Businesses gearing up for Memorial Cup

A lot of businesses in Saskatoon are expecting an increase in sales this week.

With competition for the Memorial Cup set for May 17 to 26, many hotels and restaurants will be packed, while sporting goods stores are stocking up on the host team Saskatoon Blades merchandise.

Steve Seto, who works at Jersey City in Saskatoon, says Blades merchandise was a hot seller during the team's 18-game winning streak in the junior hockey season lead up to the championship series. He said he expects "more mayhem" during the Memorial Cup.

"(We're) probably going to get a lot of people looking for jerseys, t-shirts and hats," Seto said.  "Some out-of-town teams like Portland are gaining a lot of interest as well, which is always good. Having a little bit of diversity as well as having the Blades in there is always nice."

Seto said the most popular Blades jerseys this year are goalie Andrey Makarov and hall-of-famer Wendel Clark.

"A lot of people have asked about the 'Pac Man' jerseys — looking for some old school retro stuff," Seto said, referring to a jersey style from previous seasons. "But T-shirts and hats have been our main sellers."

The Blades open up the Memorial Cup on May 17 against the London Knights.

The Portland Winterhawks and Halifax Mooseheads round out the Memorial Cup field.