Player to Watch – Logan Bairos – Kamloops Blazers
For the second time in franchise history, the Kamloops Blazers are set to host the Memorial Cup presented by Kia. Kamloops will be joined by the OHL champions, the Peterborough Petes, the QMJHL champions, Quebec Remparts, and the WHL champions, the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Blazers will look to progress their Memorial Cup campaign on June 1, when they face-off against the Peterborough Petes in a tiebreaker game (6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT).
The 2023 Memorial Cup began on May 26 at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., and will culminate on June 4 when the 2023 Memorial Cup Champions are crowned.
Visit CHL.ca/MemorialCup for tickets or catch the action from home on TSN 1 & 3, on the NHL Network in the United States, or on WHL Live for those living internationally.
Logan Bairos
Saskatoon, Sask.
NHL Draft: Eligible 2023
Defenceman
#2
5-foot-10, 179 pounds
2023 WHL Playoffs
11GP – 2 assists – (+13) rating
Logan Bairos is taking in his 2023 Memorial Cup experience one day at a time.
For him, it’s better to live through this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the present instead of dwelling on the past or looking ahead to the future.
The lesson comes at a good time, as Kamloops lost their opportunity to advance directly into the Memorial Cup’s semi-final after falling to their Western Conference rivals, the Seattle Thunderbirds, Wednesday night.
Now, the Blazers defenceman is prepping for a do-or-die tiebreaker game against the OHL Champions, the Peterborough Petes on Thursday night — with the winners advancing to the semi-final round.
“The tiebreaker game is fully the focus now,” Bairos said to local media on Thursday morning. “You know, [losing to Seattle] is not the result we wanted last night but we get to play another game today. Now, were just fighting for our lives to stay alive and be able to play another game tomorrow.”
Bairos has earned extra attention during this Memorial Cup, too, especially in the wake of the injury to teammate Kyle Masters Sunday.
Alongside two-time WHL Defenceman of the Year Olen Zellweger, Bairos has been matched up against some of the best offensive talents in the CHL over the past week, but it’s a role he’s taken in stride, while also helping the Club offensively.
Bairos has been Kamloops’ third-best defenceman in terms of offensive output, having only trailed NHL prospects Zellweger and Masters.
With 40 points (8G-32A) through the 2022-23 Regular Season, Bairos’ rise to the top pairing over the course of the season has been nothing short of seamless for the Blazers.
This also comes at a crucial time for the Club, since Thursday night’s meeting with Peterborough will mark the second game for the host team in as many nights.
While Kamloops got the best of Peterborough in the preliminary round — a 10-2 clobbering — Bairos knows it’s best not to count their opposition out.
“They’re the OHL Champions. It’s not easy to get to that point so they’re going to come with everything they have and we’re going to have to be ready and come with everything that we have,” Bairos said.
But, in typical Bairos fashion, he believes there are better options than dwelling on past incursions with whomever their opponents are.
“I think we are just going to have to come with our best game today. We had a couple of lapses last night and we have to keep fighting every moment. We might make mistakes but the next shift you got to get back on your horse and go to work.”
Bairos and the Blazers will look to keep their Memorial Cup dreams alive when they take on the Peterborough Petes in a tiebreaker game on Thursday, June 1 (6 p.m. PT, TSN 1/3, NHL Network, WHL Live).