‘Junior Hockey Junkies’ make annual pilgrimage to Memorial Cup
Posted May 28, 2026 12:22:54 PM.
Last Updated May 28, 2026 03:44:44 PM.
It was the year former U.S. President Bill Clinton faced an impeachment trial, the Sopranos debuted on HBO, Nunavut became a Canadian territory, and the world was worried about something called the Y2K computer virus.
It was also the year that the Calgary Hitmen made their first appearance in the Memorial Cup, and a tradition was born.
It was 1999, and a group of junior hockey diehards made the trip from Calgary to Ottawa to cheer on the Hitmen in their first championship. The Hitmen fell in the final, losing to Ottawa in overtime, but the fans from Alberta were hooked. Convinced that Calgary would return to the Memorial Cup in Halifax the following year, the Albertans booked their tournament tickets early. And even though the Hitmen failed to qualify for that Memorial Cup, they made the cross-country trip to take in the tournament.
And they haven’t stopped since.
Now known as the “Junior Hockey Diehards,” the group is back at this year’s tournament in Kelowna.
“These are the (players) that are going to go on to the pros,” offers Kim Thomas, a co-leader of the group. “We get to see them as they mature and then follow them into the NHL or the AHL.”
Thomas is affectionately known to his friends as “Santa,” thanks to his snow-white beard and holiday hobby of being a shopping mall Santa. Thomas’ friend, Dave Gorsline (aka, “Bubba”), has helped keep the tradition going year over year.
“A lot of us used to go to the Grey Cup every year,” Gorsline explains. “And then we went to the first Memorial Cup, and we were like, ‘Man, this is better than the Grey Cup. It’s ten days of hockey, not just one day of football.'”
And now that they’ve visited more than 25 Memorial Cup tournaments, do any of the trips stand out? Well, the 2008 event hosted in Kitchener was pretty good, according to Thomas.
“They actually set us up in your media lounge downstairs and they assigned a couple of hosts to us,” Thomas remembers. “One day it was sandwiches, the next day it was pastries, pop, and pies. They gave us cards to go down to this room. Fantastic.”
There are 72 Junior Hockey Junkies enjoying the games this week at Prospera Place in Kelowna, and because he’s from the west, Thomas says he’s picking Everett to win the championship.
