Saint John Sea Dogs to host Memorial Cup with ‘Maritime hospitality’ in 2022

The Saint John Sea Dogs have been selected to host the 2022 Memorial Cup next June, the Canadian Hockey League announced Wednesday.

“We are extremely excited to be granting the rights to host this event to Saint John for the first time,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a release.

“The bid committee did a fantastic job of outlining how Saint John will embrace the Memorial Cup with its Maritime hospitality to create an atmosphere that both celebrates the game and leaves a lasting legacy in the community.”

It’s the first time the Memorial Cup will be played since 2019, as COVID-19 has cancelled it the last two years. It was last hosted by the Halifax Mooseheads and won by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The Quebec Remparts also submitted a bid to host the cup next year.

Saint John will become the third city from the Maritimes to host the event. Halifax has done it twice, and Moncton, once.

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The Sea Dogs will be one of four teams competing in the 2022 Memorial Cup, beginning June 3, 2022. They will be joined by each of the playoff champions from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Saint John’s team has participated in the Memorial Cup three times – 2011, 2012 and 2017. During their first appearance, the team finished as the QMJHL President Cup champions before “claiming CHL supremacy,” the release said.

During the 2020-21 season, the team placed third in the QMJHL’s Maritimes Division with a 15-14-3-1 record and 34 points.

All games from the 2022 Memorial Cup, presented by Kia, will be nationally televised by TSN and RDS.