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 downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Street, at the c ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. It was the 82nd annual

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) 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 me ...

(CHL). It featured the host team, the

Halifax Mooseheads The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL for the 1994–95 ...

as well as the winners of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

and the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

which were the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

Rimouski Océanic The Rimouski Océanic are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes 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 ...

and the

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

respectively. The 2000 Memorial Cup was the first ever to be played in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

. 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 Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

, 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

, 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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

suburban city of

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. The Brampton Boys were under the guidance and influence of their former coach and erstwhile sports agent

. 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 who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the T ...

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. Jefferson publicly called out the two elite players of the QMJHL, stating that he wanted to slash

forward

Ramzi Abid Ramzi Abid (born March 24, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Tunisian descent, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and the Nashville Predator ...

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

forward/ CHL Player of the Year winner

Brad Richards Bradley Ray Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Li ...

(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,

Joe Rullier Joe Rullier (born January 28, 1980) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Laval Braves of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). Rullier was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth ro ...

, Eric Salvail, Shawn Scanzano, Alexandre Tremblay, Rene Vydareny. Coach: Doris Labonte

Scoring leaders

, HAL, (6g 4a) 10p # Juraj Kolnik, RIM, (5g 5a) 10p #

, RIM, (4g 6a) 10p # Jasmin Gelinas, HAL, (3g 5a) 8p # Michel Periard, RIM, (2g 6a) 8p #

Brandon Reid Brandon Reid (born March 9, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, who spent parts of three seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks. Until December 12, 2019, Reid served as the head coach of the Kr ...

, 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, HFX (3.14 GAA, .915 Pct) # Dan Blackburn, KOO (4.09 GAA, .892 Pct) # Brian Finley, BAR (4.42 GAA, .894 Pct)

Award winners

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy 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. ...

(MVP):

, Rimouski * George Parsons Trophy (Sportsmanship):

, Halifax *

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy The Hap Emms Memorial Trophy is awarded to the outstanding goaltender at the Memorial Cup of the Canadian Hockey League. The award is named after Leighton "Hap" Emms, a former NHL player, who had a 33 year presence in the Ontario Hockey Associ ...

(Goaltender): Sebastien Caron, Rimouski * Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer):

, 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 tournaments Ice hockey competitions in Halifax, Nova Scotia Mem 2000 in Nova Scotia May 2000 sports events in North America