The Memorial Cup is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played among the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL), and a fourth, hosting team, which alternates between the three leagues annually. The Memorial Cup trophy was established by Captain James T. Sutherland to honour those who died in service during World War I. It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.

James Thomas Sutherland was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, and founding father of the game in Canada. Sutherland was a pioneer of hockey's early years, helping to develop amateur hockey, and spread the game's popularity throughout the country, and into the United States. He played in the inaugural season of the Ontario Hockey Association, and later coached and refereed the game. He founded the original Kingston Frontenacs, and later became president of the Ontario Hockey Association, and then the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He was instrumental in founding the Memorial Cup in 1919, and was at the forefront of the discussion on the origins of hockey.