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Canucks prospect Josh Bloom scores late to lead Saginaw Spirit to first Memorial Cup Championship
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Photo credit: Ontario Hockey League
Dave Hall
Jun 2, 2024, 23:13 EDTUpdated: Jun 3, 2024, 12:56 EDT
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Josh Bloom is the King of Saginaw for the day.
Planting himself at the London Knights’ doorstep, the Vancouver Canucks prospect managed to jam the puck past a sprawling netminder en route to the Saginaw Spirit’s first Memorial Cup Championship.
“There are no words right now. That’s probably the biggest goal of my career,” a spirited Bloom said after the final buzzer sounded.
The London Knights finished as the lone team to finish the OHL regular season with a higher point total than the Spirit, with each being the only two teams to eclipse the 100-point mark.
Fittingly, the two juggernauts met in the conference finals, where the Knights bested Bloom’s Saginaw Spirit 4-2 in their best-of-seven series. This time, it was the Spirit’s turn to invoke the pain.
“Having our hearts ripped out of our chest and smashed into a million pieces, we found a way to put it back together, and now we’re champs,” Bloom remarked.
Bloom, who came into the match with a goal and two assists across four Memorial Cup games, picked up two assists earlier in the match to finish with a goal and an assist.
His first helper came midway through the opening period off of a broken face-off play before Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck opened the scoring.
With less than a minute remaining in the opening period, the two connected again after Bloom put the puck on a tee for Beck, who delivered a rocket to double their lead.
Despite a 3-0 lead at the midway point of the match, the Knights clawed back with three goals to even the score in the final 10 minutes of the match.
That was until Bloom played hero in the dying moments, putting an exclamation mark on his final moment of junior hockey.
As a 20-year-old, Bloom will officially age out and turn pro for the second time in his young career. He began the 2023-24 season in Abbotsford but struggled to find ice time. As a result, this ultimately led to him being loaned back to where it all began — Saginaw.
Bloom was drafted by the Spirit in the Bantam Draft and spent the majority of his five-year junior career there, serving as captain for one of those years.
He will attend the Canucks training camp in the fall, with the hopes of earning a roster spot in Abbotsford under a new coaching regime.
The only difference this time around? He will attend as a former CHL Champion.
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