The OHL Champion Kitchener Rangers are headed to Kelowna to play for the Memorial Cup for the first time since 2008. This will be Kitchener’s seventh appearance in the tournament even though it’s been 18 years since they were here last and the Rangers will be hoping to make up for lost time. While nothing is guaranteed, they are in a good position to win the trophy for the first time since 2003. The team is hot off of a near perfect post-season, going 16-2 on route to winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup. During that run, the team was headlined by Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning] prospect Sam O’Reilly. During the 2026 playoffs, O’Reilly led the OHL in goals with 17, had the second most points with 28 and finished the playoffs on a six-game point streak. He was also named playoff MVP, receiving the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award. His experience in the Memorial Cup will be a massive asset as he was on the London Knights team that went to the finals in 2024 and won the tournament in 2025. The Kelowna Rockets, Everett Silvertips and Chicoutimi Sagueneens will have more than O’Reilly to worry about though. Among the 15 Rangers skaters that played all 18 games of the post-season, eight of them scored at least 11 points. The best among that group alongside O’Reilly is Dylan Edwards with 25 points, Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche] prospect Christian Humphreys with 22 points, Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks]prospect Jack Pridham with 17 points and Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators]prospect Cameron Reid with 14 points as a defenseman. There is one other scoring threat on the roster; Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] prospect Luke Ellinas. Since returning from injury in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, Ellinas has scored one goal and three points in five games. Another strength is the Rangers’ special teams as they go into this tournament with the second-best power play of the participating teams with a 30% success rate and the best penalty kill at 88.7%. The closest thing Kitchener has to a weakness is in net as San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] prospect Christian Kirsch owns a 9.00 save percentage, the worst of all goaltenders in the tournament, but his 2.32 goals against average makes up for it. As a whole, the Rangers are looking like a very tough team to beat, but the same can be said for their opponents. That’s the fun part of the Memorial Cup. It’s champions vs champions (and the host team). It’s hard to find a bad team here. The Rangers will play their first game on Friday against the Rockets, hoping to silence the home crowd with a win to start the tournament.
