most by a Hamilton player. Morrison became the second player to win the Wayne Gretzky ‘99’ Award after Robert Thomas in 2018.
The 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia begins Monday from Saint John. Every game can be seen live on TSN and RDS. A limited number of tickets for the tournament remain available for purchase.
2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia Schedule:
Mon., June 20 – Game 1: Saint John vs. Hamilton at 7 p.m. AT
Tues., June 21 – Game 2: Shawinigan vs. Edmonton at 7 p.m. AT
Wed., June 22 – Game 3: Saint John vs. Edmonton at 7 p.m. AT
Thurs., June 23 – Game 4: Shawinigan vs. Hamilton at 7 p.m. AT
Fri., June 24 – Game 5: Edmonton vs. Hamilton at 7 p.m. AT
Sat., June 25 – Game 6: Saint John vs. Shawinigan at 5 p.m. AT
Sun., June 26 – Tie-Breaker, if necessary, at 5 p.m. AT
Mon., June 27 – Semi-Final at 7 p.m. AT
Wed., June 29 – Championship Final at 7 p.m. AT