Rimouski selected to host 2025 Memorial Cup

The 2025 Memorial Cup will see the return of the CHL’s championship event to Québec for the first time since Québec City hosted it in 2015

 The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is pleased to announce that the city of Rimouski, Québec, has been selected to host the 105th edition of the Memorial Cup in 2025 – which will mark the return of the CHL’s championship event to Québec for the first time in 10 years.

“We are very excited to be coming back to Québec, in the city of Rimouski for the 105th edition of the Memorial Cup,” said Dan MacKenzie, President of the CHL. “I want to express my gratitude for the work and time dedicated by our selection committee, who were presented with two very strong bids.  I’d like to thank the Shawinigan Cataractes for putting forward an outstanding bid and making the decision by the committee extremely difficult. On behalf of the Canadian Hockey League, we are looking forward to working with the Océanic organization and the city of Rimouski to put together what will be a memorable event in 2025.”

The decision was rendered following formal bid presentations made by both the Rimouski Océanic and the Shawinigan Cataractes to the CHL’s selection committee. The committee was comprised of sports leaders from across the industry including Colin Campbell (NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations), France Margaret Bélanger (President, Groupe CH), Neil Glasberg (President & CEO, Pinnacle Business Inc.), Donald Beauchamp (Special Consultant, TACT) and Charles Perreault (General Manager, RDS).

The Océanic and the Memorial Cup tournament

The 2025 Memorial Cup will mark just the second time in the history of the Rimouski Océanic that they have played host to this event. Rimouski previously hosted the Memorial Cup tournament for the first time back in 2009. Nine years prior to that, in 2000, captain Jonathan Beaulieu and future two-time Stanley Cup Champion Brad Richards led the Océanic to their first and only Memorial Cup title. As they look ahead to 2025 and the Memorial Cup, Rimouski will celebrate the 25th year anniversary of that historic victory by an Océanic club that would later be voted as one of four finalists for CHL Team of the Century in 2018.

“It is with a tremendous amount of pride and humility that we welcome today’s news. It will be an honour to host the world of hockey in Rimouski in 2025 and to showcase our region throughout Canada and the United States,” said Alexandre Tanguay, co-owner of the Rimouski Océanic. “I want to thank the selection committee for their trust and, at the same time, I want to congratulate the Shawinigan Cataractes organization for their bid. Now, the real work begins for us to ensure the event lives up to expectations. We’d like to extend a special thanks to our fans, the best junior hockey fans in the country. We all look forward to welcoming you to our land of champions in May 2025.”

Since arriving in Rimouski in 1995, the Océanic have made a total of four Memorial Cup appearances (2000, 2005, 2009, 2015), meaning 2025 will represent at least the fifth occasion that the QMJHL club from the Bas-Saint-Laurent region has played in the tournament. Over the years, the Océanic have also enjoyed a rich history of producing great NHL talent, including three first overall picks (tied for the second-most in CHL history) in Vincent Lecavalier, Sidney Crosby, and Alexis Lafrèniere.

Led by General Manager Danny Dupont and Head Coach Joël Perrault, the Rimouski Océanic currently sit fourth in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference with a 16-13-2-0 record. The club is led on the ice by Alexandre Blais, who has tallied 42 points so far this season, which places him among the top-10 scorers in the QMJHL. Blais was also one of four Océanic players (along with Spencer Gill, Quinn Kennedy, and Dominic Pilote) to be identified on the NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2024 NHL Draft. The four Rimouski players being listed were tied for the most of any club in the QMJHL along with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

Awarded to the best team in junior hockey, the Memorial Cup is one of the most coveted trophies in hockey. First awarded in 1919, in remembrance of the many soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice for Canada in the First World War, the Memorial Cup was later rededicated to the memory of all fallen Canadian Military Personnel in 2010.

In 2025, the Memorial Cup will be awarded for the 105th time in its history. Rimouski will be one of four clubs to play in the 2025 Memorial Cup alongside the playoff champion from each of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL).

In roughly five month’s time, the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow will be held in Saginaw, Michigan from May 23 to June 2 and it will mark the first time in CHL history that this event has taken place in the State of Michigan. The most recent Memorial Cup occurred last June in Kamloops, B.C., and saw the Québec Remparts of the QMJHL defeat the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL 5-0 in the final to win the CHL’s top prize. With that latest victory, the QMJHL has won four straight Memorial Cup titles, the longest streak of any league in the CHL since the tournament switched over to a round-robin format in 1972.

(PHOTO CREDIT: LAURIE CARDINAL / CHL)