St. Louis Blues prospect Juraj Pekarcik (second from right) will be vying for a Memorial Cup title with the Moncton Wildcats beginning Friday. (St. Louis Blues photo)Juraj Pekarcik and hopes there's one more title in the cards for the St. Louis Blues prospect.
Pekarcik, a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, recently completed a terrific season that was capped off with a QMJHL championship for the Moncton Wildcats, who knocked off Rimouski Oceanic in six games.
Pekarcik, who joined the Wildcats this season and had 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists) in 53 regular-season games, has followed that up with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) thus far in 19 playoff games, including seven points (three goals, four assists) in the championship series against Rimouski.
By winning the QMJHL title, Moncton now heads to the 2025 Memorial Cup, which is being hosted by Rimouski starting Friday and running through June 1.
Also included in the four-team event are the Medicine Hat Tigers, champions of the Western Hockey League, and the London Knights, champions of the Ontario Hockey League. Former Blues prospect Landon Sim, a six-round pick in 2022 who recently signed a one-year contract with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, plays for the Knights.
Moncton will play London Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT), Medicine Hat on Monday at 6 p.m. and wrap up pool play against Rimouski on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Top three teams advance and a tiebreaker game (if necessary) is slated for May 29, followed by a semifinal on May 30, and the championship game is scheduled for June 1; the top pool team advances straight to the title game.
Zack Bolduc, who played for the Quebec Remparts, won the Memorial Cup in 2023 after the Remparts won the QMJHL title in six games against the Halifax Mooseheads.
Follow all the news and scores at the Memorial Cup site.