Saint John Sea Dogs to host 2022 Memorial Cup
New Brunswick city will host major junior hockey's best in June 2022
The Saint John Sea Dogs have been chosen to host the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament.
The tournament features the three championship teams from major junior hockey teams from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.
The team from the host city also gets to compete for major junior hockey's biggest prize.
The news that the city's bid was successful came Wednesday morning. The Quebec Remparts were also in the running to host.
This will be the first time Saint John will host the tournament in the Sea Dogs' 16 seasons in the QMJHL.
But the team has a history with the Memorial Cup, playing in the 2011, 2012 and 2017 tournaments. They won the tournament in 2011, the first Maritime-based team to do so.
"Our organization's heart and soul has gone into realizing the opportunity to hoist the Memorial Cup in our home city," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in a news release.
"We are ecstatic that our fans will get to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event. This is one of the most significant days in Sea Dogs' history."
This will be the first Memorial Cup tournament held since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the spring of 2020.
Hosting the Memorial Cup is usually touted as an economic boon for the host city, with spinoffs often estimated at $1 million a day.
But it comes with some risk for the organizers if ticket sales don't meet expectations.
The 2022 Memorial Cup will run from June 3-12 at TD Station in Saint John.