Image Credit: Candice Ward/CHL

By Adam Donnelly

Memorial Cup

Kamloops welcomes Canada’s premier junior hockey celebration as the Memorial Cup opens

May 26, 2023 | 4:31 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Memorial Cup officially arrived on Thursday at the Tk’emlups Powwow Arbour, where a commemorative Blazers jersey was unveiled, which the team will wear tonight.

“We decided to use the Royal Canadian Legion’s lapel pin recognizing Indigenous veterans,” Norm Daley, Blazers’ President explained at the event on Thursday. “To date, nearly 15,000 Indigenous people have been identified as serving in the First World War and Second World War. More than 2500 Indigenous Canadians serve in the military today.”

While the energy in and around Kamloops has been building for some time, it’s finally reached its peak. After months of preparation, the Memorial Cup tournament finally gets underway Friday night.

“When we acquired the team back in 2007, one of the big goals was to get the Memorial Cup, and ultimately host the Memorial Cup,” Blazers owner Tom Gaglardi says. “It’s pretty surreal to be here now. It’s happening and today’s game one. It’s just great to see how supportive the community has been.”

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The crowd inside the Sandman Centre will be turned up to eleven before the puck even drops. But if you weren’t one of the lucky ones to get a ticket, there’s still a chance to get out of the house to take in the game.

“If you can’t get tickets, watch it in the entertainment zone,” Lisa Strachan, Director of Destination Development and Travel Trade for Tourism Kamloops suggests. “They’ve got live viewing at the Molson Hockey House.”

With just one game a day, there’s plenty of time to get out to one of more than 70 events happening around town throughout the week.

“I would direct people to the website. So, CHL.ca/MemorialCup,” Strachan says. “If you go there and check that events calendar, I think you’ll be blown away and you’ll definitely find something that you’ll want to check out.”

With all the visitors to Kamloops, it’s expected at least $14 million will be injected into the local economy, which is great news for local businesses. However, another benefit of hosting the Memorial Cup will be the exposure Kamloops gets on the national stage.

“People are seeing Kamloops in the spotlight,” Strachan says. “They’re seeing we have that level to host these types of events, and I think that’s pretty powerful. And I think you’re seeing legacies come out of these projects. You’re seeing upgrades to our facilities.”

Gaglardi is incredibly impressed with the effort of the Blazers staff and volunteers, as well as the City of Kamloops, for banding together to make this event a reality.

“We’ve had more volunteers than frankly, we’ve needed, so it says something about the community and just how ready and excited the community is to have the Memorial Cup. It’s just a thrill, and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get it because we pitched it before.”