It was already known that the Memorial Cup will be coming to Ontario in 2027. However, Thursday morning brought us one step closer to finding out which city will have the privilege of hosting the premier event of Canada’s major junior circuit.

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The Canadian Hockey League announced that the Kitchener Rangers and Guelph Storm are still in the running to host the storied event. The two cities remained after a larger list of organizations that declared their intention to bid were whittled down by a panel of five individuals who will also be responsible for selecting between Guelph and Kitchener.

The benefits of hosting the Memorial Cup are multifold for the host organization and city. On the ice, however, it guarantees the host team a berth in the tournament regardless of if they win the OHL championship or not. That is a highly valuable experience for both the organization and the players themselves. Host teams have often made significant strides towards roster improvement to better position themselves to hoist one of the most storied trophies in the sport.

Guelph and Kitchener have both hosted the tournament in the past. Kitchener, in fact, has hosted the tournament four times, dating back to 1962 and as recently as 2008. Guelph has previously hosted the Memorial Cup once, back in 2002.

According to the CHL, the two cities will go through the formal bidding process and will be evaluated on four key categories: business operations, community engagement and atmosphere, event logistics and hockey operations.

A final decision on which of these two cities will host the event in 2027 will be made between November and December of 2025.

The Kitchener Rangers have won the Memorial Cup twice, in 1982 and 2003. They have played in the tournament six times.

Guelph is still seeking their first Mem Cup, having made six trips to the event. The city of Guelph, however, had Memorial Cup champions in 1952 and 1986 as the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters and Guelph Platers won the top prize, respectively.

The 2026 Memorial Cup is slated to be held in Kelowna, B.C., with preparations underway for the end-of-season event. Last season, the event was held in Rimouski, Que.

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