It’s every junior hockey fan’s favourite time of year: the Memorial Cup.
The annual event is taking place in Saginaw, Michigan for 2024, and the tournament is now in full swing.
For three of Oakville's best junior players, they have a chance this week to featured in the tournament - and after only two games, all three have begun to make a name for themselves.
Josh Bloom (Saginaw Spirit)
After not getting off to the best start in his professional career at the start of this season, Bloom returned to the Saginaw Spirit for this very reason, to win the coveted trophy.
Bloom and his Saginaw Spirit have started on the right track by winning their first two games against the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Bloom showed up huge for the Spirit in their game against Moose Jaw as he scored what ended up being the game-winning goal.
Bloom was also a big contributor in Game 2 against Drummondville as he got a secondary assist on the game-winning goal.
However, the hero in game 2 for Saginaw was another Oakville product in Michael Misa
Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit)
After an uninspiring first game of the tournament, Game 2 was the Michael Misa show.
While the team was down 2-1, Misa found an open Hunter Haight to tie the game 2-2.
Then in the third period with Saginaw down 3-2, Misa passed the puck to defenceman Zayne Parekh and he fired the puck on the net and the rebound came straight to Nic Sima for the tying goal.
Misa capped off the night with another assist to Hunter Haight on the eventual game-winning goal to seal a win for the Spirit.
Many noticed Misa’s great performance, including the TSN panel as he was named the player of the game by the network.
Misa appreciated the accolades that he received post-game but was more relieved that his team won the game and they now look forward to the rest of the tournament.
Isaiah George (London Knights)
George’s London Knights began their first two games undefeated as well with wins against Drummondville in game 1 and Moose Jaw in game 2.
George was clutch on the back end for London as their stay-at-home defenceman.
He was a master at clearing the puck from the defensive zone and transitioning the play into the offensive zone.
He along with his defensive partners were consistent in clogging up the neutral zone and making sure the opposing team could not get their offence started.
He may not have shown up on the score sheet a lot, but his impact on the team was felt in many other ways.
All three players will appear in the final game of the round-robin when London plays Saginaw on Wednesday night at 7:30 ET.
This game may be a preview of the Memorial Cup Finals.