Rangers Win Third Title at 2026 Memorial Cup Presented by Kubota

Published on June 1, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL) News Release

Kitchener Rangers celebrate their 2026 Memorial Cup win
(Kitchener Rangers, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor / CHL)

The victory gave Kitchener its first Memorial Cup championship since 2003 and capped a perfect 4-0 run at the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota. It also completed one of the most dominant championship runs in recent CHL history, with the Rangers going 16-2 during the OHL Playoffs before winning all four of their games in Kelowna.

Ottawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas, Dylan Edwards, Los Angeles Kings prospect Jared Woolley, Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Sam O'Reilly and Colorado Avalanche prospect Christian Humphreys scored for Kitchener, while San Jose Sharks prospect Christian Kirsch made 30 saves. For Everett, 2026 NHL Draft prospect Matias Vanhanen and Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear found the back of the net, while Anders Miller made 26 saves.

O'Reilly received the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP after recording three goals and eight points in four games. His eight points left him one point shy of the tournament lead, and he registered a game-high four points (1G-3A) in the championship game.

After also winning the 2025-26 Red Tilson Trophy as OHL MVP and the 2026 Wayne Gretzky "99" Award as OHL Playoff MVP, O'Reilly became just the fourth player in CHL history to complete the same-season MVP sweep with regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup MVP honours, joining Rimouski Océanic alumnus Brad Richards (2000) and London Knights graduates Corey Perry (2005) and Mitch Marner (2016).

O'Reilly and Woolley also captured back-to-back Memorial Cup titles with different teams after winning with the London Knights in 2025 and Kitchener in 2026. They became the first players to accomplish the feat since Noah Dobson in 2018 and 2019. The two also appeared in a third straight Memorial Cup Final after reaching the championship game with London in 2024 and 2025 before doing so with Kitchener in 2026.

O'Reilly was also named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team alongside Vanhanen, Pridham, Nashville Predators prospect Cameron Reid, 2027 NHL Draft prospect Landon DuPont and Kirsch.

Pridham claimed the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the tournament's leading scorer after pacing the Memorial Cup with five goals and nine points over four games. Kirsch received the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the tournament's outstanding goaltender after leading all netminders with a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage, while Vanhanen earned the George Parsons Trophy for sportsmanship after leading all Silvertips players with eight points (4G-4A).

Kirsch also made CHL Import Draft history with the victory, becoming just the third European goaltender selected through the CHL Import Draft to win the Memorial Cup. He joins Ottawa 67's alumnus Levente Szuper (1999) and Windsor Spitfires graduate Philipp Grubauer (2010).

Kitchener opened the scoring at 5:47 of the first period when Ellinas got the faintest of tips on Alexander Bilecki's point shot for his first goal of the tournament. The lead was short-lived, however, as Vanhanen answered just 28 seconds later, burying a rebound in front after DuPont's initial shot had been stopped.

The Rangers retook the lead at 13:15 when O'Reilly's backhand pass from the wall sent Edwards in alone, and he made no mistake to put Kitchener ahead 2-1.

Woolley extended the lead to 3-1 at 15:26 of the second period, taking Haeden Ellis' pass off his skate before picking his spot top shelf from the low slot for his second goal of the Memorial Cup.

Kitchener needed just 26 seconds in the third period to make it 4-1, as Pridham slid the puck five-hole on a 5-on-3 power play for his tournament-best fifth goal.

Just 37 seconds later, the Rangers struck again on the power play. O'Reilly's shot off a rebound slipped between Miller's legs before hitting the right skate of Philadelphia Flyers prospect Luke Vlooswyk and rolling into the net to make it 5-1.

The Silvertips responded at 2:59 when Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen found Bear backdoor for his fourth goal of the tournament, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Humphreys sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:37 remaining.

The championship is the third in Kitchener's history, following previous Memorial Cup titles in 1982 and 2003. It also marks the third straight year an OHL club has won the Memorial Cup, following Saginaw in 2024 and London in 2025.

Kitchener has now reached the Memorial Cup championship game in all seven of its tournament appearances, the most by any CHL club since the event adopted its round-robin format in 1972. The Rangers have appeared in the final in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1990, 2003, 2008 and 2026.

The victory also gave Kitchener 21 Memorial Cup tournament wins since 1972, moving the Rangers within one of Peterborough's all-time mark of 22.

For Everett, the loss closed a historic season that included 57 regular-season wins, a 16-2 run through the WHL Playoffs, the first Ed Chynoweth Cup title in franchise history, and the club's first Memorial Cup appearance, first Memorial Cup win, first Memorial Cup shutout and first Memorial Cup Final berth.

Despite falling to Kitchener in the championship game, the Silvertips' consistency stretched across the entire 2025-26 campaign. Over 91 games between the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup, Everett did not lose back-to-back games all season long.

Kitchener head coach Jussi Ahokas also made history as the first European head coach to guide a team to a Memorial Cup title. Ahokas had already become the first European-born head coach to win any of the CHL's three Member League championship titles when he led Kitchener to the 2026 J. Ross Robertson Cup.

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy - Most Valuable Player

Sam O'Reilly (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

Ed Chynoweth Trophy - Leading Scorer

Jack Pridham (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy - Outstanding Goaltender

Christian Kirsch (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

George Parsons Trophy - Sportsmanship

Matias Vanhanen (Everett Silvertips / WHL)

Memorial Cup All-Star Team

Forward: Sam O'Reilly (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

Forward: Matias Vanhanen (Everett Silvertips / WHL)

Forward: Jack Pridham (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

Defence: Cameron Reid (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

Defence: Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips / WHL)

Goaltender: Christian Kirsch (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)

2026 Memorial Cup Notes

Kitchener finished the tournament 4-0 and outscored opponents 20-6 across four games at the 2026 Memorial Cup.

The Rangers won the Memorial Cup after going 3-0 in the round robin, becoming the 10th team since 2000 to win the championship after a perfect round robin.

Kitchener and Everett both entered the Memorial Cup after going 16-2 during their respective league championship runs.

The two rosters included 17 NHL-drafted players, including a CHL-high 12 NHL-affiliated prospects on Kitchener's roster.

Vanhanen finished with a point in all five of Everett's Memorial Cup games and closed the tournament with eight points (4G-4A), the most among Silvertips players and the most by a Finnish player at the Memorial Cup since 1972.

Pridham scored in all four of Kitchener's games and finished as the tournament's leading goal scorer with five goals and leading scorer with nine points over four games.

Kirsch backstopped Kitchener to a perfect 4-0 record, allowed six goals over four starts and led all goaltenders with a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

O'Reilly finished one point shy of the tournament lead with eight points (3G-5A) and registered a game-high four points (1G-3A) in the championship game.

Landon DuPont became the first Exceptional Status defenceman to score at the Memorial Cup during Everett's semi-final win over Chicoutimi.

2026 Memorial Cup Schedule

May 22 - Game 1: Kitchener 5-0 Kelowna

May 23 - Game 2: Everett 5-3 Chicoutimi

May 24 - Game 3: Kelowna 2-3 (OT) Chicoutimi

May 25 - Game 4: Everett 2-6 Kitchener

May 26 - Game 5: Chicoutimi 2-3 Kitchener

May 27 - Game 6: Kelowna 0-4 Everett

May 29 - Semi-final: Chicoutimi 1-6 Everett

May 31 - Final: Kitchener 6-2 Everett

Kitchener Rangers celebrate their 2026 Memorial Cup win (Steve Dunsmoor / CHL)

Ontario Hockey League Stories from June 1, 2026

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• The Gem of Any Draft: How Maleek McGowan Went from Unknown to Undeniable - Kingston Frontenacs
• City of Kitchener to Host Rangers Championship Parade - Kitchener Rangers
• IceDogs Alumni Freddie Hamilton Named Maple Leafs Chief of Staff - Niagara IceDogs
• Rangers Win Third Title at 2026 Memorial Cup Presented by Kubota - OHL
• Rangers Win Third Memorial Cup After 6-2 Victory over Silvertips - Kitchener Rangers

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