Canucks prospect Connor Lockhart will play in the Memorial Cup after winning the OHL Championship

Connor Lockhart was prepared to come to Vancouver for Canucks development camp in five weeks, but it looks like he will have an early trip to British Columbia as his Peterborough Petes won the OHL championship and will represent the OHL at the Memorial Cup in Kamloops.

The Memorial Cup begins on May 26th and Lockhart will be the only Canucks’ prospect who is playing in the tournament.

We will see the WHL with two representatives as the Kamloops Blazers are the host and the Seattle Thunderbirds won the WHL championship.

The Thunderbirds are a powerhouse team from the west. They have nine drafted players with a few more expected to go in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Some of their top scorers include Jared Davidson (MON), Lucas Ciona (CAL), Kevin Korchnski (CHI), Reid Schaefer (NASH), Brad Lambert (WIN), Dylan Guenther (ARI), Luke Prokop (NASH), and Jeremy Hanzel (Undrafted).

It was a hell of a playoff run for the Thunderbirds, as they only lost three games en route to four series wins. They will be a force at the tournament.

The Blazers are led by Logan Stankoven (DAL) and feature nine draft picks of their own.

As for the QMJHL, the Quebec Remparts and their head coach Patrick Roy will come in after a back-and-forth final series to decide the QMJHL’s champion.

The Remparts have seven draft picks, including Justin Robidas (CAR), Zachary Bolduc (STL), Evan Nurse (FLA), and Nathan Gaucher (ANA).

Lockhart’s Petes had a wild road to get to the Memorial Cup. They played in two six-game series’ and one seven-game battle against fellow Canucks prospect Josh Bloom and his North Bay Battalion.

The Petes are led by nine draft picks, including Brennan Othmann (NYR), Tucker Robertson (SEA), Owen Beck (MTL), Chase Stillman (NJD), and Lockhart (VAN).

Lockhart was fifth in scoring on the Petes’ playoff run, he had seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 23 games — including a hat trick on April 24th.