NHL bloodlines run deep at Memorial Cup

winnipeg, stateprov, Canada (AHN Sports) – The Memorial Cup features some of the best junior hockey has to offer but this year’s tournament has some distinct ties to the NHL.

A total of seven players at this year’s Memorial Cup have fathers who played in the NHL, including Jarred Tinordi, who grew up spending time at an NHL rink as a kid while his father Mark played for the Washington Capitals.

A defenseman for the London Knights, Tinordi credits having an NHL dad as a factor in aiding his development into a top NHL prospect.

“I think it’s an advantage for me personally because it’s someone close, that I know on a personal level, helping me out, who’s not a coach,” Tinordi told the Winnipeg Free Press. “He’s a father and a player, so that helped me a lot growing up.

“I remember when I was a kid going to the practice rink in Washington and seeing all the guys, meeting all the players. We’d always be in the locker-room during practice. It was fun. You don’t really know when you’re that age what it means, but looking back on it, it was a pretty good experience.”

Tinordi was seven when his father retired in 1999 after a 663-game career that started with the New York Rangers in 1987.

Other players at the tournament that have NHL dads include Tinordi’s London teammate Max Domi, whose father Tie Domi played for three teams from 1989 to 2006, the last 11 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The NHL is well represented by the Edmonton Oil Kings with four players whose fathers were NHL players.

Defenseman Keegan Lowe’s father Kevin played 1,037 games for the Oilers and is now president of the NHL club. Center Henrik Samuelsson is the son of former NHL blueliner Ulf Samuelsson, Griffin Reinhart is the son of former Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Paul Reinhart and Michael St. Croix’s dad is former NHL goalie Rick St. St. Croix.

Shawinigan defenseman Dillon Donnelly’s dad is former Quebec Nordique and Winnipeg Jet Gord Donnelly.

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