The Kelowna Rockets have won the bid process to host the 2026 Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Five Western Hockey League clubs submitted bids ahead of September’s deadline for the 106th Memorial Cup — the largest number of CHL teams vying to host the tournament in more than 15 years.
Among them were the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Brandon Wheat Kings, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and the Spokane Chiefs (one of the league’s six American markets, fresh off the Saginaw Spirit’s successful hosting of the 2024 tournament in the United States).
The Tigers positioned their bid around 2026 NHL Draft sensation Gavin McKenna’s draft year — and could have potentially iced a roster around him that included top-five pick Cayden Lindstrom, 2024 second-rounders Andrew Basha and Ryder Ritchie, as well as the Ruck twins, a pair of fellow 2026 prospects.
Instead, the Rockets, who successfully won the bid to host the 2020 Memorial Cup and had nearly completed preparations for it when it was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic, have won the chance to host again.
“We are truly devastated to not be bringing this event to Kelowna,” then-Memorial Cup Committee Chair Tom Dyas said in March of 2020. “We’ve been working so hard with our local committee, partners, sponsors and volunteers over the last year and having to cancel this event is something that we never expected. We know that the health and safety of the community needs to come first, so we are supportive of the CHL’s decision to cancel the 2020 Memorial Cup.”
Back to B.C.
The @Kelowna_Rockets will host the 2026 #MemorialCup!
📰 https://t.co/OpTGXnyvpo pic.twitter.com/TME9jmtFjx
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 27, 2024
As part of their bid process, the Rockets and the City of Kelowna also committed to making upgrades to the team’s arena, Prospera Place, including the installation of a brand-new scoreboard, improved lighting and sound systems, and dedicated press.
“The bid committee has done a phenomenal job and we’re so happy for our community,” said Rockets governor, president and general manager, Bruce Hamilton. “The 2026 Memorial Cup is for the City of Kelowna and the surrounding area. We get the chance to bring this event back to the Okanagan and while it has been a long grind to get it, we’re excited for the city as well as our season ticket holders. It’s an opportunity for something special.”
The Rockets’ 2025-26 roster could be headlined by 2024 top-10 pick Tij Iginla and by-then-20-year-old Kraken third-rounder Caden Price. Washington’s Andrew Cristall, the league’s most productive player so far this season — and one of the league’s top scorers in each of the two previous seasons — nearly made the Capitals out of training camp this year and is unlikely to be back.
(Photo: Francois Laplante / FreestylePhoto / Getty Images)
