Jack Pridham's big performance played a key role in Kitchener's win over Everett on Monday night.
Monday night in Kelowna, the Kitchener Rangers faced the Everett Silvertips in the Memorial Cup. On paper, one could argue that these are the two best teams in the tournament. The games have to be played on the ice, but there is talent up and down these two rosters.
Sunday night’s game turned out to be a dominant victory in favor of Kitchener by a score of 6-2.
Kitchener forward and Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham, who is having an incredible overage season, is playing a big role in their success.
After dominating his way to a “player of the game” nod in their first game against the Kelowna Rockets, Pridham had a hand in this win as well. He wasn’t the player of the game this time, but he scored two of Kitchener’s six goals.
Nashville Predators prospect Cameron Reid was the player of the game thanks to his 4-point game (1-3–4). Together, Reid and Pridham drive a successful bus in the offensive zone every night.
Now that they are 2-0, Kitchener has set itself up to be the favorite. On Tuesday night, they will face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to close out their round robin play. On Wednesday, Kelowna and Everett will battle it out. If necessary, any tiebreaker games will be played on Thursday ahead of the semi-final and final over the weekend.
A win for Kitchener would give them an automatic berth in the final. From there, multiple scenarios could play out to determine their opponent.
Landon DuPont
The Chicago Blackhawks only have one prospect in the Memorial Cup, but that doesn’t mean he is the only player worth scouting. There are plenty of draft hopefuls trying to impress NHL teams with their play in this tournament.
One of them, Landon DuPont of the Everett Silvertips, is expected to be a very high draft pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. At this stage, you can’t rule out the possibility that the Blackhawks will be in the mix for the lottery again. They may not be, but scouting DuPont is important just in case.
In their loss to Kitchener, DuPont had one assist. Overall, Everett had no answer for Kitchener’s defensive structure, and the Rangers pulled away in the end. Now, Everett must take care of business against host Kelowna to set itself up for a spot in the semi-final, their path to facing Kitchener in a rematch with everything on the line.
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