Royal Bank Cup

The Royal Bank Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held to determine the Canadian Junior A champion. The winner of the tournament wins the Royal Bank Cup. The forerunner to the Royal Bank Cup was the Manitoba Centennial Cup, which ran for 25 years from 1971 to 1995 inclusive.

The Doyle Cup Champion traditionally plays off against the Anavet Cup Champion at the Royal Bank Cup for the Western Canadian Championship, The Abbott Cup. The outcome of the Abbott Cup is determined during the Royal Bank Cup round robin and the outcome of the game is more important in tournament placement than the long history of the award.

The current tournament structure is a five-team round-robin with a playdown. The participating teams are the four regional champions and the host team.

Fred Page Cup: Eastern Champion

Dudley Hewitt Cup: Central Champion

Anavet Cup: Western Champion

Doyle Cup: Pacific Champion

Host Team: Canadian Junior A Hockey League

Royal Bank Cup history

In May 1996, the inaugural Royal Bank Cup was held in Melfort, Saskatchewan, continuing the fine tradition of a National Junior ‘A’ championship. Each league across Canada sends their championship club to a regional qualifier, playing for the right to represent the region at the Royal Bank Cup tournament. The first ever winner of the Royal Bank Cup was the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Since the first Royal Bank Cup tournament, every tournament has been played as a round robin tournament with a...
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