Post-script: Michael McCarron's Memorial Cup ends with an All-Star Team berth.

Interesting. While I think Michael may have not have had a spectacular Memorial Cup tournament overall, he still made the All-Star team, so…

I’d said he started impressively, but faded, maybe all the double-shifting got to him, after a long playoff. I would have thought that Cole Cassels, being the first-line centre on the Generals, and the way he countered the opposition’s best lines, neutering the likes of Anthony Duclair and Leon Draisaitl, he should have been the nominee, but I guess Michael catches your eye with your sheer size, the way he gambols around like a Great Dane puppy.

2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup All-Star Team:

Goalie – Ken Appleby (Oshawa Generals)

Defence – Madison Bowey (Kelowna Rockets)

Defence – Ryan Graves (Québec Remparts)

Forward – Nick Merkley (Kelowna Rockets)

Forward – Michael McCarron (Oshawa Generals)

Forward – Michael Dal Colle (Oshawa Generals)

I’m certainly more optimistic about Michael than Zachary Fucale, who had a difficult season, was okay-to-good during the World Junior Tournament, then had a poor rest of the season post-trade to the Remparts.

He turned it around in the playoffs, but after a decent start in the Memorial Cup, had that fishtail ending, with two difficult games to finish off sandwiched around a decent start in the elimination game.

Again, we’ll be patient with Zach, he’s young, he has room and time to develop, we’ve seen him lauded this year for having impeccable technique at such a young age, and for being very intense and competitive by none other than Patrick Roy, so we’ve got something to work with.

Awkward moment:  During the post-game on-ice ceremonies, Leon Draisaitl was announced as the winner of the MVP award, despite not making it on the All-Star Team, which is a bit of a headscratcher.  He skated to the trophy glumly, posed for a picture, then tried to skate away without touching it, like a good hockey player should, as he’s been taught by his Canadian teammates, you don’t touch the trophy unless it’s the ultimate prize and you just won it, right? That’s the customary custom? Customarily?

Except the hostess/MagnaCartel exec who was announcing the winners shrilly called him back, and told him he had to take the trophy. Maybe they needed the little podium it rested on to be cleared to bring out the next one.

So he grabbed it and skated off with it, like a teenager forced to carry his mom’s purse in front of his classmates.