Kelowna has most active NHL alumni of 2026 Memorial Cup contenders

The Memorial Cup tournament is not only a test to crown the best junior hockey team in the country, but it’s also a staging ground for upcoming stars heading to the NHL.

While the Kelowna Rockets haven’t been in the tournament for more than a decade, the team is no stranger to graduating its alumni into the professional league.

More former Rockets are currently in the NHL than any other team in the tournament, accounting for 18 former players with current contracts in the league.

Some of those players have gone on to lead impressive professional careers, like Leon Draisatl, Shea Weber and Jamie Benn.

At the outset of the Memorial Cup tournament, they faced the Kitchener Rangers which is one of the country’s top NHL player-producing teams.

There are 13 Rangers alumni currently in the NHL, but the team has churned out 182 players over the decades since its founding, more than any other CHL team.

That’s far more than Kelowna’s 58 total NHL players, but the Okanagan squad has only been in the WHL since 1996, while the Rangers were formed three decades earlier.

Kelowna’s current roster boasts eight NHL prospects, including first-round pick Tij Iginla, Carson Wetsch and Vojtech Chihar. Kitchener, meanwhile, has even more with 12 prospects on their roster.

The newest team in the tournament is the Everett Silvertips, who took the WHL title this year and beat the Rockets out of the playoffs in the second round. They were formed in 2003 and have seen 25 players head to the NHL, with 12 holding active contracts.

The Chicoutimi Saguenéens, a QMJHL team founded in 1973, has nine players currently in the NHL and 69 all-time in the league.

It’s Kelowna’s sixth time in the tournament and second time hosting.

Though it’ll be tough competition, the Rockets won one of the 12 times a host team has hoisted the Memorial Cup since 1983.

Their 2004 victory came after a loss in the WHL Western Conference final.

The four-team tournament will continue until May 31, where 32 players already picked in NHL drafts will hit the ice. Another eight players are ranked as notable prospects eligible for the 2026 draft, according to the NHL.