Spring in Canada = Memorial Cup Fever

The Memorial Cup is awarded annually to the top junior hockey team in Canada, with the league champions from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL) and Quebec-Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) competing each spring. Many future NHLers make a name for themselves in the tournament, but for many players the Memorial Cup will be the highlight of their hockey careers. Two players featured in this post, Dan Lambert and Pat Falloon, had underwhelming NHL careers but major performances during the Memorial Cup tournament. On that theme, let’s look at the top five Memorial Cup tournaments of the 1990s:

1990 - the tournament was held in Hamilton, but in a break from tradition, the host team was not invited to participate (the host team joins the champion of each league). The Dukes of Hamilton in 1990 were not good, winning only 11 games in the regular season; they were replaced by the Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers faced the OHL champs Oshawa Generals in the final, a rematch of the OHL final. The Generals won 4-3 in double overtime on a goal by defenceman Bill Armstrong. On a team featuring Eric Lindros, the tournament is frequently called the greatest of all-time.

1999 - the host Ottawa 67s defeat the Calgary Hitmen in the final, completing a redemption tour arc for the ages. The 67s lost in the second round of the OHL playoffs to eventual champions Belleville. Ottawa lost 5-4 in double overtime to the Bulls in the round robin, but two days later defeated them 4-2 in the semi-finals. In the final, the 67s blew 4-1 and 6-4 leads before Matt Zultek scored the winner two minutes into overtime.

1998 - host Portland defeats the OHL’s Guelph Storm 4-3 in overtime. Forward Bobby Russell scored the OT winner, arguably the top moment for a career minor leaguer. Future Hall of Famer Marian Hossa severely injured his knee in the third period in a knee-on-knee collision. Similar to Russell, Guelph goalie Chris Madden was named tournament MVP, outplaying future Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo, who played on a Val d’Or team that was outscored 19 to 8.

1997 - host Hull beats WHL champion Lethbridge 5-1 in the final. Both teams had tied with 2-1 records during the round robin, alongside OHL Oshawa. The most notable game of the tournament occurred on May 13, with Hull taking a 6-1 lead over Lethbridge into the third period of their round robin game. The Hurricanes stormed back to win 7-6 in overtime. Hull’s Christian Dube led the tournament in scoring and was named tournament MVP.

1995 - host Kamloops Blazers win their second tournament in a row and third in four years, defeating the Detroit Junior Red Wings 8-2 in the final. The Blazers dominate, returning much of their roster from their previous tournament win, including Shane Doan who led the tournament in scoring and was named MVP and future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, who won the most sportsmanlike player award. Detroit was coached by a young Paul Maurice, who would be named the coach of NHL Hartford the next season at the age of 28, becoming the second youngest NHL coach in history at the time.

590 - Igor Ulanov

A defenceman, Ulanov was drafted 203rd overall by Winnipeg in 1991. He joined the Jets partway through the 1991-92 season, playing in 27 games, scoring two goals and 11 points. Over his next three seasons in Winnipeg Ulanov played in 149 games, scoring three goals and 37 points. As a tough, defence-first player, Ulanov recorded a career-high 165 penalty minutes in the 1993-94 season. 

In October 1995 he was traded with Mike Eagles to Washington for two draft picks. Ulanov played only three games with Washington before moving to Chicago for a draft pick. His stay with the Blackhawks wasn’t much longer, lasting 53 games before a trade to Tampa Bay with Patrick Poulin for Enrico Ciccone. Ulanov stayed for three seasons in Tampa Bay, totaling 115 games, five goals and 20 points. In January 1998 he was traded to Montreal in a six-player swap that saw Tampa Bay land Stephane Richer and Darcy Tucker.

Ulanov put up a very similar stat line with the Habs as he did with the Lightning (123 games, four goals and 19 points). During the 1998 playoffs he exploded offensively, at least by his standards, scoring five points in 10 games. In March 2000 he was on the move again, going to Edmonton in a four player deal. During the 2000-01 season he scored a career-high 23 points and earned a +15 rating. Ulanov parlayed this career year into a contract with the New York Rangers; however, he played only 39 games before being shipped to Florida in the Pavel Bure trade. After parts of two seasons with the Panthers, he returned to Edmonton for the 2003-04 season, where he scored a career-high five goals. Following the lockout he played one more season with the Oilers, then three seasons in Russia before retiring.

In total Ulanov played 14 NHL seasons, appearing 739 games, scoring 27 goals and 162 points to go with 1151 penalty minutes. Since 2011 he has coached in Russia, currently with Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL.

YouTube clip: throwing a massive hip check on Eric Lindros during Game 2 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals. Lindros would extract a measure of revenge in Game 6 of the series, dusting Ulanov in a fight before Jason Wiemer jumps in.

591 - Corey Foster

A defenceman, Foster was drafted 12th overall by New Jersey in 1988. Following the draft he played a fourth season with Peterborough in the OHL, appearing in two games with the Devils during the 1988-89 season. During the 1989 off-season Foster was traded to Edmonton for a first round pick.

During his time in the Oilers’ organization Foster played exclusively in the AHL before he was traded to Philadelphia in May 1991 as part of the three-way Jari Kurri trade. The 1991-92 season with the Flyers was his best NHL season, playing in 25 games, scoring three goals and seven points. Foster spent the next three seasons in the AHL split between Hershey and Prince Edward Island, signing with Pittsburgh for the 1995-96 season. Foster played in 11 games with the Penguins, scoring four points before being claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders in 1996.

For the 1997-98 season Foster went to play in Japan, where he won three league titles in four seasons with the Kokudo Ice Hockey Club. Between 2001 and 2005 he played in Germany, the AHL, the UHL and the Quebec senior league, retiring after the 2004-05 season.

In four NHL seasons Foster played in 45 games, scoring five goals and 11 points. From 2011-13 he coached junior A hockey in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa. He has also run various businesses in his hometown of Ottawa in retirement.

YouTube clip: a quasi-fight with Jock Callander during a September 1992 game between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.

592 - Dan Lambert

A defenceman, Lambert was drafted 106th overall by Quebec in 1989. During his draft season he scored 25 goals and 102 points with Swift Current, as the Broncos won the Memorial Cup, with Lambert being named tournament MVP.

He turned pro in 1990-91, split between Halifax in the AHL and Fort Wayne in the IHL, while also appearing in his first NHL game that season with the Nordiques. During the 1991-92 season Lambert played in 28 games for the Nords, scoring six goals and 15 points in what proved to be his final NHL games.

In August 1992 he was traded to Winnipeg for Shawn Cronin. For the next three seasons he played for four teams in three leagues (AHL, IHL and Finland). In 1995-96 Lambert joined the Los Angeles Ice Dogs in the IHL. Immediately named team captain, he played four seasons with the franchise, winning the Governors’ Trophy as the league’s best defenceman in 1998 (this was also the last time the Governors’ Trophy was awarded, as it was renamed the Larry D. Gordon Trophy the next season). Lambert was also a three time all-star during this time, and is the Ice Dogs’ all time leader in assists, second in points and third in games played.

For 1999-00 he moved to Germany, where he played for the next nine seasons. He won a league title with Krefeld in 2003 and from 2004 to 2009 was team captain for Hannover.

In two NHL seasons, Lambert played in 29 games, scoring six goals and 15 points. As an undersized defenceman (5’8”, 177 pounds), had he been born 20 years later his NHL career may have been quite different. In retirement he has coached in WHL, AHL and NHL. From 2019 to 2023 he was an assistant coach with Nashville and since 2023 has been an assistant in Calgary.

593 - Pat Falloon

A right winger, Falloon was drafted second overall by San Jose in 1991. In his draft season he scored 64 goals and 138 points for Spokane, as the team won the Memorial Cup, with Falloon leading the team in tournament scoring and earning an all-star nod. He was also named the CHL Sportsman of the Year and won the Brad Hornung Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player in the WHL.

Falloon joined the Sharks for their inaugural NHL season in 1991-92, leading the team in scoring with 25 goals and 59 points. He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting and earned Lady Byng Trophy votes as well. Falloon played only 41 games during his sophomore season, scoring 22 goals and 53 points. The lockout shortened 1994-95 season was a disappointment, as he scored only 12 goals and 19 points.

In November 1995 Falloon was traded to Philadelphia for a first round pick, second round pick and prospect. Split between the two teams he returned somewhat to form, scoring 25 goals and 51 points. Falloon played parts of two more seasons with the Flyers before a trade to Ottawa in January 1998 with Vaclav Prospal and a second round pick for Alexandre Daigle, another underperforming high draft pick. Falloon scored six points in 28 games with the Senators before signing with Edmonton as a free agent for the 1998-99 season.

Over parts of two seasons with Edmonton he scored 22 goals and 58 points. In February 2000 he was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh, where he played 30 regular and 10 playoff games. Falloon joined HC Davos in Switzerland for the 2000-01 season, winning the Spengler Cup in his only season in Switzerland.

In nine NHL seasons, Falloon played in 575 games, scoring 143 goals and 322 points. From 2001 to 2008 he played senior hockey for his hometown Foxwarren (Manitoba) Falcons, leading the Manitoba Senior league in scoring three times, winning five league titles, and an Allan Cup in 2003. He currently runs the family grain farm, as detailed in an article in The Athletic.

YouTube clip: the video from induction to Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

594 - Vladimir Konstantinov

A defenceman, Konstantinov was drafted 221st overall by Detroit in 1989. Having played professional hockey in the Soviet Union since the age of 17, he joined Detroit for the 1991-92 season. As a rookie Konstantinov played in 79 games, scoring eight goals, 34 points and earning 172 penalty minutes, while earning a spot on the NHL all-rookie team.

He blossomed alongside the Red Wings team, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 1993-94. In 1995-96 he set career-highs with 14 goals, and a +60 rating, leading the league. That season Konstantinov finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting, earned Hart Trophy votes and was named a second team all-star. In the 1996 playoffs he scored four goals and nine points as the Red Wings lost in the Western Conference Final to the eventual champions, Colorado.

The following season Konstantinov scored a career high 38 points and finished second in Norris Trophy voting to Brian Leetch. More importantly, Detroit won the Stanley Cup, sweeping Philadelphia to end what was at the time the longest Stanley Cup brought in league history.

Sadly, less than a week after the Cup clinching game, Konstantinov was involved in a serious car accident, as the limousine he was a passenger in crashed into a tree. He was in a coma for several weeks, suffered serious head injuries and was paralyzed from the waist down. A career that surely would have won Norris Trophies, Stanley Cups and other accolades was cut short.

In six NHL seasons he played in 446 games, scoring 47 goals and 175 points. He also earned 838 penalty minutes and a +185 rating. Internationally, Konstantinov won three world championship golds and one bronze.

YouTube clip: a package of his best hits from just the 1997 playoffs, to give you an idea of the physicality he brought as a player. Arguably the best is from the Stanley Cup Finals, rocking Dale Hawerchuk as he receives a suicide pass at centre ice.