W. Graeme Roustan and his fellow Memorial Cup Selection Committee members have chosen Kelowna, B.C. as host of the 2026 Memorial Cup.
The decision was formally announced today by the Canadian Hockey League, which counts the Kelowna Rockets as a franchise.
Kelowna was one of five bids to host the Memorial Cup, the most since 2009. Other bid franchises were the Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs.
Those franchises made formal pitches to the selection committee, which includes Roustan, NHL senior-executive VP of hockey operations Colin Campbell, Aaron Fox of McDougall Gauley, Kalli Quinn of KAQ Event Consulting and Paul Graham of TSN.
The committee evaluated the bids based on business operations, local atmosphere and engagement, event logistics and hockey operations.
“It was an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve with the other members of the selection committee to evaluate and select the winning host city for the 2025 Memorial Cup,” Roustan said in a statement.
“It was a very difficult task due to the quality of all the bidders.”
Read the full article at The Hockey News