The 2000 Memorial Cup occurred May 20–28 at the

Halifax Metro Centre Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as Halifax Metro Centre) is the largest multi-purpose facility in Atlantic Canada, located in the heart of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Str ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. It was the 82nd annual

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, 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 between t ...

competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It featured the host team, the

Halifax Mooseheads The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the ...

as well as the winners of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

and the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

which were the Barrie Colts,

Rimouski Océanic The Rimouski Océanic are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season as the Sherbrooke Castors. The Castors played in Sherbrooke from 1969 to 1982 before moving t ...

and the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise w ...

respectively. The 2000 Memorial Cup was the first ever to be played in Atlantic Canada. The Rimouski Océanic won their first Memorial Cup, beating the Barrie Colts in the final. The Colts in particular made the 2000 Memorial Cup a controversial one, due to the presence of numerous players on their team who were clients of the rogue sports agent David Frost, including future murder-for-hire suspect Mike Danton.

Round-robin standings

Scores

Round Robin *May 20 Halifax 5 Barrie 2 *May 21 Rimouski 3 Kootenay 1 *May 22 Halifax 7 Kootenay 1 *May 23 Rimouski 7 Barrie 2 *May 24 Barrie 3 Kootenay 2 (2OT) *May 25 Rimouski 5 Halifax 3 Semi-final *May 27: Barrie 6 Halifax 3 Final *May 28: Rimouski 6 Barrie 2

Barrie Colts controversy

The Barrie Colts, representing the

at the tournament was known more for the erratic behaviour of the team and most notably the "Brampton Boys", a reference to the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

suburban city of

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

. The Brampton Boys were under the guidance and influence of their former coach and erstwhile sports agent David Frost. The Brampton Boys included Ryan Barnes, Shawn Cation, captain

Sheldon Keefe Sheldon Keefe (born September 17, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. His younger brother Adam Keefe is the head coach of Elite Ice H ...

and future convicted felon Mike Jefferson (aka Mike Danton). The Brampton Boys led a walkout during a customary tournament team banquet and refused to shake hands with CHL commissioner David Branch in ceremonial face-offs. Rookie Matt Passfield was fined after it was revealed he scalped his own Memorial Cup tickets. The team failed to stand at the blue line during introductions, choosing instead to skate around their own zone. Head coach Bill Stewart added more controversy by shoving the bench back during the opening game, in order to stand in front of his own players, earning a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct after screaming at an official and by ordering his team to do a skate around, while a Joe Canadian skit was taking place on the ice.Further Adventures of the Hamburg Freezers — Wild Bill Stewart
Jefferson publicly called out the two elite players of the QMJHL, stating that he wanted to slash

forward Ramzi Abid (158 points in regular season) in the face and claiming that

forward/

CHL Player of the Year The CHL Player of the Year award is given out annually to the player judged to be the most outstanding in the Canadian Hockey League. It is selected from three most valuable players of the respective leagues; the Red Tilson Trophy of Ontario Hock ...

winner Brad Richards (186 points) would be a complete unknown if he didn't play in the QMJHL and would not last five games in the OHL. The Colts reached the

championship game, where they were defeated 6-2 by the Oceanic and while Jefferson shook most of the hands of the Oceanic players, he refused to shake Richards' hand after he had been named tournament MVP. Jefferson, Keefe and head coach Stewart also notoriously walked out of the

after the final without conducting any interviews with the media. The behaviour of the Colts, most notably the Brampton Boys, drew the ire of many in hockey circles, citing their behaviour made the team appear to be boorish oafs and sore losers. The Colts recorded $10,000 worth of fines as a result of the team's conduct at the tournament.

Winning roster

Jean-Francois Babin, Jonathan Beaulieu, Thatcher Bell, Jean-Philippe Briere, Jan Philippe Cadieux, Sebastien Caron, Alexis Castonguay, Ronnie DeContie, Aaron Johnson, Juraj Kolnik, Jacques Lariviere, Brent MacLellan, Benoit Martin, Michel Ouellet, Michel Periard, Nicolas Pilote, Nicholas Poirier, Brad Richards, Joe Rullier, Eric Salvail, Shawn Scanzano, Alexandre Tremblay, Rene Vydareny. Coach: Doris Labonte

Scoring leaders

# Ramzi Abid, HAL, (6g 4a) 10p # Juraj Kolnik, RIM, (5g 5a) 10p # Brad Richards, RIM, (4g 6a) 10p # Jasmin Gelinas, HAL, (3g 5a) 8p # Michel Periard, RIM, (2g 6a) 8p # Brandon Reid, HAL, (1g 6a) 7p # Jonathan Beaulieu, RIM, (4g 2a) 6p # Benoit Dusablon, HAL, (3g 3a) 6p # Benoit Martin, RIM, (3g 2a) 5p #

, BAR, (2g 3a) 5p

Goaltending leaders

# Sebastien Caron, RIM (2.00 GAA, .952 Pct) #

Pascal Leclaire Pascal Leclaire (born November 7, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Leclaire was selected in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets and played in the Blue Jackets' o ...

, HFX (3.14 GAA, .915 Pct) #

Dan Blackburn Daniel Clark Blackburn (born May 20, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 63 regular-season games for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), going 20–32–11 with 1 shutout. Minor league ca ...

, KOO (4.09 GAA, .892 Pct) #

Brian Finley Brian Finley (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Finley was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a mino ...

, BAR (4.42 GAA, .894 Pct)

Award winners

* Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP): Brad Richards, Rimouski *

George Parsons Trophy The George Parsons Trophy is awarded annually to the player judged to be the most sportsmanlike at the Memorial Cup tournament. It was first awarded in 1974. The trophy is named for George Parsons, a former Ontario Hockey Association player who ...

(Sportsmanship): Brandon Reid, Halifax * Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Goaltender): Sebastien Caron, Rimouski * Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer): Ramzi Abid, Halifax All-star team *Goal - Sebastien Caron, Rimouski *Defence - Michel Periard, Rimouski, Eric Reitz, Barrie *Forward - Brad Richards, Rimouski, Juraj Kolnik, Rimouski, Sheldon Keefe, Barrie

References

External links

Memorial Cup

Canadian Hockey League
{{Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup 2000 Sport in Halifax, Nova Scotia Ice hockey in Nova Scotia Mem 2000 in Nova Scotia