Canucks prospects Gabriel Chiarot and Parker Alcos faced off in the opening game of the 2026 Memorial Cup.
The 2026 Memorial Cup is officially underway. Two Vancouver Canucks prospects, Gabriel Chiarot of the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) and Parker Alcos of the Kelowna Rockets (WHL), faced one-another in the tournament’s opening game, with Kitchener ultimately taking a 5–0 win.
Kitchener opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first period thanks to Rangers forward Dylan Edwards. That was all Kitchener would need to secure the win, however, as Rangers goaltender Christian Kirsch stopped all 24 shots faced from Kelowna.
The offence exploded in the third period for Kitchener as the Rangers put three goals past Rockets goaltender Harrison Boettiger all within the span of five minutes.
Neither Alcos nor Chiarot made it on the scoresheet in tonight’s game, but the Rangers forward still played a factor in helping his team generate offence. It was Chiarot’s line of himself, Edwards, and Sam O’Reilly that scored two of Kitchener’s five goals, including the game-opener.
Chiarot was quick to get to the net on both goals, causing a little chaos near the crease to take away a Kelowna defender. The Canucks prospect also registered a strong scoring chance himself, carrying the puck in and later shooting the feed from Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jared Woolley.
Photo Credit: Steve Dunsmoor-CHLToday’s game also featured two different fights, with Kitchener’s Woolley taking on Kelowna forward Dawson Gerwig in the first period. Later, towards the start of the third period, Rockets defenceman Nate Corbet dropped the gloves with Rangers blueliner Carson Campbell.
With both Chiarot and Alcos playing tonight, the Canucks prospects will get one night off while the Everett Silvertips (WHL) face the Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) on Saturday night. Alcos will be the first Canucks prospect back in action, as Kelowna will face Chicoutimi on Sunday night at 6:00 pm PT.
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