Memorial Cup flashback: 1986’s last-minute location change, Hall-of-Famers and Gretzky cameo

Nothing about the journey to the 1986 Memorial Cup was normal- even by junior hockey standards.

In the end, the second-ever edition of the tournament hosted in the United States went down as a memorable affair marked by a last-minute switch, standout performances from future Hockey Hall-of-Famers and a cameo appearance by the Great One himself.

But if all had gone to plan, the then-Portland Winter Hawks may not have been involved at all.

The Memorial Cup was originally slated to be hosted by the New Westminster Bruins- the franchise that would go on to relocate to Kennewick, Wash. as the Tri-City Americans.

But with more than 20 million visitors expected to descend on B.C.’s lower mainland for the upcoming Expo ’86, more and more issues kept cropping up for the Bruins.

Eventually, it simply became impossible for New Westminster to host.

“What we decided was the first-place team in the Western Hockey League in mid-to-late December would get to host the Memorial Cup,” WHL Vice-President, Hockey Richard Doerksen recalled. “Medicine Hat was the top team in the Eastern Conference and Portland was the top team in the Western Conference. As luck would have it, Medicine Hat actually played in Portland in early December and that was really the final game to determine who was going to get it.”

More than 7,000 fans piled into Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum on December 11, 1985, in hopes of seeing their team bring the tournament back to the city for the second time in three years.

Alternate Captain Ray Podloski scored four goals as the Winter Hawks downed the Tigers 6-1 to snag the hosting rights once again.

The powerhouse Kamloops Blazers would defeat both Portland and Medicine Hat in the 1986 WHL Playoffs to represent the league at the Glass Palace that spring, along with the OHL Champion Guelph Platers- led by and QMJHL-winning Hull Olympiques.

Kamloops was powered by Bob Clarke Trophy Winner Rob Brown, who suited up for more than 500 NHL games after making the jump to the pro ranks.

The Platers featured then-Flames prospect Gary Roberts, who would go on to capture the Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989, and legendary coach Jacques Martin, who most recently served as interim Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators in the 2023-24 NHL season.

Hull’s attack was fueled by future Hockey Hall-of-Famer and current Los Angeles Kings President Luc Robitaille.

The badly battered Winter Hawks would defeat the eventual Memorial Cup-winning Platers 6-4 in round-robin play but were steamrolled by Kamloops 8-1 in the tiebreaker match.

Guelph downed Hull 6-2 to capture the Memorial Cup for the first and only time in franchise history.

Hull’s new owner was also in attendance for much of the tournament.

“That was the year that Calgary knocked out the Oilers in the playoffs,” Doerksen added. “Wayne Gretzky was a part owner of Hull, so he came into Portland for the Memorial Cup, which he had never been able to do before with their (the Oilers) success.”

At the time, Gretzky had already propelled himself to superstar status and led Edmonton to Stanley Cup victories in 1984 and 1985, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL Playoff MVP in 1985.

“Everything had to be worked around to make sure he had adequate security,” Doerksen said. “But it was very good to have him there. He was very visible and, of course, he’s always been very accommodating to fans. It was one of those lucky things that happened even though the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t say it was lucky.”

The Memorial Cup has only been hosted by American teams three times since Portland’s second go-around in ’86, with Seattle welcoming the CHL in 1992, Spokane anchoring the tournament in 1998, and now, Saginaw preparing to host the 2024 edition of the Memorial Cup.