The 2010 Memorial Cup begins tonight at Brandon, Manitoba with the host Wheat Kings facing the defending Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires.
The Spitfires are trying to become the first repeat champion since the Kamloops Blazers won the Memorial Cup in 1994 and followed with another championship in 1995.
The Spitfires are more than capable of repeating.
Including the coaching staff, there’s more than a dozen Memorial Cup rings and the championship experience returning this year, led by a variety of central performers.
On any given night, it’s hard to pick who the best Spitfire is. Is it Taylor Hall ? Or Adam Henrique ? Or Scott Timmins ? Or Mark Cundari ?
You get the point.
Windsor can play the game their way, but if you want to try and implement your style, chances are they’ll beat you at that game too.
That’s not to say Windsor is invincible.
They played with fire a year ago and needed 4 straight victories to claim the Cup.
In the OHL playoffs this year, a relatively inexperienced Kitchener club nearly scored the upset, nearly swept for that matter.
But the Spitfires are talented, experienced and somewhat vindictive, all traits that equate to an exceptional hockey club, one that very could well do what nobody has done since 1995; win the Memorial Cup in back to back years.
I’m Fred Wallace