Jason La Rose
Twenty-one days of waiting are almost over for the Summerside Western Capitals.
The host team for the 2026 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, the Western Capitals have been idle since dropping Game 7 of the South Division final to the Truro Bearcats on April 16, ending their Maritime Hockey League (MHL) playoff run.
The loss ended a rather unique streak for Summerside—in each of the three previous years it played host to Canada’s National Junior A Championship, it had won the league title—the IJHL in 1989, MJAHL in 1997 and MHL in 2013.
Despite the postseason defeat, the Western Capitals have proven themselves among the top teams in the country; they finished even with the Bearcats atop the regular-season standings in the MHL—taking top spot with more regulation wins (29-26)—scored the most goals (232 in 52 games) and finished as one of only three teams in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) with a power play that converted more than 30% of the time (30.7%).
Eleven different players reached 30 points, with Simon Mullen (14-54—68) recording the second-most assists in the league and posting a 24-game point streak early in the season, and Kolton Bourret finished second in the MHL with a 2.70 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.
Summerside got its money’s worth in the playoffs, going the gull seven games in both of its series; it was pushed to the limit by the Amherst Ramblers in the division semifinals, needing a double-overtime goal from Ryder Howatt in Game 4 to avoid going down 3-1 and getting 23 saves from Bourret in a 1-0 win in Game 7, and it almost came back from a 3-1 series deficit against Truro, pulling to within a goal in the final minutes of what finished as a 3-2 loss in Game 7.
The Western Capitals have historically had success as the host of the national championship; they won the national title on home ice in 1997 and reached the final in 1989 and 2013.
HOW THEY GOT TO SUMMERSIDE
Maritime Hockey League Quarterfinal: defeated Amherst Ramblers 4-3 (3-2, 2-4, 0-1 OT, 5-4 2OT, 3-4, 9-3, 1-0) Semifinal: lost to Truro Bearcats 4-3 (1-2 OT, 1-3, 3-0, 0-2, 4-2. 2-1, 2-3)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 32-12-8 (1st in MHL) Goals for: 232 (1st I MHL) Goals against: 170 (4th in MHL) Power play: 70 for 228 (30.7% – 1st in MHL) Penalty killing: 190 for 229 (83.0% – 2nd in MHL) Longest winning streak: 5 (Nov. 10-22)
Top 3 scorers: • Simon Mullen (14G 54A 68P – 8th in MHL) • Brett Arsenault (25G 34A 59P – 17th in MHL) • Eliott Robert (22G 26A 48P – 26th in MHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 7-7 Goals for: 36 Goals against: 31 Power play: 10 of 45 (22.2%) Penalty killing: 54 for 59 (91.5%)
Top 3 scorers: • Justin Ouellette (4G 11A 15P) • Elliott Mullen (6G 4A 10P) • Brett Arsenault (5G 4A 9P)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1989 – Summerside Western Capitals | runners-up | 3-2 | 17GF 20GA 1997 – Summerside Western Capitals | national champions | 3-3 | 22GF 25GA 2009 – Summerside Western Capitals | 5th place | 1-3 | 15GF 17GA 2013 – Summerside Western Capitals | runners-up | 3-3 | 18GF 16GA 2022 – Summerside Western Capitals | 5th place | 3-2 | 16GF 16GA
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Aidan Souligny – Boston University (2026-27)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Sept. 29 – 7th Oct. 6 – 15th Oct. 13 – 7th Oct. 20 – 15th Oct. 27 – 13th Nov. 3 – 5th Nov. 10 – 11th Nov. 17 – 10th Nov. 24 – 6th Dec. 1 – 8th Dec. 8 – 7th Dec. 15 – 10th Dec. 22 – 13th Jan. 5 – 14th Jan. 12 – 18th Jan. 19 – 16th Jan. 26 – 18th Feb. 2 – 14th Feb. 9 – 12th Feb. 16 – 17th Feb. 23 – Honourable Mention March 2 – Honourable Mention March 9 – 20th