Royal Bank Cup

Royal Bank Cup

Current season, competition or edition: 2015 Royal Bank Cup
Sport	Ice hockey
Inaugural season	1996 (1971 Prior to RBC sponsorship)
Most recent champion(s)	Portage Terriers (2nd)
Most titles	Vernon Vipers (6)
TV partner(s)	TSN FASTHockey
Sponsor(s)	Hockey Canada Canadian Junior Hockey League
Related competitions	CJHL Prospects Game World Junior A Challenge Western Canada Cup Dudley Hewitt Cup Fred Page Cup
Official website	Royal Bank Cup Website

The Royal Bank Cup is an annual ice hockey competition that determines the Canadian Junior A champion. It is played under the supervision of Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Royal Bank of Canada is the title sponsor of both the tournament and the Royal Bank Cup championship trophy.

The forerunner to the Royal Bank Cup was the Manitoba Centennial Cup, which ran for 25 years from 1971 to 1995 inclusive.

Format

The current tournament structure is a five-team round-robin with a playdown. The participating teams are the three regional champions, the Western runner-up, and the host team.

Fred Page Cup: Eastern Champion

Dudley Hewitt Cup: Central Champion

Western Canada Cup: Western Champion and Runner-Up

Host Team: Predetermined by Canadian Junior Hockey League

Prior to the creation of the Western Canada Cup, the Doyle and Anavet Cup Champions played off for the Western Canadian Championship, the Abbott Cup, to advance to the Royal Bank Cup. The Doyle, Anavet, and Abbott Cups have since been retired in favour of the Western Canada Cup tournament.

Royal Bank Cup history

Aurora Tigers' Vincent Bruni with Royal Bank Cup (2007)

In May 1996, the inaugural Royal Bank Cup was held in Melfort, Saskatchewan, continuing the fine tradition of a National Junior ‘A’ championship. Each league across Canada sends their championship club to a regional qualifier, playing for the right to represent the region at the Royal Bank Cup tournament. The first ever winner of the Royal Bank Cup was the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Since the first Royal Bank Cup tournament, every tournament has been played as a round robin tournament with a host city/team and four regional champions competing. By 2013, 18 Royal Bank Cups had been awarded. The winner of the Doyle Cup as Pacific Region champions has won a leading ten times. The winner of the Anavet Cup as Western Region champions and the winner of the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Region champions have both won twice. The winner of the Fred Page Cup as Eastern Region champions has also won twice. Although four host teams have won the Royal Bank Cup, two of which won their region to compete in the event they were hosting (Fort McMurray Oil Barons in 2000, Halifax Oland Exports in 2002) while two played strictly as hosts and not regional champions (Summerside Western Capitals in 1997, Weyburn Red Wings in 2005). In 2014, the Anavet Cup and Doyle Cup were retired in favour of the Western Canada Cup. The Western Canada Cup tournament included the champions of the four western leagues and a predetermined host city. The top two teams from event gain birth into the Royal Bank Cup. When the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League won the 2014 Royal Bank Cup, they gained entry into the tournament as the Western Canada Cup runner-up making them the first team in Centennial Cup/Royal Bank Cup history to win the national championship with out being the host or a regional champion.

Overtime is a common theme as the Royal Bank Cup, the longest game in RBC Cup history started on May 12, 2007 at Royal Bank Cup 2007 between the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the host Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Spruce Kings won the game 3–2 6:01 into the fifth overtime period.^[1] The game lasted 146:01, just short of the CJAHL record set by the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the Pickering Panthers in the 2007 Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoffs (154:32).^[2]

The Pembroke Lumber Kings won the 2011 Royal Bank Cup, and became the first Central Canada Hockey League team to win the National Junior A Championship since the 1976 Champion Rockland Nationals. From 1995 until 2011, no CCHL team made the Centennial Cup/Royal Bank Cup finals and saw a CCHL team lose the RBC semi-finals 6 times between 1997 and 2010.

In 2015, the Portage Terriers broke a 41-year-old drought that saw no MJHL team win the National Junior A Championship since the 1974 Selkirk Steelers. The Terriers also became the first team to win the Royal Bank Cup as the host team since the 2004-05 Weyburn Red Wings. Also in 2015, the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL became the first team in National Junior A history to lose back-to-back national titles.

To date, no teams from the Quebec Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, or the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League have won the Royal Bank Cup.

2015 Royal Bank Cup at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

For details, please see: 2015 Royal Bank Cup.

Royal Bank Cup winners

Royal Bank Cup Round Robins Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location 1996 Vernon Vipers Melfort Mustangs 2–0 Melfort, Saskatchewan 1997 Summerside Western Capitals South Surrey Eagles 4–3 Summerside, Prince Edward Island 1998 South Surrey Eagles Weyburn Red Wings 4–1 Nanaimo, British Columbia 1999 Vernon Vipers Charlottetown Abbies 9–3 Yorkton, Saskatchewan 2000 Fort McMurray Oil Barons Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats 2–1 Fort McMurray, Alberta 2001 Camrose Kodiaks Flin Flon Bombers 5–0 Flin Flon, Manitoba 2002 Halifax Oland Exports OCN Blizzard 3–1 Halifax, Nova Scotia 2003 Humboldt Broncos Camrose Kodiaks 3–1 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 2004 Aurora Tigers Kindersley Klippers 7–1 Grande Prairie, Alberta 2005 Weyburn Red Wings Camrose Kodiaks 3–2 Weyburn, Saskatchewan 2006 Burnaby Express Yorkton Terriers 8–2 Brampton, Ontario 2007 Aurora Tigers Prince George Spruce Kings 3–1 Prince George, British Columbia 2008 Humboldt Broncos Camrose Kodiaks 1–0 Cornwall, Ontario 2009 Vernon Vipers Humboldt Broncos 2–0 Victoria, British Columbia 2010 Vernon Vipers Dauphin Kings 8–1 Dauphin, Manitoba 2011 Pembroke Lumber Kings Vernon Vipers 2–0 Camrose, Alberta 2012 Penticton Vees Woodstock Slammers 4–3 Humboldt, Saskatchewan 2013 Brooks Bandits Summerside Western Capitals 3–1 Summerside, Prince Edward Island 2014 Yorkton Terriers Carleton Place Canadians 4–3 (OT) Vernon, British Columbia 2015 Portage Terriers Carleton Place Canadians 5–2 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba 2016 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan 2017 Cobourg, Ontario

Manitoba Centennial Trophy history

The Manitoba Centennial Trophy was presented to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) by the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association to commemorate their centennial year of 1970. It was in that year that the CAHA reconfigured their junior tier, creating two separate classifications - Major Junior and Junior "A." The Major Junior class encompassed the teams that made up the "Canadian Major Junior Hockey League" while the Junior "A" section included the remaining junior teams within the association. With the Memorial Cup established as a trophy exclusively for teams in the "Canadian Major Junior Hockey League", the Manitoba Centennial Trophy served as the trophy for the champions of this new Junior "A" division.

The Red Deer Rustlers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League defeated the Charlottetown Islanders of the Island Junior Hockey League in 1971 to claim the inaugural Canadian Junior A Championship and Manitoba Centennial Trophy, often referred to as the "Centennial Cup". The final Centennial Cup was awarded to the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 1995.

The 1972 Centennial Cup was the focus of national attention. The Guelph CMC's of the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League were in the final game of a four game sweep in the National Final against the Red Deer Rustlers when their leading scorer Paul Fendley lost his helmet during a body check and struck his head on the ice, knocking him into a coma. The National Hockey League prospect never woke up as he died a couple days later from head trauma.^[3]

The 1990 Centennial Cup marked the only year that the national championship was decided between two teams from the same province or league. The host Vernon Lakers defeated the New Westminster Royals 6–5 in overtime to win the national championship. Both teams were members of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.

Manitoba Centennial Trophy winners

Centennial Cup Final/Round Robin Year Eastern Finalist Western Finalist Series Primary Location 1971 Charlottetown Islanders Red Deer Rustlers 2–4 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 1972 Guelph CMC's Red Deer Rustlers 4–0 Guelph, Ontario 1973 Pembroke Lumber Kings Portage Terriers 1–4 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba 1974 Smiths Falls Bears Selkirk Steelers 3–4 Nepean, Ontario 1975 Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters Spruce Grove Mets 2–4 Edmonton, Alberta 1976 Rockland Nationals Spruce Grove Mets 4–1 Rockland, Ontario 1977 Pembroke Lumber Kings Prince Albert Raiders 0–4 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 1978 Guelph Platers Prince Albert Raiders 4–0 Guelph, Ontario Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location 1979 Prince Albert Raiders Sherwood-Parkdale Metros 5–4 (OT) Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 1980 Red Deer Rustlers North York Rangers 3–2 North York, Ontario 1981 Prince Albert Raiders Belleville Bulls 6–2 Halifax, Nova Scotia Year Eastern Finalist Western Finalist Series Primary Location 1982 Guelph Platers Prince Albert Raiders 0–4 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 1983 North York Rangers Abbotsford Flyers 4–0 North York, Ontario 1984 Orillia Travelways Weyburn Red Wings 3–4 Weyburn, Saskatchewan Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location 1985 Orillia Travelways Penticton Knights 4–2 Orillia, Ontario 1986 Penticton Knights Cole Harbour Colts 7–4 Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia 1987 Richmond Sockeyes Humboldt Broncos 5–2 Humboldt, Saskatchewan 1988 Notre Dame Hounds Halifax Lions 3–2 Pembroke, Ontario 1989 Thunder Bay Flyers Summerside Western Capitals 4–1 Summerside, Prince Edward Island 1990 Vernon Lakers New Westminster Royals 6–5 (OT) Vernon, British Columbia 1991 Vernon Lakers Sudbury Cubs 8–4 Sudbury, Ontario 1992 Thunder Bay Flyers Winkler Flyers 10–1 Winnipeg, Manitoba 1993 Kelowna Spartans Chateauguay Elites 7–2 Amherst, Nova Scotia 1994 Olds Grizzlys Kelowna Spartans 5–4 (OT) Olds, Alberta 1995 Calgary Canucks Gloucester Rangers 5–4 (OT) Gloucester, Ontario

Most championships by branch

Centennial/Royal Bank Cups by Province Rank Region/Branch Championships Hosts 1 British Columbia 12 5 2 Saskatchewan 10 9 3 Alberta 8 5 4 Ontario Hockey Association 6 6 5 Manitoba 3 5 6 Hockey Eastern Ontario 2 5 - Hockey Northwestern Ontario 2 0 8 Prince Edward Island 1 5 - Nova Scotia 1 4 10 Northern Ontario Hockey Association 0 1 - New Brunswick 0 0 - Newfoundland and Labrador 0 0 - Quebec 0 0

Italicized "Regions" represent the four distinct regions of Ontario Junior hockey that traditionally participate in Junior "A". Hockey Northwestern Ontario includes the former Thunder Bay Amateur Hockey Association.

Roland Mercier Trophy

The Roland Mercier Trophy is awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the Royal Bank Cup Championship.

• 1971–1974 Unknown
• 1975 Ron Lecuyer – Spruce Grove Mets (AJHL)
• 1976 Gerry Leroux – Rockland Nationals (CJHL)
• 1977 Barry Archibald – Prince Albert Raiders (SJHL)
• 1978 Terry Cullen – Guelph Platers (OPJHL)
• 1979 Dunston Carroll – Sherwood-Parkdale Metros (IJHL)
• 1980 Brent Sutter – Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL)
• 1981 James Patrick – Prince Albert Raiders (SJHL)
• 1982 Carl Van Camp – Prince Albert Raiders (SJHL)
• 1983 Dennis McCarroll – North York Rangers (OJHL)
• 1984 Ron Amyotte – Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
• 1985 Adam Lewis – Orillia Travelways (OJHL)
• 1986 Kevan Melrose – Penticton Knights (BCJHL)
• 1987 Frank Romeo – Richmond Sockeyes (BCJHL)
• 1988 Rod Brind'Amour – Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)
• 1989 Todd Henderson – Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL)
• 1990 Marc Alain Duchaine – Longueuil Collège Français (QPJHL)
• 1991 Andrew Backen – Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL)
• 1992 Scott Longstaff – Vernon Lakers (BCHL)
• 1993 Steffon Walby – Kelowna Packers (BCHL)
• 1994 Tyler Graham – Olds Grizzlys (AJHL)
• 1995 Mitch Grant – Winnipeg South Blues (MJHL)
• 1996 Serge Bourgeois – Moncton Beavers (MJAHL)
• 1997 Matt Hartigan – Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
• 1998 Peter Wishloff – South Surrey Eagles (BCHL)
• 1999 Dennis Bassett – Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)
• 2000 Serge Dube – Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL)
• 2001 Darrell Stoddard – Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
• 2002 Jeff Tambellini – Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
• 2003 Craig Olynick – Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)
• 2004 Kevin Dziaduck – Kindersley Klippers (SJHL)
• 2005 Travis Friedley – Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
• 2006 David Wilson – Streetsville Derbys (OPJHL)
• 2007 Daniel Michalsky – Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)
• 2008 Darcy Findlay – Cornwall Colts (CJHL)
• 2009 Kyle Bigos – Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
• 2010 Shane Luke – Dauphin Kings (MJHL)
• 2011 Dalyn Flette – Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
• 2012 John Kleinhans – Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL)
• 2013 Cam Maclise – Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
• 2014 Mike Stiliadis - Dauphin Kings (MJHL)
• 2015 Brad Bowles - Portage Terriers (MJHL)

Game scoring records

Records included in this section took place in either Royal Bank Cup and Manitoba Centennial Cup tournament games and Manitoba Centennial Cup National Final Series games only.

• Most Goals by Both Teams:

• Notre Dame Hounds 9 – Thunder Bay Flyers 7 (1988 Centennial Cup) (16)
• Vernon Lakers 11 – Nipawin Hawks 5 (1990 Centennial Cup) (16)
• Halifax Oland Exports 9 – Ottawa Jr. Senators 7 (2002 Royal Bank Cup) (16)

• Least Goals by Both Teams:

• Selkirk Steelers 1 – Smiths Falls Bears 0 OT (1974 Centennial Cup) (1)
• Wellington Dukes 1 – Charlottetown Abbies 0 OT (2003 Royal Bank Cup) (1)
• Humboldt Broncos 1 – Camrose Kodiaks 0 (2008 Royal Bank Cup) (1)

• Most Goals by Single Team:

• Orillia Travelways 11 – Aurora Tigers 3 (1985 Centennial Cup) (11)
• Vernon Lakers 11 – Nipawin Hawks 5 (1990 Centennial Cup) (11)
• Olds Grizzlys 11 – Chateauguay Elites 3 (1994 Centennial Cup) (11)
• Melfort Mustangs 11 – Vernon Vipers 3 (1996 Royal Bank Cup) (11)
• Brockville Braves 11 – Oakville Blades 2 (2010 Royal Bank Cup) (11)

• Largest Spread in a Game:

• New Westminster Royals 9 – Amherst Ramblers 0 (1990 Centennial Cup) (9)
• Thunder Bay Flyers 10 – Winkler Flyers 1 (1992 Centennial Cup) (9)
• Olds Grizzlys 10 – Antigonish Bulldogs 1 (1994 Centennial Cup) (9)
• Brockville Braves 11 – Oakville Blades 2 (2010 Royal Bank Cup) (9)

• Biggest Shutout Victory:

• New Westminster Royals 9 – Amherst Ramblers 0 (1990 Centennial Cup)

• Longest Overtime Game:

• Prince George Spruce Kings 3 – Camrose Kodiaks 2 5OT (146:01 Mins total) (2007 Royal Bank Cup)

References

1. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/11728/la_id/1/ss_id/18621/game_id/1106.html
2. http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=451105
3. http://members.shaw.ca/vernonfranchise/league/cups/national_champions_history.html