Regina Pats make formal bid to host 2018 Memorial Cup

By all accounts, the Regina Pats' bid to host the Memorial Cup next year went off without a hitch.

Now it's just a matter of waiting for the verdict.

On paper, the Pats appear to be a shoe-in to host the 2018 championship.

Canada's biggest junior hockey tournament will be celebrating its centennial the same year as its oldest franchise, the Regina Pats.

The Pats were named after the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, which formed and fought during the FirstWorldWar.

The Memorial Cup was held for the first time in honour of those who died in the war.

Thus it seems only fitting to award the 100th Memorial Cup to the Pats.

But still they went through the formalitiesWednesday in Toronto.

The Regina Pats' bid committee led by Shawn Semple,Pats' president and part owner,put its best bid forward, as did the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Oshawa Generals.

"It has been a lot of work putting it together because it's not just a Memorial Cup; it's the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Cup," noted Semple prior to the bid presentation.

"It's really not about the Pats. It's really about the CHL and their history and what we can do as a team to promote that."

They had to impressa seven-person site selection committee including former Blue Jays' President Paul Beeston, NHL Executive Vice President Colin Campbell and Scott Smith, the president of Hockey Canada.

John Paddock, Pats' general manager and coach,was part of the Pats' five-person team in Toronto. He says they made a 45-minute presentation, the highlightsof which he wouldn't divulge.

He spoke on the hockey operations side of the bid and with his club consistently ranked number one in the country this season, it'sanother big plus in Regina's favour.

"I think those kind of things constitute a strong organization. This happens to be a year we have an extremely strong team but I think being a strong organization is very important." said Paddock following the bid presentation.

Even though the selection board will announce the host city at the beginning of February, Paddock says his main focus is keeping this year's team on the right track and perhaps representing the WHL at this year's Memorial Cup.

As for the 100th Memorial Cup next year and whether the Pats will be theteam to host the event, Paddock says he got no sense from the board which way they were leaning.

"They asked their standard four or five questions that we thought they would probably ask. They were keeping things close to their vest."