Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

MEMORIAL CUP 2023

Hockey Hall of Fame display brings the history of the game to Kamloops

May 29, 2023 | 4:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s just another day at the office for Howie Borrow.

While he doesn’t have an official title, he’s worked at the Hockey Hall of Fame for close to two decades, is a part-time Keeper of the Cup and might just have one of the best jobs going.

“There’s so much history here,” Borrow says. “For me, just to be part of that and go to the different locations and talk to the people that are locals, and just hockey fans in general, it’s just a lot of fun.”

The display is one of the longest-running at the Memorial Cup. Many of the items have ties to the CHL. And the staff need to keep busy to keep the display up-to-date. They already have the commemorative jersey Logan Stankoven wore in Friday’s opening game of the tournament.

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“We try to get it in there as quickly as we can, so it’s usually within a day or two after it’s been worn,” Borrow says.”I just put it in there [on Sunday], so it’s kind of dried out a little bit. It still seemed like it was a little sweaty from the time I grabbed it.”

For hockey fans, this travelling display is the next best thing to actually attending the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

“We had to wait for a random day in 2017 for the Stanley Cup to come to Seattle, so that’s the only way I ever got to see it,” Thunderbirds fan Dan Delay recalls. “It’s cool to see all the other trophies I haven’t seen, like the Lady Byng, and all the CHL trophies. All the stuff I never knew existed.”

While there are many items from the modern era of the CHL, there are also a lot from the days of yore.

“We love seeing all the old stuff, like from the 60s,” Delay says. “We saw Mario Lemieux’s – I’m a huge Penguins fan from back in the day – so seeing all the Lemieux stuff from his days in the [QMJHL]. The old goalie gloves, from back in the day – all that old stuff.”

For Borrow, bringing the history of the game to the people of Canada is what it’s all about – and there are not many competitions that can draw fans from all over, like the Memorial Cup tournament.

“It’s amazing. The Memorial Cup brings the whole country together for hockey, because there’s fans coming in from all over the place,” Borrow explains. “People are just happy to be here. They enjoy the Memorial Cup, it’s a great tournament, with lots of great hockey. These are the future stars of the NHL, a lot of these guys.”