Prospects

Willis, Spirit set to challenge for Memorial Cup

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Willis, Spirit set to challenge for Memorial Cup

by
Eric D
May 22, 2024

This Friday, the Memorial Cup begins in Saginaw, Michigan. The annual postseason tournament featuring the three major junior hockey leagues—the WHL, the OHL, and the QMJHL—is being hosted by Nashville Predators prospect Joey Willis and the Saginaw Spirit.

Despite losing to the eventual league champions in round three of the OHL playoffs, Saginaw’s season has been largely a success. The Spirit finished second in the league with a 50-16-2 record as one of just two teams to hit the 50-win mark. Saginaw swept Owen Sound in round one of the playoffs and bested the Soo Greyhounds in round two before falling to the London Knights.

^{Joey Willis (#14, blue) scores for the Saginaw Spirit.}

Joey Willis—a fourth-round pick of the Predators in 2023—scored 14 goals and 50 points in 66 regular-season games, amounting to a slightly disappointing campaign. In the playoffs, Willis, playing middle-six minutes, is fifth in team scoring with four goals and 11 points in 17 contests.

^{Joey Willis (#14, blue) scores for the Saginaw Spirit.}

Saginaw will open the Memorial Cup against the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished fifth in the WHL’s regular season. Moose Jaw accelerated their season in January by adding Buffalo prospect Matthew Savoie, who finished his Warriors’ campaign with 47 points in 23 games. Moose Jaw went 16-1-3 in the WHL playoffs, defeating Brandon, Swift Current, Saskatoon, and Portland.

The Drummondville Voltigeurs will represent the QMJHL after an impressive 48-15-6 campaign in the regular season. Led by Tampa prospect Ethan Gauthier, the Voltigeurs may have the least firepower among the Memorial Cup’s four squads but will be appearing in their fourth tournament in team history. Drummondville took down Saint John, Sherbrooke, Victoriaville, and Baie-Comeau en route to Saginaw.

Rounding out the group is the OHL champion London Knights, whose two postseason losses came at the hands of the Spirit. London’s roster is littered with NHL talent, including Philadelphia’s Denver Barkey and Toronto’s Easton Cowan. Cowan has scored 34 points in 18 playoff games and finished his regular season on a 36-game point streak.

The Memorial Cup begins with a round-robin format; the top team receives a bye to the final and faces the winner of the second and third seeds in the semifinal. The full Memorial Cup schedule is below: