I was at the Memorial Cup Semi-Final game last night expecting to see some tight and exciting hockey. Afterall, the Kitchener Rangers and Belleville Bulls had just completed a very close 7-game OHL championship series and a Memorial Cup round robin game that went into overtime.
The game turned out to be a blow out. Rangers scored 46 seconds into the game and never looked back. The final score was 9-0 which was the biggest differential in Memorial Cup history. The best player on the ice was Justin Azevedo who finished with 3 goals and 2 assists. He also happened to have been the OHL scoring champ and the league MVP beating out John Taveres. He also happens to be 19 years old and undrafted. Azevedo happens to be only 5'8". If I recall Martin St. Louis was also undrafted coming out of Junior hockey and I think he didn't turn out too bad.
So could the Leafs use a player like that? Certainly worth a shot. Speaking of the Leafs, I spotted Brian Burke at the game.
UPDATE: Justin Azevedo has now been named CHL player of the year.
