- Moncton Wildcats and Quebec Remparts are the two finalists to host the 2028 Memorial Cup
- Both QMJHL clubs have hosted the tournament before and carry deep national-event résumés
- Read below for the history between them and what still has to happen before a host is picked
The 2028 Memorial Cup is coming down to two Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League markets.
CHL officials named the Moncton Wildcats and the Quebec Remparts as the finalists to host the 2028 tournament, setting up a straight fight between two of the QMJHL’s flagship franchises. Whoever wins the bid lands major junior hockey’s biggest event and a guaranteed spot in the field.
Both cities have done this before. Moncton hosted the Memorial Cup in 2006, and the Remparts are the team that walked out of that building with the trophy, beating the Wildcats 6-2 in the final under head coach Patrick Roy. Quebec got its own turn as host in 2015.
Take a look back at that 2006 Memorial Cup meeting in Moncton:
Moncton has kept building its case since then. The Wildcats co-hosted the 2023 World Juniors, and they were back on the national stage this past spring, reaching the 2025 Memorial Cup before London knocked them out in the semifinal.
When the club filed its bid, Wildcats president R.J. Irving leaned on that track record. “Moncton has a proven track record of delivering first-class national events,” Irving said in the team’s bid announcement. “This bid reflects the strength of our organization, our city, and province.”
General manager Taylor MacDougall pointed to the roster side of it, calling the Wildcats one of the winningest teams in the CHL over the past two seasons and backing his group to build a Memorial Cup contender by 2028.
Quebec brings its own pitch, led by the Videotron Centre, one of the newest and largest arenas anywhere in the CHL. Major junior is still the NHL’s top feeder too, and this year’s headliner, Gavin McKenna, just turned pro with the Maple Leafs.
A host has not been chosen, and the CHL has not said when it will decide. What is settled is the region. The 2028 Memorial Cup is East Coast bound, and one of these two QMJHL cities will host the party.
