Kelowna a ‘homecoming’ for Rangers forward
Posted May 21, 2026 12:49:19 PM.
Last Updated May 21, 2026 01:16:59 PM.
Jack Pridham has been here before.
Not to a Memorial Cup, of course. This tournament will be a first for the 20-year-old who scored 46 goals with the Kitchener Rangers this season. But Pridham has been to Kelowna before, the site of this year’s Memorial Cup. He left his Ontario home for the first time at 18 to pursue his hockey dreams with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors.
“It was a great experience,” Pridham recalls. “It was a great league, we had a great team, and I was surrounded by great teammates. It was awesome to be able to experience life and hockey here (in Kelowna) for a little bit.”
Pridham and the Rangers are staying at a hotel in Kelowna that’s about 10 minutes away from his former billet family. It’s so close, in fact, that Pridham’s biological family will be staying with the former billets during the tournament. And along with getting ready for the most important games of his hockey career, the young star is happy to play tour guide for his Rangers teammates.
“Just helping them out (with) whatever they ask or wherever they want to go,” Pridham said. “I know the area, which will be nice.”
Pridham has 17 points in 18 playoff games this season, is also well aware of what’s on the line here in Kelowna.
“It would mean everything (to win the Memorial Cup),” Pridham admits. “That’s the goal. That’s what we’re chasing this week.”
This marks the seventh Memorial Cup appearance for the Rangers, the most of any team at the tournament.
Kitchener’s first game is Friday, May 22. Pregame coverage on 570 NewsRadio starts at 8:30 p.m.
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