The Canadian Hockey League awards sixteen annual trophies for accomplishments during the regular and at the Memorial Cup to top individuals and teams among its three member leagues. The Memorial Cup is the top award for the championship team at the end-of-season Memorial Cup tournament. A set of five individual awards are given for performance at the tournament. In the regular season, Canadian Hockey League also presents ten annual awards. The nominees for each individual award are determined by the winner of the corresponding award handed out by each of the Canadian Hockey League's three member leagues, the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and the Western Hockey League.
Each award, and its OHL, QMJHL and WHL equivalent, are listed here.
List of individual awards presented by the Canadian Hockey league. [1]
CHL Player of the Year | ||
Awarded to the individual judged to be the most outstanding player in the CHL | ||
OHL: Red Tilson Trophy | QMJHL: Michel Brière Memorial Trophy | WHL: Four Broncos Memorial Trophy |
CHL Rookie of the Year | ||
Awarded to the top rookie in the CHL | ||
OHL: Emms Family Award | QMJHL: RDS Cup | WHL: Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy |
CHL Goaltender of the Year | ||
Awarded to the top goaltender in the CHL | ||
OHL: OHL Goaltender of the Year | QMJHL: Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy | WHL: Del Wilson Trophy |
CHL Defenceman of the Year | ||
Awarded to the top defenceman in the CHL | ||
OHL: Max Kaminsky Trophy | QMJHL: Emile Bouchard Trophy | WHL: Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy |
CHL Top Scorer Award | ||
First awarded in 1994, the Top Scorer award is given to the player with the most points in the CHL | ||
OHL: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy | QMJHL: Jean Béliveau Trophy | WHL: Bob Clarke Trophy |
Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award | ||
Awarded to the CHL's Coach of the Year | ||
OHL: Matt Leyden Trophy | QMJHL: Ron Lapointe Trophy | WHL: Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy |
CHL Scholastic Player of the Year | ||
Awarded to the player best able to combine on-ice performance with scholastic success | ||
OHL: Bobby Smith Trophy | QMJHL: Marcel Robert Trophy | WHL: Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy |
CHL Humanitarian of the Year | ||
Awarded to the player judged to have made the most notable contributions to his community | ||
OHL: Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy | QMJHL: QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year | WHL: Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy |
CHL Sportsman of the Year | ||
Awarded to the player judged to have been the most sportsmanlike player in the CHL | ||
OHL: William Hanley Trophy | QMJHL: David Desharnais Trophy [2] | WHL: Brad Hornung Trophy |
CHL Top Draft Prospect Award | ||
Awarded to the top eligible Canadian Hockey League prospect for the NHL Entry Draft | ||
OHL: no equivalent award | QMJHL: Michael Bossy Trophy | WHL: no equivalent award |
CHL Executive of the Year | ||
Awarded to the outstanding executive in the CHL (last awarded in 2002) | ||
OHL: OHL Executive of the Year | QMJHL: John Horman Trophy | WHL: Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy |
List of awards presented at the Memorial Cup. [3]
Memorial Cup | Awarded to the Canadian Hockey League champion |
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy | Awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the Memorial Cup |
Ed Chynoweth Trophy | Awarded to the top scorer of the Memorial Cup |
Hap Emms Memorial Trophy | Awarded to the outstanding goaltender of the Memorial Cup |
George Parsons Trophy | Awarded to the most sportsmanlike player of the Memorial Cup |
Memorial Cup All-Star Team | Awarded to the best player at each position of the Memorial Cup |
The CHL's three member leagues also hand out several awards that do not have a CHL equivalent. [4] [5] [6]
J. Ross Robertson Cup | Ontario Hockey League champion |
Bobby Orr Trophy | Eastern Conference playoff champion |
Wayne Gretzky Trophy | Western Conference playoff champion |
Hamilton Spectator Trophy | Regular season champion |
Leyden Trophy | East Division champion |
Emms Trophy | Central Division champion |
Holody Trophy | Midwest Division champion |
Bumbacco Trophy | West Division champion |
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award | Playoff MVP |
Dave Pinkney Trophy | Lowest team goals against average |
Bill Long Award | Lifetime distinguished service |
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy | Top scoring right-winger |
Jack Ferguson Award | First overall priority draft selection |
F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy | Lowest rookie goals against average |
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy | Overage player of the year |
Roger Neilson Memorial Award | Top academic college/university player |
Ivan Tennant Memorial Award | Top academic high school player |
Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy | OHL team captain award |
Tim Adams Memorial Trophy | OHL Cup MVP |
Gilles-Courteau Trophy | Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion |
Jean Rougeau Trophy | Regular season champion |
Luc Robitaille Trophy | Top scoring team |
Robert Lebel Trophy | Lowest team goals against average |
Guy Lafleur Trophy | Playoff most valuable player |
Telus Cup – Offensive | Best offensive player |
Telus Cup – Defensive | Best defensive player |
Guy Carbonneau Trophy | Best defensive forward |
Kevin Lowe Trophy | Best defensive defenceman |
Michel Bergeron Trophy | Offensive rookie of the year |
Raymond Lagacé Trophy | Defensive rookie of the year |
Mario Lemieux Trophy | Top goal scorer |
Paul Dumont Trophy | Personality of the year |
Maurice Filion Trophy | General Manager of the year |
Jean Sawyer Trophy | Top marketing director |
AutoPro Plaque | Top plus-minus (retired) |
Philips Plaque | Best faceoff percentage (retired) |
Ed Chynoweth Cup | Western Hockey League champion |
WHL Playoff MVP | Playoff MVP |
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy | Regular season champion |
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy | Top on-ice official |
St. Clair Group Trophy | Marketing/Public Relations award |
WHL Plus-Minus Award | Top plus-minus |
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). For the 2023–24 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.
The Memorial Cup is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played among the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL), and a host team, which alternates on an annual basis between the three member leagues. The Memorial Cup trophy was established by Captain James T. Sutherland to honour those who died in service during World War I. It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.
The Acadie–Bathurst Titan are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Bathurst, New Brunswick. They are members of the Maritimes Division, and play their home games at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre. The Titan won the 2018 Memorial Cup and have two President's Cup championships in franchise history: 1999 and 2018.
The Moncton Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Moncton, New Brunswick. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, and were known as the Moncton Alpines for one season prior to rebranding as the Wildcats. The team played at the Moncton Coliseum from 1995 until 2018, and moved into the Avenir Centre prior to the 2018–19 season. After winning the 2005–06 QMJHL championship, the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup and reached the final game. The Wildcats also won the league championship in 2009–10, which sent the team to compete at the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba where they were eliminated from contention after going winless in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the Cornwall Royals. Taylor Hall won the award in 2009 and 2010 with the Windsor Spitfires making him the first repeat winner in the trophy's history. Through the 2024 season, it has been won 22 times by players on a team representing the Western Hockey League (WHL), 15 by those from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and 14 by players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
The 2005 Memorial Cup was held May 21–29, 2005 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. It was the 87th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Cup tournament featured the champions from the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Kelowna Rockets; the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Rimouski Océanic; the Ottawa 67's representing the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); and the host team. Since the host team, the London Knights, won the Ontario Hockey League championship against the Ottawa 67's, the 67's earned the right to represent the OHL as the League runner-up.
The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and is the third of three similarly named trophies he established. His other eponymous trophies for the OHA include, the J. Ross Robertson Cup awarded to the annual champions of Allan Cup Hockey, and the J. Ross Robertson Cup which was awarded to the annual champions of the discontinued intermediate division.
The Saint John Sea Dogs are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Saint John, New Brunswick. Founded as an expansion team in 2005, the Sea Dogs play their home games at TD Station and became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup championship in 2011. The Sea Dogs won the 2022 Memorial Cup as the host team, and have three President's Cup championships in franchise history: 2011, 2012, and 2017.
The Ed Chynoweth Trophy is awarded to the leading scorer at the Memorial Cup tournament. It was first awarded in 1996. In the case of a tie in points, the award is given to the player with the fewest games played. Should players tied in points have played the same number of games, the award goes to the player with the most goals scored.
The 2006 Memorial Cup was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, from May 19–28. It was the 88th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The host team Moncton Wildcats were the only team guaranteed a spot in the tournament. The other teams were the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Peterborough Petes; the Western Hockey League (WHL) champions, the Vancouver Giants; and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Quebec Remparts, who were runners-up in the QMJHL final to the champion Wildcats. The Remparts won the Memorial Cup, defeating the Wildcats 6–2 in the first all-QMJHL final in tournament history. It also marked the first, and currently only time in Memorial Cup history that the winning team was neither the host nor a league champion.
The Gilles-Courteau Trophy is awarded annually by the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League to the league's playoffs champion. On February 21, 2023, the President's Cup was renamed in honor of Gilles Courteau who announced his retirement as commissioner on December 16, 2022.
The David Branch Player of the Year award is given out annually to the player judged to be the most outstanding in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It is selected from three most valuable players of the respective leagues; the Red Tilson Trophy of Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The trophy was known as the CHL Player of the Year award until the 2019–20 season, when it was renamed for David Branch who served as president of the CHL from 1996 to 2019.
The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honour Ed Chynoweth's long service to junior ice hockey in Canada. The WHL champion earns a berth into the Memorial Cup tournament, Canada's major junior hockey championship. The Kamloops Blazers have won the most WHL championships with six, followed by the Medicine Hat Tigers with five. The Spokane Chiefs were the first team to win the renamed trophy in the 2007–08 WHL season. The current (2023–24) holders of the Ed Chynoweth Cup are the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award is given out annually to the coach of the year in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Originally called the CHL Coach of the Year Award, the trophy was renamed in 2003 to honour Brian Kilrea when he won his 1,000th game as the coach of the Ottawa 67's. Kilrea has won more games than any other coach in Canadian junior hockey history, two Memorial Cup championships and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. He was named the OHL's top coach five times in his 32-year coaching career, and won the CHL Coach of the Year Award once, in 1996–97.
The 2008–09 WHL season was the 43rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 18, 2008, and ended on March 15, 2009. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge series, featuring Team WHL versus the Russian Selects, took place mid-season from November 26 to 27, 2008. The Calgary Hitmen won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy with the best regular season record. The playoffs commenced on March 20, and concluded on May 9. The Kelowna Rockets won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions, defeating the Hitmen in the championship series and earning a berth at the 2009 Memorial Cup tournament.
The 2008–09 QMJHL season was the 40th season of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The regular season began on September 11, 2008, and ended on March 15, 2009. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge series, featuring Team QMJHL versus the Russian Selects, took place on November 17 and 19, 2008. Eighteen teams played 68 games each. The Drummondville Voltigeurs, who finished first overall in the regular season, went on to capture their first President's Cup vs. the Shawinigan Cataractes in a series they won 4–3.
The 2011 Memorial Cup was a four-team round-robin format ice hockey tournament played from May 20–29, 2011 in Mississauga, Ontario. It was the 93rd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) announced on May 10, 2010 that the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors were chosen to host the event at the Hershey Centre. Other tournament participants included the Owen Sound Attack from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Saint John Sea Dogs from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Kootenay Ice from the Western Hockey League (WHL).
The 2018 Memorial Cup was a four-team, round-robin format tournament that was held at Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 18–27, 2018. It was the 100th Memorial Cup championship of junior ice hockey, and determined the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The CHL chose to allow all three of its constituent leagues to bid for hosting the 100th Memorial Cup, instead of the usual rotation between its leagues. The Regina Pats won the right to host the tournament, over bids from the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Oshawa Generals.
The 2019 Memorial Cup was a four-team, round-robin format tournament held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 17–26, 2019. It was the 101st Memorial Cup championship which determine the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament was hosted by the Halifax Mooseheads, who won the right to host the tournament over the Moncton Wildcats. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defeated the Halifax Mooseheads to win their first Memorial Cup. Mario Pouliot became the first coach to win consecutive Memorial Cups while leading different teams.