The J. Ross Robertson Cup winners are a favourite to win the Memorial Cup, which begins for the London Knights on Saturday versus Drummondville.
The London Knights haven't faced a lot of teams that can give them a true battle this season. The closest one was when they faced Saginaw in the third round of the playoffs, where the Spirit took the Knights to six games.
Otherwise, London swept all three of their other series in the OHL Playoffs to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Coincidentally, they are now heading to Saginaw, Michigan to participate in the Memorial Cup.
London will compete against the Saginaw Spirit — whom they know very well — but they are also facing "unknown territory" against Moose Jaw (WHL) and Drummondville (QMJHL).
London's Memorial Cup journey gets started on Saturday late-afternoon when they face the Drummondville Voltigeurs at 4:00pm at the DOW Event Center.
Easton Cowan is the name that we have been talking about all season long, and that surely won't go away during the Memorial Cup. Cowan has talked previously about how he loves high-pressure moments, and the bigger the game, the bigger he plays.
There won't be any bigger moment in Cowan's major junior hockey career than at the Memorial Cup, and he will be called upon.
Manning the goal crease will be Michael Simpson, who is playing in his second consecutive Memorial Cup. He will look to find a better outcome than he had with the Peterborough Petes last spring, as they did not match up well against their out-of-league opponents.
Simpson has been phenomenal all playoffs long for the Knights, and he will look to win that final, ultimate prize with this team in his overage OHL season.
London's special team units will play a big factor in their performance in this tournament, just as they have all season long. London has one of the best power plays and penalty kills in the league, and they are both run by two of their biggest pieces — Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey.
OHL Playoff leading goal scorer Kasper Halttunen will still be feeling confident heading into the Memorial Cup, and he will look to remain a weapon on the power play.
The Knights have a lot of players who have proven that they can step up when their team is down. It will be intriguing to see how London's big time players compare to those in Drummondville, Moose Jaw, and Saginaw, and that will be the key to this year's Memorial Cup winning team.