Cam Reid captains Rangers to Memorial Cup

Aylmer native and Kitchener Rangers captain Cameron Reid emerged victorious, winning the Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup on Sunday, May 31 in Kelowna, British Columbia.

The Rangers won the final 6-2 against the Everett Silvertips of Washington state, going undefeated with a 4-0 record through the tournament. Cam assisted on two power play goals early in the third period, scored by Jack Pridham and Sam O’Reilly

“It’s pretty exciting, you feel a little relieved now,” Cam said in an interview with The Express. “It’s a long season especially, so to get that reward at the end of the season, it just feels really nice.”

Cam scored 15 goals and had 41 assists during the 2025-2026 Ontario Hockey League regular season, and scored two goals and had 12 assists during the 2026 OHL playoffs.

Last year, Cam was drafted in the first round of the National Hockey League’s 2025 entry draft by the Nashville Predators.

“To go in the first round, I’m really, really grateful for that,” he reflected. “It was a really cool day to spend with my family because it’s one of the biggest dreams you can think of as a young kid playing hockey.”

Cam’s hockey journey started when he was a child, with many skates on the ice and repetitive practices, adding he is lucky to be where he is.

“I think I was just a young kid, probably to or three, trying out hockey,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of people go to the OHL, especially from a small town.”

Cam continued, “It’s a dream, and dreams are hard to make true, but I always loved hockey and I always wanted it to become a reality, so I just put my head down and kept working no matter what.”

“It’s been an unreal and really a surreal experience over the years,” said Bill Reid, Cam’s father, who was able to be in Kelowna to watch the tournament.

“We came into this knowing that you’re playing the best teams practically in North America. You come in with expectations and you’re confident that your team’s going to do really well, but at no point in time did I think they were going to go undefeated in the tournament,” he said.

Bill thanked those cheering along from Aylmer and surrounding areas for being supportive of Cam’s journey.

“The local, small-town area has been very supportive of Cam and our family over the years,” he said. “We’re looking forward to having that continue as his career progresses.”

Cam hopes to be able to bring the Memorial Cup back home to Aylmer in the summer for a full day, but is unsure when, as arrangements have not yet been made.

The Rangers hosted a celebration parade on Tuesday, June 2, in collaboration with the City of Kitchener to welcome the team back home.