Team Rosters Packed with NHL Draft Picks and 2011 Entry Draft Prospects

NEW YORK (May 19, 2011) – For the fourth consecutive year, NHL Network U.S. will showcase the best teams in Canadian major junior hockey as they compete for a national championship title at the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament.  NHL Network U.S will feature a combination of live and tape delayed broadcasts throughout the 10 days of competition from the tournament’s host city of Mississauga, Ontario.  

Fans will have the opportunity to see the NHL’s future stars and 2011 draft picks as they take to the ice from May 19-29 at the Canadian Hockey League’s pinnacle tournament.  Those teams challenging for the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup include Western Hockey League (WHL) champion Kootenay Ice, Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champion Owen Sound Attack and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) champion Saint John Sea Dogs, plus the host team Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (OHL).

NHL Network U.S. will air Rogers Sportsnet’s coverage of all tournament games with the broadcast team of play-by-play man Peter Loubardias, analyst Sam Cosentino and host Rob Faulds. All games will be broadcast in high definition.

Tournament coverage will begin on Saturday, May 21, at 9:00 a.m. ET with the re-broadcast of the previous night’s action between the Saint John Sea Dogs and the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.  Saint John is led by top-ranked prospects C Jonathan Huberdeau (No. 3 ranked) and D Nathan Beaulieau (No. 5 ranked), two of nine Sea Dogs on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking list.  Mississauga’s captain C Casey Cizikas, drafted 92nd by the NY Islanders in 2009, will lead the Majors to their first Memorial Cup appearance since 1961.  

In the second game of Saturday’s double-header, NHL Network U.S. will provide live coverage when the Owen Sound Attack take on the Kootenay Ice at 7:00 p.m. ET.  WHL Eastern Conference MVP and Kootenay center Cody Eakin, drafted 85th by the Washington Capitals in 2009, will lead the Ice against Owen Sound, which is coming off a big Game 7 win in the OHL championship series.  The Attack’s 17-year-old, draft-eligible goaltender Jordan Binnington only allowed four goals on 70 shots over the last two games of the series.

Additional live game coverage will be added to the NHL Network U.S. schedule as the NHL’s Conference Finals series conclude.  Fans are encouraged to check the schedule at www.nhlnetwork.com for updates.
 
All of NHL Network’s live broadcasts will feature intermissions originating from the NHL Network studio in Toronto.  NHL Network will also feature nightly Memorial Cup coverage on NHL On The Fly with tournament news and notes and game analysis.  

NHL.com also will have special coverage of the tournament in its entirety with a team of reporters and videographers on-site to cover the sights and sounds of the CHL’s best.  
       
The 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament features 25 recently drafted players from 20 NHL Clubs and 17 players eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft who have been ranked by NHL Central Scouting.

Kootenay Ice
Brayden McNabb        BUF        66th in 2009
Cody Eakin                WSH        85th in 2009
Max Reinhart             CGY        64th in 2010
Joey Leach                CGY        73rd in 2010
Drew Czerwonka       EDM        166th in 2010
John Neibrandt           2011 eligible - ranked No. 170
Jagger Dirk                2011 eligible - ranked No. 188

Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors
Casey Cizikas            NYI        92nd in 2009
Brett Flemming          WSH        145th in 2009
Maxim Kitsyn             LA        158th in 2009
Devante Smith-Pelly  ANA        42nd in 2010
Justin Shugg             CAR        105th in 2010
Rob Flick                    CHI        120th in 2010
Gregg Sutch              BUF        143rd in 2010
Stuart Percy               2011 eligible - ranked No. 53
Joseph Cramarossa    2011 eligible - ranked No. 63
Dylan DeMelo             2011 eligible - ranked No. 121

Owen Sound Attack
Jesse Blacker             TOR        58th in 2009
Garrett Wilson           FLA        107th in 2009
Michael Zador            TB        148th in 2009
Scott Stajcer              NYR        140th in 2009
Joey Hishon               COL        17th in 2010
Geoffrey Schemitsch  TB        96th in 2010
Jordan Binnington        2011 eligible - ranked No. 3 Goalie
Andrew Fritsch            2011 eligible - ranked No. 84
Keevin Cutting            2011 eligible - ranked No. 87

Saint John Sea Dogs
Jacob DeSerres                 PHI        84th in 2008        
Simon Després                  PIT        30th in 2009
Éric Gélinas                        NJ        54th in 2009
Steven Anthony                VAN        187th in 2009
Stanislav Galiev                 WSH        86th in 2010
Mathieu Corbeil-Thériault  CBJ        102nd in 2010
Stephen MacAulay             STL        164th in 2010
Jonathan Huberdeau        2011 eligible - ranked No. 3
Nathan Beaulieu              2011 eligible - ranked No. 5
Zack Phillips                    2011 eligible - ranked No. 15
Tomas Jurco                   2011 eligible - ranked No. 20
Scott Oke                       2011 eligible - ranked No. 44
Ryan Tesink                   2011 eligible - ranked No. 47
Gabriel Bourret               2011 eligible - ranked No. 92
Aidan Kelly                     2011 eligible - ranked No. 94
Jason Cameron              2011 eligible - ranked No. 124

2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup on NHL Network U.S. Schedule (all times Eastern)

Date        Game        Time (ET)
Sat., May 21        Saint John vs. Mississauga        9:00 a.m. (tape delay from 5/20)
        Owen Sound vs. Kootenay        7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Sun., May 22        Mississauga vs. Kootenay        7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Tues., May 24      Owen Sound vs. Saint John        12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/23)
Wed., May 25       Kootenay vs. Saint John        12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/24)
Thurs., May 26    Mississauga vs. Owen Sound         12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/25)
Fri., May 27        Tie-Breaker (if necessary)        12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/26)
Sat., May 28       Semi-Final        1:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/27)
Sun., May 29     Championship Game        7:00 p.m. (LIVE)

** for a complete Memorial Cup schedule, visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com
 

About the Canadian Hockey League:
The Canadian Hockey League is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and five American states. The CHL is made up of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League. Last season, more than nine million fans attended CHL games in the regular season, playoffs and at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League than any other league and CHL players graduate from high school at a rate higher than the Canadian national average with 692 graduates attending North American post-secondary institutions on scholarships from CHL teams.  The Memorial Cup was donated in 1919 by the Ontario Hockey Association as a memorial to those young men and women who had given their lives in the defence of Canada during World War I.  The 2011 edition of the tournament in Mississauga will mark the 93rd time this prestigious trophy will be presented.  For more information, visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com.

About NHL Network:
As the definitive hockey destination, NHL Network offers viewers a 24-hour all-access pass to complete hockey coverage both on and off the ice, including live NHL games.  The network’s daily signature show - NHL On The Fly - offers fans exclusive live look-ins to NHL games, including goals, shootouts, features, interviews, pre- and post-game reports and expert analysis from a variety of hockey insiders and former players, plus special coverage from NHL events.  Additional programming includes simulcast of Sirius XM Radio’s “NHL Live” which broadcasts Mon-Fri from NHL Powered By Reebok, international and amateur hockey, player profiles, interview shows and youth-oriented programs.  NHL Network is available in the U.S. and Canada by contacting digital cable or satellite providers.  For more information on NHL Network, log on to nhlnetwork.com.