CarterHud

from Spitfires\’ website

        The OHL\’s Windsor Spitfires have won the 99th annual MasterCard Memorial Cup, after beating the Erie Otters by a score of 4-3.

         The Spitfires were the underdogs, but upset the Otters, who were the other OHL team in the tournament. The WHL\’s Seattle Thunderbirds and the QMJHL\’s Saint John Sea Dogs also competed, but fell short.

           This is the 3rd Memorial Cup in nine years for Windsor. After the game, most of the Spitfires\’ team told the National Post the feeling of winning the trophy. \”Words can\’t describe the way I\’m feeling right now. I\’m so happy with our outcome. It\’s crazy. We were underdogs, we embraced it, and I\’m so happy and grateful,\” Spitfires goalie Mikey DiPietro told the post.

            Some Spitfires will be leaving the club next year to join their NHL teams, if they were drafted. Some notable prospects on the Spitfires are the Ottawa Senators\’ Logan Brown, the Chicago Blackhawks\’ Graham Knott, the Toronto Maple Leafs Jeremy Bracco, the Anaheim Ducks\’ Julius Nattinen, the Arizona Coyotes\’ Christian Fischer, the Winnipeg Jets\’ Logan Stanley, the Montreal Canadiens\’ Mikhail Sergachev and the New York Rangers\’ Sean Day.

              Also, Spitfires center Gabriel Vilardi is projected to be a top five pick in this year\’s draft. Many expect the Colorado Avalanche to draft him at number four.

           It\’s what we\’ve been waiting for many months. It\’s the Stanley Cup Finals. 28 teams are playing golf, the other two are looking to win it all. They\’re the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will all come down to this question: who will lift Lord Stanley\’s Cup?

            Nashville Predators

            Conference finals: vs Anaheim Ducks in 6 games (Western)
P.K. Subban and the Nashville Predators danced past the Anahiem Ducks to win the Clarence S. Campbell trophy. Pekka Rinne has been the best goalie in the playoffs. Even though forwards Kevin Fiala and Ryan Johansen are out for the playoffs, the Preds still have a very good chance at winning the first Cup in franchise history after making the first conference finals and Cup finals in history. They might be the 16th seed, but they look much stronger.

             Pittsburgh Penguins

             Conference finals: vs Ottawa Senators in 7 games (Eastern)
The defending champs couldn\’t put away the Ottawa Senators until Chris Kunitz became the hero in 2OT in game seven. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel all played well. Justin Schultz has turned into Kris Letang while Letang is out. Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzal have stepped up big time. Whether Matt Murray or Marc-Andre Fleury is in net, the Pens have a stud saving goals.

              Prediction: Nashville Predators
It\’s their year. It\’s hard to pick against the defending champs, but a team hasn\’t repeated Cups since the Detroit Red Wings did so 20 years ago. It just doesn\’t happen any more. But, this easily could go 7 games, so it\’ll be very entertaining, like every Cup final.

        
The San Diego Padres have placed OF Manuel Margot on the 10 day DL with a calf injury. They have also recalled utility player Franchy Cordero.

          Margot, 22, has a .259 batting average, four homers, 13 RBIs and five stolen bases in 185 ABs this season. He also has three triples. In two seasons in his career, Margot has a .257 batting average, those four homers, 19 RBIs, seven steals in 222 ABs. He\’s one of their top prospects, but needs to get on base more. It\’s been a small sample size, but Margot has a .295 OBP.

          Cordero, also 22, has never played in the MLB. He has a .289 batting average, seven homers, 23 RBIs, and eight steals in 173 ABs for the El Paso Chihuahuas. He has a .273 average, 36 HRs, 210 RBIs and 94 steals in 1905 ABs in his six year minor league career.

      The Oakland Athletics (or A\’s) have placed RHP Jesse Hahn on the 10-day DL (triceps) and have recalled RHP Jharel Cotton from Nashville (AAA).

      Hahn, 27, has a 3.81 ERA and 41 K\’s in 49.2 innings this year. He has a career 3.82 ERA with 198 K\’s in 266 innings for the A\’s and San Diego Padres.

       Cotton, 25, has a 5.68 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 38 innings this year for the A\’s. He has a 2.25 ERA and 13 K\’s in 12 minor league innings this year. He has a 4.14 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 67.1 career MLB innings over two seasons in Oakland.

        After being scratched in a start against the New York Yankees, RHP Kendall Graveman is also expected to hit the DL.

         Graveman, 26, has a 3.83 ERA in 47 innings this year, striking out 32 batters. He has a career 4.05 ERA with 221 strikeouts in 353.1 innings for the A\’s and Toronto Blue Jays. He was part of the huge trade that sent slugger Josh Donaldson to Toronto.

          The Los Angeles Dodgers have claimed INF Mike Freeman and RHP Chris Heston off waivers from the Seattle Mariners, and have optioned both to the Oklahoma City Dodgers.

           Freeman, 29, has hit .067 with a homer and an RBI in 30 ABs this year. He has a .135 batting average with that one homer and two RBIs in 52 ABs in his career for the Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.

            Heston, also 29, has allowed 11 runs in five innings this year, striking out three batters. He\’s struck out 151 batters in 193 career innings with a 4.57 ERA in his career for the Mariners and San Francisco Giants. He threw a no hitter in 2015 with the Giants.