A lifelong Memorial Cup traveller returns to Kelowna once again

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“I spent way too much money,” he says with a laugh. “Great seats. I was six or seven rows off the ice. I bought a package back then, and I wouldn’t do that now, buying seats that close. Now I go with groups, and it’s a lot smarter.”

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For King, though, the Memorial Cup isn’t about one city or one year. It’s a routine that has followed him across decades and provinces, a constant thread through his life.

“I live in Seattle now,” he says, “originally from Edmonton. That’s where I first got my love for hockey. My babysitter used to take me to games when I was five to ten years old. Then my dad got transferred to Seattle.”

That move west didn’t change the direction of his passion; it only shifted the teams.

“I became a fan of the Totems, the Breakers, and then the Seattle Thunderbirds,” he says. “And I just kept going to games and Memorial Cups.”

Over time, the trips became less about individual teams and more about the event itself. The Memorial Cup became the anchor, a yearly pilgrimage built into his life.

“You just get hooked,” King says. “It’s outstanding hockey. If you have the time, you go.”

That commitment has taken him to arenas across Canada, from Western Canada to Quebec and beyond. One stop stands out above the rest.

“The best one? I’d have to say Quebec City,” he says. “I walked everywhere. The churches, the city, it was incredible. I even took the bus and quickly realized I should probably just keep to myself.”

He pauses, then laughs at the memory. The travel stories have become as much a part of the experience as the hockey itself.

“I’ve learned a lot along the way,” he adds.

So have the rivalries. Ask him about the biggest WHL matchup, and he doesn’t hesitate to challenge the usual assumption.

“They are not the main rival,” he says of the WHL champion Everett Silvertips. “Maybe someday, but not yet. For me, it’s got to be Portland.”

That rivalry, he says, runs deeper than geography.

“It’s the Portland Winterhawks,” King explains. “Seattle and Portland have always played each other…the Buckaroos, the Totems. That history goes way back. Everett is a very well-run program, and I’ve got nothing but respect for them, but Portland is Portland.”

The names have changed over the decades, but King’s connection to the game has stayed remarkably consistent. Even now, with nearly three decades of Memorial Cups behind him, he still finds moments that stand out.

“I’ve got about 200 WHL jerseys,” he says. “I had a Kiel McLeod jersey, and I ran into him at the Hockey Hall of Fame. He signed it, and they even interviewed me on TV. That was a pretty special moment.”

It’s the kind of story that sums up why he keeps coming back, the chance encounters, the travel, the shared memories with strangers who become familiar faces in different cities year after year.

Still, for all the years of experience, King resists the idea that the tournament becomes predictable.

“Tough question,” he says when asked who will win this year. “I’d go WHL just because that’s where I’m from. Everett has been very good, game in and game out. But that Kitchener team, I’ve heard a lot of good things. All the teams are strong. It should be a great tournament.”

There’s no bold prediction, no grand declaration, just perspective earned from decades of watching the game at its highest junior level.

And in Kelowna, 22 years after his last visit here for a Memorial Cup, Alan King is still doing exactly what he’s always done: taking it all in, one tournament at a time.

“I just keep going,” he says simply. “That’s what I do.”