1983 Memorial Cup
The Winter Hawks were the first team to host the tournament, and the first to both participate and win the title despite failing to capture their league championship; they were eliminated by Lethbridge in the WHL finals.
In the first round of the post-season, the Broncos swept the Winnipeg Warriors in three games, advancing to the East Division semi-finals.
In the Divisional semi-finals, the Broncos upset the top ranked team in the league, the Saskatoon Blades, winning the series four games to two.
Rich Sutter, the twin brother of Ron, scored a team high 37 goals and 67 points in 64 games with the Broncos after beginning his season with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.
In goal, the Broncos were led by Ken Wregget, who posted a 26-17-1 record with a 3.49 GAA and a .893 save percentage in 48 games.
The Generals offense was led by Dave Gans, who scored 41 goals and a team high 105 points in 64 games after beginning the season with the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.
MacLean followed up with 18 goals and 38 points in 17 post-season games, and emerged as a top prospect for the upcoming 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
Sidoriewicz and his backup, Jeff Hogg, shared the Dave Pinkney Trophy, which is awarded to the club with the fewest goals against.
The Portland Winter Hawks represented the Western Hockey League as the host team at the 1983 Memorial Cup.
The Winter Hawks opened the post-season by sweeping the Seattle Breakers in the West Division semi-finals in four games.
The Winter Hawks offense was led by Ken Yaremchuk, who scored 55 goals and a team high 160 points in 66 games.
Cam Neely emerged as a top prospect for the upcoming 1983 NHL Entry Draft, as he scored 56 goals and 120 points in 72 games.
LaFontaine scored 104 goals and 234 points in 70 games, winning the Jean Beliveau Trophy awarded to the highest scorer in the league.
In 15 post-season games, LaFontaine scored 11 goals and 35 points, earning the Guy Lafleur Trophy, awarded to the Playoff MVP.
It was the first time Memorial Cup games were held outside of Canada, though Winter Hawks General Manager Brian Shaw had proposed the tournament return to its original east vs. west format.
[2] The Oshawa Generals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions by defeating the Sault Ste.
Marie Greyhounds while the Verdun Juniors defeated the Trois-Rivières Draveurs to win the QMJHL's President's Cup.
In the second game, Portland held a 7–2 lead over Verdun after two periods, but surrendered four goals in the third, managing to hold on for a 7–6 victory.
[4] While all three teams had 2–1 records, the Generals and Juniors met again in the semi-finals, while the Winter Hawks advanced to the final on the basis of most goals scored.
[4] The final was never in doubt, as the hometown Winter Hawks defeated Oshawa 8–3 on the strength of three goals by Cam Neely.
While he was a player for the Calgary Wranglers, he joined the Winter Hawks for the Memorial Cup tournament via a rule that allowed each team to add an extra goaltender from their league.
Vernon turned down Lethbridge before agreeing to play with Portland, a decision that infuriated the Broncos who had lost their starting goaltender, Ken Wregget, to injury.
[7] Vernon won the Stanley Cup with both the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings during his career, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.
