Fair enough... I just don't think unfortunately it's likely that any of the small prairie WHL cities will get a chance to host. It's not really fair but the strength of the team is just one factor, the size of the city, hotel space, climate and attractiveness, transportation links, etc are all massive. I could be wrong but I really only remember one smaller city hosting the memorial cup in the WHL in like 40 or 50 years being Brandon. Its the same for Kelowna, if Portland, Vancouver, Edmonton etc make a strong pitch it won't be here either.
I don't think Bruce Hamilton pulled any dirty tricks to get it, I just think he convinced the league he could be competitive, the city is appealing from a travel perspective and they had lost their 2nd chance to host during covid.
But I do agree that the team looks terrible, am not a big homer Rockets fan, I just take my kids who love going but they are really not looking great. That said they've built what should be a good roster on paper so I feel like he held up that part of the bargain, but it is just not working out.
Pekar leaving isn't a huge surprise he has 8pts in 32 games and has been squeezed out by the new additions. Too bad for them it was after the deadline as I bet they could have gotten another high pick to come over given they are hosting.
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