The bids are in, and the Brandon Wheat Kings and the City of Brandon are officially in a five-man race to host one of the top tournaments in all of hockey.
The CHL announced yesterday the Wheat Kings were among five WHL clubs to officially submit a bid to host the 2026 Memorial Cup. The remaining four clubs are the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Kelowna Rockets, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and the Spokane Chiefs.
Each May, the champions of every league in the CHL (the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec and Maritimes Junior Hockey League) face off alongside a host team to determine the winner of the national championship. The Memorial Cup is the top prize in all of junior hockey.
Every three years, the Memorial Cup returns to a WHL host team after being hosted by a team from Quebec and a team from Ontario. This coming season, it will be hosted by the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. Last season, the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit hosted.
On the ice, the Wheat Kings boast an impressive cast of players for the 2026 event. That year, players born in 2006 will be 19-years-old and teams may carry as many such players as they like, while each team will be allowed three 20-year-olds born in 2005.
Top NHL draft prospect Roger McQueen and Columbus Blue Jackets second round pick Charlie Elick headline the 2006-born players but they’ve got a sizeable supporting cast. Captain Quinn Mantei is among the players born in 2005 who are eligible to return.
According to the CHL, the host team for 2026 will be announced in early December.
