QUEBEC CITY P.Q. – With the latest Drummondville 3-2 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes in an exciting seven game series, the teams are set for the 2009 Master Card Memorial Cup Tournament. Everyone expected to see either the Vancouver Giants or the Calgary Hitmen come out of the Western Hockey League, instead the Kelowna Rockets will represent the WHL. In the Ontario Hockey League, OHL fans awaited John Tavares and the London Knights to be crowned as OHL Champions, instead, the Windsor Spitfires came out of the playoffs as the OHL representative. Last but certainly not least, were the two teams that will represent the QMJHL. The Rimouski Oceanics will be there as host team and the Drummondville Voltigeurs will be there as the President Cup champions. The 2009 Master Card Memorial Cup Tournament promises to be an exciting regardless of if you are lucky to be in Rimouski and see the action live or by sitting comfortably on your favorite couch watching in front your TV screen. Today we take a deeper look on the teams that will take part in the event, beginning with the Kelowna Rockets. 
Even if some people considered Kelowna a surprise representative in the tournament, they went through a very tough series before being crowned with the Ed Chynoweth Cup. In the WHL quarterfinals, the Rockets needed four games before disposing of the Kamloops Blazers. In Western Conference Semi-finals, Kelowna faced the Tri-Cities Americans and defeated them in six games. In the conference finals, Kelowna was confronted with Vancouver Giants and also needed six games to defeat them before facing the Calgary Hitmen for the Ed Chenoweth Cup in the WHL finals. Despite being the underdog in the series, the Rockets also eliminated the favored Hitmen in six games. Here are some of the players we invite you to watch on Kelowna in the upcoming tournament. In goal, the Rockets place their confidence in Mark Guggenberger. The 6′ 2″ 190 pounder played the last two years for the Swift Current Broncos before coming to Kelowna. He played in 22 games, allowing 54 goals. During the regular season with the Rockets he had a goals against average of 2.02 and a .916 save percentage. Offensively, the Rockets are leaded by Jamie Benn who signed last summer with the Dallas Stars who drafted him in 2007. He joints the Rockets from the Junior A Victoria Grizzlies. The 6′ 3″, 203 pound left winger played extremely well and played on the teams first offensive unit with Colin Long and Brady Leavold. In the regular season he had 82 points in 56 games with 46 goals scored. Cody Almond (A Minnesota Wild 2007 fifth round selection) is another player his coach can count on for offensive production. Selected in the fourth round by Kelowna from his Bantam team. Almond is a 6′ 3″, 205 pound center ended the regular season with 66 points in 70 games. In the playoffs he had 27 points in 22 games. Defensively, Kelowna will count on a very solid defensive unit led by the Buffalo Sabres first round draftee, Tyler Myers. The gigantic 6′ 6″, 211 pound had 22 points in 20 games in the playoffs. During the regular season he accumulated 42 points in 58 games. Tyson Barrie, son of Len Barrie, who is one of the co-owners of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning is another good defenseman. Tysen Dowzak, 6′ 5″, 212 pounder is another solid defenseman who is an important cog on the Kelowna defensive unit. 
In the Ontario Hockey League, the Windsor Spitfires were a force to be recognized. They were turned out to be the best OHL team in 2009. Windsor is far from an ordinary team or a lucky team. Au contraire, the Spitfires are a very good team and their playoff run proved it. Windsor opened the 2009 playoffs by facing the Owen Sound Attack and swept them in four games. In round two, the Spitfires faced some stiffer competition in the Plymouth Whalers, needing six games to win the series. Windsor than faced the London Knights in semi-finals. It was an epic battle where all five games needed overtime to determine a winner where the Spitfires came out on top. In the OHL finals, they disposed of the Brampton Battalion in six games with Game 6 ending in overtime. Here is a look at some of the players we suggest you keep an eye on during the tournament for Windsor. In goal, Windsor Head Coach Bob Boughner places his confidence in goaltender Andrew Engelage where he played in all 20 playoff games, accumulating a record of 14-2 with 1 Overtime loss. John Unice, who came in a trade with the Kitchener Rangers, is the backup. Offensively, Taylor Hall, who is draft eligible in 2010, is considered by scouts to be the top pick overall in next years draft. He is a left winger who ended the regular with 90 points (38g, 52a) and in the 2009 playoffs he had 36 points (16g, 20a) in 20 games. Adam Henrique (A New Jersey Devils third round pick in 2008) is a center who ended the regular season with 63 points in 56 games. Some other interesting players on Windsor are Lane MacDermid, a power forward who wins his fair share of one-on-one battles along the board. Conor O’Donnell a free agent left winger who likes the physical aspect of the game, also works very hard along the boards. On defense, Ryan Ellis (draft eligible in 2009) is the best point producer on the Spitfires blueline with 89 points in 57 games (22 goals), and is very dangerous on the power play. Rob Kwiet ended the regular season with 67 points in 66 games, and a plus minus rating of plus 55, will certainly be another player to keep your eye on if you are in the opponents camp. Another defenseman to watch is Mark Cundari, a St. Louis Blues free agent prospect, and Harry Young, a seventh round pick by the New Jersey Devils in 2008. 
As the host the city, Rimouski will see it’s QMJHL team, the Oceanic, involved in the Master Card Memorial Cup tournament. The Drummondville Voltigeurs will participate as the QMJHL President Cup Champion. Rimouski and Drummondville met in the QMJHL conference finals but unfortunately for Oceanic fans, it was a no-contest. The Voltigeurs swept the Oceanic in four straight games. Rimouski has had to sit and wait until this weekend for the start of the Memorial Cup tournament before returning to action. Before being eliminated by the Voltigeurs, Rimouski eliminated Chicoutimi in four games and Moncton in five. After being eliminated by Drummondville, Clement Jodoin’s team continued their preparation for the opening game of the round-robin tournament and will begin against the Kelowna Rockets. Despite losing to Drummondville in a sweep from the QMJHL playoffs, they still have some very good players on the team and might be their chance for redemption. Let’s have a look at some of the players of the Oceanic roster worth watching. In goal, Maxim Gougeon has been designated as the main man between the pipes. He will have to prove to people in Rimouski that he can do the job. He ended up with a goals against average of 6.61 with a .839 save percentage, allowing 22 goals in only four games. Offensively, Jordan Caron (2009 draft eligible) ended the year with 67 points in 56 games (36 goals) is a player who can provide offense. The right winger accumulated four points in four playoff games. Kevin Veilleux (a second round selection by Pittsburgh, 51st overall) is a power forward that will have to stay in control of his emotions since he is prone to taking some bad penalties. He finished the regular season with 15 goals, 33 assists in 29 games, and 2 goals, 2 assists in four playoff games. Luca Cunti (a third round selection by Tampa Bay 75th overall) was third on the team in playoffs scoring with three points in four games. It will be interesting to watch how he will react against a team that uses toughness in their game plan. Patrice Cormier (a second round selection by New Jersey Devils in 2008, 54th overall) is a center who use to play on the wing, and is another power forward who wins most of his battles for lose pucks along the wall. He will certainly become an important player against a team like Kelowna or Windsor. Philippe Cornet (a 5th round selection of Edmonton in 2008) and Oliver Fortier (a Montreal Canadiens 3rd round selection in 2007) can play important roles as defensive centers. Finally, the President Cup champion Drummondville Voltigeurs. At the beginning of the year, Shawinigan and Drummondville were considered the top two teams in the QMJHL. In the end, these same two teams needed seven games to find a winner. Unfortunately for Cataractes fans, Drummondville won Game 7 to finally earn their ticket to the Memorial Cup. In order to become the President Cup Champion, Drummondville had to eliminate the Lewiston MAIMIacs, Montreal Juniors, and Rimouski in four consecutive games, before defeating Shawinigan in seven grueling games. In goal, the Voltigeurs count on Marco Cousineau (a third round selection 83rd overall in2008). The 6 foot, 200 pound netminder saw action in almost every game of the playoffs except on three occasions. He will have to continue is solid work in the net by making key saves when it counts to give his team a chance to win in the tournament. On defense, Drummondville has three very good blueliners who can make quality passes and can score goals. Dmitry Kulikov (draft eligible in 2009) is the best offensive defenseman for Drummondville who ended the regular season with 62 points (12g, 52a) but in the finals he didn’t have the same level of production. Whether he hide an minor injury or not, Shawinigan was able to find a way to neutralize him. Marc-Antoine Desnoyers is someone in whom head coach Guy Boucher can count on to provide offense from defense. In the regular season, he in ended up with 42 points (9g-33a). Patrick Prokop came from the Gatineau Olympique to provide some additional experience. In the playoffs he had 8 points (4g-4a). Offensively, Drummondville has a powerful offense. They have players like Yannick Riendeau (a Boston Bruins free agent signee) who ended the QMJHL playoffs with 52 points in 19 games. Mike Hoffman, a left winger who provided some important goals during the QMJHL finals, ended with 34 points in 19 playoff games. Unfortunately, the team won’t be able to count on Christopher DiDominico who had a serious leg injury in the finals and lost for the tournament. Danny Masse (a Montreal Canadiens free agent signee) is also an important contributor when it comes time to put the puck in net. He also is very good on face-offs. Benoit Levesque, Marc-Olivier Vachon, Gabriel Dumont, Samson Mahbod, and Philippe Lefebvre are some other important players who contribute to the team. All of the pieces are in place to have an exciting tournament. Regardless of where are you, hopefully you will enjoy some great competition by four quality teams. Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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