Whether it's playing for the Rangers for three years, coming over from Switzerland, going back-to-back or making coaching history, different journeys brought Kitchener's players and staff to Memorial Cup glory.
KELOWNA, B.C.- For the third time in franchise history, the Kitchener Rangers are Memorial Cup champions.
The Rangers' win caps off what was an impressive 2025-26 campaign. After finishing the regular season with a 47-14-5-2 record, Kitchener was virtually unbeatable in the playoffs, as it lost just two games en route to an OHL championship. As for the Memorial Cup, the Rangers finished the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record and outscored their opposition 20-6.
"Kind of speechless," said Kitchener captain Cameron Reid post-game. "You're just trying to get by with every second, and you just think of this moment right here where you are celebrating, but you have to dial in. It was a pretty cool couple of last seconds. It was really cool."
Reid has played his entire OHL career with the Rangers. His journey has included representing Canada at the world juniors and being drafted into the NHL by the Nashville Predators. Now, the 19-year-old can include captaining a team to a Memorial Cup championship and being named to the tournament all-star team.
"Came in as a young 16-year-old. Learned a lot," Reid said. "There were a lot of ups and downs, but now we are here, and it's amazing."
Another member of the all-star team was Kitchener goaltender Christian Kirsch. The San Jose Sharks prospect stood on his head all tournament as he finished 4-0 and stopped 120 of 126 shots.
Kirsch, who became the third European goalie chosen in the CHL import draft to win the Memorial Cup, spoke post-game about his teammates and how special it was to win a championship with this group.
"Hard work every day," said Kirsch. "Focusing on habits and details. Couldn't have done it without the coaching staff. Couldn't have done it without the GM making trades. This group was so tight from the first day to the last day, and it all worked out and paid off."
After the game, Kirsch spent some special moments with his family via video. The 19-year-old left Switzerland ahead of the 2024-25 season but only made the transition to the OHL this year. Kirsch spoke about how important his family has been throughout his journey.
"They are just everything to me," he said. "I couldn't have done it without my parents. I just needed to call them right away because I love them so much and wouldn't be here without them."
One of the biggest trades GM Mike McKenzie made was acquiring Sam O'Reilly and Jared Woolley from the London Knights.
The move paid off as O'Reilly was named Memorial Cup MVP, while Woolley scored the game-winning goal on Sunday night.
Woolley, a Los Angeles Kings prospect, has had a front-row seat to watch O'Reilly develop into an OHL star, as the two now join an exclusive list of players to win back-to-back Memorial Cups.
"He's just a gamer," said Woolley when asked about O'Reilly. "That's the way he plays. Since he was young, he goes hard. He's a dog on a bone."
While the players will get most of the glory, it is also important to mention the work done by coach Jussi Ahokas.
The Finnish bench boss has spent the past three seasons with Kitchener, and this year, he became the first European coach to guide his team to a league championship. Overall, the decision to move from Liiga to the OHL has paid off for Ahokas as he can now call himself a Memorial Cup champion.
"Unbelievable," said Ahokas post-game. "I guess three years of hard work comes to an end. Just how the boys played, and now you got the job done. That's, I guess, a little relief that we could do it together."
In the end, the Rangers built a deep team that climbed one of the steepest mountains in hockey. While Kitchener received some big-time performances from their star players, their entire roster stepped up, as 15 players recorded at least a point in the tournament.
Ultimately, these Rangers are deserving champions and will now go down in history as winners of the 2026 Memorial Cup.
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