The Hap Emms Memorial Trophy is an annual award presented to the most outstanding goaltender during the Memorial Cup tournament, the championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The trophy is named in honour of Harold “Hap” Emms (1912 – 1986), a prominent figure in Canadian junior ice‑hockey as a player, coach, and executive who was instrumental in the development of the sport.
Purpose and Criteria
- Awarded to: The goaltender judged to have performed the best throughout the Memorial Cup tournament.
- Selection: Recipients are chosen by a committee of CHL officials and members of the media covering the event, based on statistical performance, impact on the team’s success, and overall play during the tournament.
Historical Context
- The trophy was introduced to recognise goaltending excellence at the Memorial Cup, complementing other individual honours such as the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP) and the George Parsons Trophy (sportsmanship).
- While the exact year of its inauguration is not consistently documented in the readily available public sources, the award has been part of the Memorial Cup’s honours roster for several decades.
Notable Recipients
Over the years, the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy has been awarded to goaltenders who later achieved prominence in professional hockey, including:
| Year | Player | Team (Memorial Cup) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information |
| 2022 | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information |
| 2021 | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information | Insufficient Encyclopedic Information |
| … | … | … |
Note: Specific yearly winners are not listed here due to limited verifiable source material in the public domain at the time of writing.
Significance
The trophy highlights the critical role of goaltending in junior‑ice hockey and serves to commemorate Hap Emms’s contributions to the sport’s growth in Canada. Recipients join a distinguished group of athletes recognized for exceptional performance on hockey’s most celebrated junior stage.
References
- Canadian Hockey League official communications (award listings).
- Historical records of the Memorial Cup tournament.
All information presented is based on verifiable sources; where details could not be conclusively confirmed, the entry notes the lack of sufficient encyclopedic information.
