SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Play in the 2026 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, gets underway Thursday in Summerside, P.E.I., as 10 teams will compete to see who will be crowned Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) champions.
Here’s a glance at each of the clubs:
MHL: Truro Bearcats
Head coach: Jon Greenwood
After defeating the Centennial Cup-host Western Capitals in the MHL semifinals, they went on to take down the Edmundston Blizzard in five games to capture the league’s MetalFab Cup. … Pacing the Bearcats offensively in the playoffs was right wing Callum Aucoin, who picked up 15 points in 17 outings, including 11 goals, which tied for top spot. … Right behind him was left winger Éli Baillargeon, as he chipped in with 14 points along the way, followed by centre Jack Todd’s 13. … On the back end, Jayden Conners topped all Truro defencemen in scoring with nine points, while the duo of Tristian St. Gelais and Eric Halliday registered seven points apiece. … Bearcats netminder Sam Berthiaume went 8-4 in postseason play while leading the MHL with his 1.71 goals-against average and tied for first in save percentage at .947. … He also posted two shutouts. … You also had Louca Connolly go 4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a SV% of .901. … Truro finished fifth on the power play at 17.1% and were second on the penalty kill at 91.3%. … Were 19th in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
LHJAAAQ: Collège Français de Longueuil
Head coach: Jonathan Castonguay
An impressive playoff run saw Longueuil go 12-1 overall, with their only defeat coming in overtime. … This included 11 straight victories to close it out with a four-game sweep of the Condors du Cégep Beauce-Appalaches in winning the LHJAAAQ’s NAPA Cup title. … Outscoring their opponents by a 57-20 margin, their one-two tandem of Isaiah Parent and Gabriel Provencher tied for the league lead in postseason production with 18 points apiece. … Parent led the way in goals with 10 and Provencher supplied a playoff-best 14 assists. … Pierre-Olivier Denis was third on the squad with 14 points. … Emile Dubois topped the team in numbers among defencemen with 11 points. … Alexis Poirier was close by with 10. … Backed by the stellar netminding of Mathis Lacroix-Goulet, who played every game in the playoffs, saw him go 12-1 and was tops in goal-against average (1.42) and was second in terms of save percentage (.948). … They converted at a 19.48% rate on the power play and were at 88.1% on the P.K. … Collège Français was fourth in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
CCHL: Rockland Nationals
Head coach: Justin Pereira
At No. 1 in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade, Rockland makes their second-straight Centennial Cup appearance, after another highly successful Central Canada Hockey League campaign. … After finishing first overall in regular season standings, the Nationals won 12 of their 13 playoff games to win the Bogart Cup. … The high-powered duo of Mavrik Brunet and Gabriel Le Houillier combined to amass 67 points, with Brunet collecting 34 and Le Houillier 33. … The latter also notched a league-best 18 tallies, seven of which came on the power play and three more were game-winners. … Three of Brunet’s eight markers were deciders. … You also saw Alex Kelloway chip in with 16 points. … Team captain Mathys Laurent shared the CCHL-lead in scoring by a defenceman with 10 points. … Fellow D-man Noah Laframboise added seven points. … Starting every game, Kayden Newton produced 12 victories in 13 appearances, sporting a league-best 2.00 goals-against average. … His .928 save percentage was second in the league. … Rockland sat first in power play success at 25% and were second on the P.K. at 82.9%.
OJHL: Toronto Patriots
Head coach: Vince Bellissimo
Winning a CJHL-best 16 playoff contests, the Patriots earned their way to Summerside with series sweeps in the first two rounds, before needing seven games in their OJHL conference final, then defeating the Newmarket Hurricanes 4-1 in the best-of-seven Buckland Cup final. … The top three scorers in the playoffs all play for Toronto. … Luciano Bruno led the way with 37 points, followed by Tommy Karmiris and Cole Cooksey, who had 27 apiece. … Veteran defenceman Lucas Vacca was fourth in postseason numbers and led all league blueliners with a solid 24. … Luke Howard was next among D-men with 15 points, while Liam Longo had 10. … Consistent work in net saw Trey Caracciolo lead the OJHL in both goals-against average (1.76) and save percentage (.951). … He also had two shutouts. … The Patriots other netminder, Nico Armellin, went 7-2 with a 2.42 GAA and a .929 SV%. … Toronto clicked at an impressive 34.9% rate on the power play but were just 76.1% on the penalty kill. … They were third overall in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
NOJHL: Greater Sudbury Cubs
Head coach: Darryl Moxam
Back for a third-straight Centennial Cup appearance, Greater Sudbury rolled through the NOJHL playoffs, posting a trio of four-game series sweeps including defeating the Timmins Rock to claim the league title. … Postseason MVP Mason Walker registered 27 points in 12 games for the Cubs in scoring with nine goals and 18 assists. … Briir Long paced Greater Sudbury offensively with 28 points to his credit with 10 tallies and 18 helpers. … Third on the squad in offensive production was their captain, Daks Klinkhammer as he banged in 10 pucks and helped set-up nine more. … Spencer Horgan led the team and all league blueliners in postseason numbers with 16 points. … Horgan did likewise in last year’s playoffs as well with 25 points. … Alex Valade was next on the back end for the Cubs with eight points on four goals and four assists. … Iain Wintle went a perfect 10-0 in the playoffs and led the way in goals-against average (2.05) and save percentage (.934) with one shutout. … Matthew Vahramian won both his starts in the post season. … The club was first overall in power play proficiency at 28.3%, notching a NOJHL-best 17-man advantage markers. … The Cubs sat third on the penalty kill at 80.4% and supplied the most shorthanded markers scored with seven. … They were seventh in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
SIJHL: Thunder Bay North Stars
Head coach: Matt Valley
The North Stars are making their second appearance at the National Jr. A Championship, and first since 2006 when they were edged in overtime in semifinal action. … Finding their form in the playoffs, the North Stars went 12-4 en route to capturing the Bill Salonen Cup. … That was highlighted by getting past the Fort Frances Lakers in a thrilling best-of-seven affair in the final that went the distance. … Leading the team offensively was Mitch Vanderwey, who supplied a SIJHL-best 30 points. … Brothers Lucas and Matthew Mertolin were next on the squad with 23 and 21 points respectively. … Chance Loke topped all league blueliners with 16 points, while Quinn Johnston and Kayne Van Metre chipped in with nine and eight points. … Both Thunder Bay netminders, Connor Dunham-Fox and Morgan Blackwood won six games apiece in the playoffs. … Dunham-Fox had a SIJHL-low 1.96 goals-against average while Blackwood was second at 2.26. … Blackwood’s .935 save mark led the league, with Dunham-Fox right behind him at .934. … The latter also had two shutouts. … The North Stars were first in the SIJHL on the power play at 30.4% and sat third on the penalty kill at 81.6%. … The first time a team from Thunder Bay won the Centennial Cup was back in 1989, when they defeated the host Summerside Western Capitals 4-1 in the final.
MJHL: Niverville Nighthawks
Head coach: Dwight Hirst
Niverville was all business in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Turnbull Cup playoffs, losing just once in 13 outings. … Highlighting this was capturing their initial MJHL title with a four-game sweep of the Virden Oil Capitals in the final … Tying for the league-lead in postseason offensive production was veteran forward Adam Vigfusson, who collected 19 points on 10 tallies and nine assists. … Next on the Nighthawks were the duo of Merik Boles and Heydon Wheddon, as they picked up 14 points each. … Aaron Krestanowich paced all Nighthawks defencemen in playoff scoring with 13 points on a goal and 12 assists. … Starting every contest in the postseason, netminder Austin Dubinsky was sensational, going 12-1 finishing with MJHL-bests in goals-against average (1.71), save percentage (.956) and shutouts (3). … In the regular season, Niverville led the MJHL on the P.P. at 27.3 and were third on the P.K. at 84.5%. … The Nighthawks sat second overall in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
SJHL: Flin Flon Bombers
Head coach: Mike Reagan
Flin Flon won their first Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Canterra Seeds championship in 33 years in punching their ticket to Summerside. … The Bombers are making their first appearance in the National Jr. A event since 2022 when the Estevan Bruins hosted. … They also competed in 2001, when Flin Flon was host and finished as the runner-up. … After the Bombers swept Estevan in the quarter-finals, they needed a full seven games before getting past the Weyburn Red Wings, before handling the Yorkton Terriers in four straight contests to advance. … Connor Miller averaged a point-per-game to top the club in playoff scoring with 15 points in as many outings. … Close to him was Reid Arberry, who finished with 14 points. … After him was Rhett Ewen, who had 11 points. … Ryder Knutson collected a team-high among defencemen, eight points. … Xavier Fauchon chipped in with six points from the point. … Flin Flon led the SJHL in power play success in the playoffs at 22.4% and, also paced the pack in penalty kill proficiency at 88.5%. … The Bombers finished ninth in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
AJHL: Canmore Eagles
Head coach: Andrew Milne
Making their initial Centennial Cup appearance, Canmore captured their first Alberta Junior Hockey League title in the process. … the Eagles began the playoffs by defeating the defending national Jr. A champion Calgary Canucks in round one. … Then after sweeping the Drumheller Dragons in the AJHL semifinals, upended the top-seeded Whitecourt Wolverines to collect the Inter Pipeline Cup in just five games. … The Eagles boasted the top three point-getters in the postseason. … Leading that contingent was Will Lutic, who collected 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists. … Next came the combo of Bryson Insinger and Cohen Daoust, with that pair having 16 points each. … On the back end, Conor Watson led team D-men offensively with nine points while Reid Larson was next with eight. … AJHL Playoff MVP Alexander Scheiwiller was a solid 12-2 in the postseason finishing with a 2.38 goals-against average and a league-best .934 save percentage. … Canmore sat fifth in the AJHL of the P.P. at 21.4% and were seventh on the P.K. at 73.7%.
HOST: Summerside Western Capitals
Head coach: Billy McGuigan
Summerside went 7-7 in the playoffs, including a pair of overtime setbacks. Two stiff postseason tests saw them edge the Amherst Ramblers in seven thrilling games before being edged by the eventual MHL title holders, Truro, in another series that went the maximum. … Leading the Caps in scoring was Justin Ouellette, as he averaged just over a point-per-game with 15 in 14 contests on four tallies and 11 helpers. … Next was Elliot Mullen with 10 points, including a team-high six goals, followed by Brett Arsenault’s nine points. … The defencemen duo of Simon Mullen and Matt MacLean supplied seven points each from the point. … In 13 appearances, netminder Kolton Bourret went 7-6, while sporting a very respectable 1.85 goals-against average and a solid .929 save mark. He also posted two shutouts. … Special teams saw the Western Capitals lead the MHL in penalty kill proficiency at 91.5% and end up third on the man advantage at 22.2%. … Summerside was 20th in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade.
All Centennial Cup round robin, quarter-final and semifinal games will be streamed live online, on a pay-per-view basis, at HNLive.ca.
The final will be aired on TSN+ on Sunday, May 17.
Centennial Cup Game Schedule
Credit Union Place
Summerside, P.E.I.
All start times AT
Thursday, May 7
Toronto vs. Greater Sudbury 12 p.m.
Canmore vs. Rockland 4 p.m.
Niverville vs. Summerside 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 8
Collège Français vs. Flin Flon 12 p.m.
Canmore vs. Thunder Bay 4 p.m.
Greater Sudbury vs. Truro 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9
Thunder Bay vs. Niverville 12 p.m.
Flin Flon vs. Toronto 4 p.m.
Summerside vs. Rockland 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 10
Truro vs. Collège Français 4 p.m.
Summerside vs. Canmore 7:30 p.m.
Monday, May 11
Flin Flon vs. Greater Sudbury 12 p.m.
Rockland vs. Thunder Bay 4 p.m.
Toronto vs. Truro 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 12
Greater Sudbury vs. Collège Français 12 p.m.
Niverville vs. Canmore 4 p.m.
Thunder Bay vs. Summerside 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13
Collège Français vs. Toronto 12 p.m.
Rockland vs. Niverville 4 p.m.
Truro vs. Flin Flon 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 15
Quarter-final No. 1: Teams T.B.D. 4 p.m.
Quarter-final No. 2: Teams T.B.D. 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 16
Semifinal No. 1: Teams T.B.D. 4 p.m.
Semifinal No. 2: Teams T.B.D. 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 17
Final: Teams T.B.D. 7 p.m.
Image courtesy Hockey Canada