O’Reilly became the first Rangers player to claim the prestigious honour since Justin Azevedo in 2008. Other previous winners from the franchise include John Tucker (1983-84) and Walt Tkaczuk (1967-68).

“I am incredibly honoured to receive the Red Tilson Trophy,” said O’Reilly. “I wouldn’t be accepting this award today without the support of my family, billets and teammates throughout my years in the league, I’d like to thank my coaches and support staff in London and now Kitchener.”

O'Reilly was accompanied by his whole family along with members from the Kitchener Rangers and London Knights staff.

A member of Canada’s National Junior Team, the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect factored prominently into the 2025-26 OHL Coaches Poll, being voted the Western Conference’s smartest player, best on faceoffs, and best defensive forward.

A 20-year-old from Toronto, O’Reilly entered the OHL as London’s second round (37th overall) pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. His accomplished OHL career has included two OHL championships and a Memorial Cup title, while accumulating 77 goals, 121 assists and 198 points over 191 regular season games. The Edmonton Oilers selected O’Reilly in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He was later dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 8, 2025 in a deal that saw the Oilers acquire prospect Isaac Howard.

In the media voting process to determine the winner, O’Reilly emerged from a group of five finalists, capturing 35% of the vote. Other finalists included Cole Beaudoin of the Barrie Colts (19%), Jake O’Brien of the Brantford Bulldogs (17%), Nathan Aspinall of the Flint Firebirds (13%), and Nikita Klepov of the Saginaw Spirit (7%).

The Red Tilson Trophy is the most prestigious individual award presented by the Ontario Hockey League. First presented in 1945, the trophy is named in honour of Albert “Red” Tilson, who was killed in action in Europe during World War II. Tilson was the OHA scoring champion for the 1942-43 season after scoring 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in 22 games with the Oshawa Generals. A few prominent past winners of the award include Wyatt Johnston of the Windsor Spitfires (2022), Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters (2015) and John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals (2006).

O'Reilly became just the fourth player in CHL history to win the league MVP, playoff MVP, and Memorial Cup MVP all in the same season.

TORONTO – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the first, second and third all-star team selections, in addition to the first and second all-rookie team designations for the 2025-26 season.

OHL all-star and all-rookie teams were selected by the League’s general managers, with voting conducted in two stages beginning with a conference ballot followed by a final ballot that integrated the top selections from both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

A total of 12 of the league’s 20 member teams are represented on this year’s all-star and all-rookie team selections, with the Barrie Colts, Brantford Bulldogs and Kitchener Rangers each fielding a league-leading five players and coaches. The Soo Greyhounds follow with four selections, while the Windsor Spitfires feature three.

• Ottawa 67’s supply both the First Team All-Star goaltender (Ryder Fetterolf) and coach (Dave Cameron) — the franchise’s first such pairing in 30 years. The 67’s last provided the First Team goaltender and coach in the same season in 1995-96, when Craig Hillier and Brian Kilrea did so. Fetterolf is also Ottawa’s first First-Team All-Star goaltender since Hillier in 1995-96. Additionally, he’s the first 67’s goaltender to be voted to a First All-Rookie Team since the advent of OHL All-Rookie Teams in 1991-92.
• Nikita Klepov named to both the First All-Star Team and the First All-Rookie Team. The last player to earn First-Team All-Star and First All-Rookie recognition in the same season was Mikhail Sergachev with Windsor in 2015-16.
• Nathan Aspinall becomes just the second Flint Firebirds player named to the First All-Star Team. Follows Brennan Othmann who was a First Team selection in 2021-22. Both made the achievement as left-wingers.
• Ryder Fetterolf named to both the First All-Star Team and First All-Rookie Team. Joins Carter George of the 2023-24 Owen Sound Attack in earning similar placement.
• Liam Greentree (Windsor) earns All-Star recognition for a fourth consecutive season — First All-Rookie Team in 2022-23, followed by Third (2023-24), First (2024-25) and Second (2025-26) All-Star Team honours, spanning all four of his OHL seasons. He becomes the first forward in OHL history to accomplish this feat.
• Carter George (Soo Greyhounds) lands an All-Star Team nod for a third straight season, following Third Team and First All-Rookie honours in 2023-24 and a Second Team selection in 2024-25 — the latter two with Owen Sound before this year’s move to the Soo. He joins a group that includes Alex Nedeljkovic (2014-16) and Thomas McCollum (2007-09) to be named to All-Star Teams in three consecutive seasons.
• Ben Hrebik becomes the first Barrie Colts goaltender to be named to an All-Star Team since 2015-16. Mackenzie Blackwood was a First Team All-Star that season.

June 1, 2026

Written by Cassidy Derry

On a warm Sunday evening in Kitchener, families and friends are usually expected to be outside on the patio or firing up the barbecue.

But Kitchener hockey fans had somewhere else to be this past Sunday night.  

Hundreds of Blueshirts faithful gathered inside the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to watch the Memorial Cup Championship game broadcast from Kelowna on the jumbotron. Decked out in Rangers gear and filling the seats with the team’s colours, the community brought the exact same energy that had fuelled the Rangers on home ice all season long.

After a grueling 89-game season, game number 90 was a fight for arguably the most difficult trophy to win in hockey, the Memorial Cup. This final showdown pitted the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers against the WHL's Everett Silvertips. Reaching fans in Kitchener across three time zones from the West Coast, the distance mattered little to the fans back home. Rangers fans proved once again why they are the undisputed “sixth player” on the ice. 

“There’s something special that happens when Rangers fans come together,” said Dave Schnider, voice of the Kitchener Rangers. “There's a special energy, and for a big game like this, it's great to be able to come to the Aud, where we're all together like we have been every Friday night, to watch the team again.”

Schnider, who has watched the team's championship journey from day one, noted how spectacular this specific run has been after notable decisions from Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie. "We found out we're not hosting the Memorial Cup next year, so he decides, 'let's pivot and go for it now.' He made some great additions to an already great team, and it's just so exciting to see the way they play. They play as a team; they play for each other. They believe in themselves... and that's what's gotten them to where they are right now, to this big game."

The anticipation of the crowd matched the on-screen action. When Rangers forward Luke Ellinas opened the scoring, the building erupted. Though it was a short-lived elation, with the Silvertips responding just 28 seconds later, the quick trade of early goals guaranteed a night of high pace and fluctuating emotions. 

Before the first intermission, Dylan Edwards found the back of the net to put the Rangers up 2-1 to close the first period. The collective heart rate of The Aud spiked once again in the second period when the Silvertips appeared to score the equalizer. The building lapsed into silence for the first time all game as fans awaited the review, only to break out into a chant of “Let’s Go Rangers” after it was deemed no goal. 

In a touch of home-ice tradition, Schnider took to the microphone to announce the Rangers’ third goal from Jared Woolley, making it feel as if the local crowd was right in the stands with the team in Kelowna. 

For staff like Terry Greguol, who has worked the Rangers’ 50/50 raffle for five years, seeing this energy back in The Aud so late into the post-season was a testament to the culture of an organization and a community that helped the team get to this critical championship game. 

"It's been quite the run, as most of the games during the regular season were close to a sellout. During the playoffs, I believe they were sold out every game," Greguol shared, noting that the crowd grew bigger and louder game by game. "The amount of support that the people in KW show is tremendous."

With the Rangers up 3-1 heading into the third period, the crowd’s anticipation and excitement reached a peak as 20 minutes of play stood between the Rangers and a third Memorial Cup title. As if the players out west could hear the crowd gathered at home, Jack Pridham and Sam O’Reilly extended the lead to 5-1. 

The Silvertips fought to cut the deficit to 5-2, but an empty-net goal from Christian Humphreys sealed the deal at 6-2. With just over a minute of play remaining, cheers of “We want the Cup” echoed around The Aud as the countdown to victory began.

When the final buzzer sounded, the pure elation in the scenes from Kelowna displayed on the jumbotron was reflected in the crowd that had filled the arena in Kitchener. The Rangers were officially Memorial Cup Champions for the third time in history and for the first time since 2003.

“It’s honestly wild,” said 11-year-old Rangers fan Jaxon Hein after the win. “I lost my voice from screaming. It was so exciting to get to experience something like that.”

Hein, who relocated to the Kitchener region from Sault Ste. Marie four years ago, represents a whole new generation of the community finding a home within Rangers Nation. He cheered fiercely all season for his favourites Jared Woolley and Sam O’Reilly—even getting onto the jumbotron during the broadcast of the watch party. For him, the watch party will remain a standout memory and shows what makes being a Rangers fan so special. 

Looking around the concourse, he wasn’t alone. The pure joy on the faces of fans across generations, illuminated by the glow of the jumbotron, beautifully showcased the “special energy” of #RTown. It highlighted a community whose unwavering loyalty had just been rewarded with the ultimate prize—the return of the Memorial Cup to the city of Kitchener.

Even though history had been made on ice 4,000 kilometers away, this free community event proved that the heart of the championship victory stemmed from the “sixth player” that never left Kitchener.