The hockey world was saddened earlier this week by the sudden passing of David Branch at age 77.
In the days since, many tributes have rightly focused on his leadership and his lasting impact on junior hockey in Canada. In that spirit, we’re sharing this interview again—recorded in February 2018 during the production of Memorial Cup Memories—as a way of preserving his voice and perspective.
When David Branch spoke about the Memorial Cup, he didn’t speak about it as a prize.
He spoke about it as an honour.
“It’s done with the deepest of respect. It’s a privilege. When you look at what the Memorial Cup stands for—why it was dedicated in the first instance—to remember those men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice…it’s very real.”
For David, presenting the Memorial Cup was never a routine responsibility. It was a moment shaped by history—by the players and teams who came before, and by the communities that invested in junior hockey long before the final game was played.
Sometimes, those histories surfaced unexpectedly.
David recalled presenting the Cup in Windsor, when the memory of Mickey Renaud came flooding into his mind. A local captain. A young leader. Someone remembered not simply for his play on the ice, but for the person he was away from it.
That moment captured something essential about how David viewed the game.
“First and foremost, you’re developing people. If you become a professional hockey player, that’s an added bonus.”
Throughout his career, David Branch believed junior hockey mattered because of what it gave young people beyond the rink: teamwork, responsibility, resilience, and a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves.
In his view, the Memorial Cup represented all of that at once. A championship, yes—but also a reminder of why the game exists, and what it asks of those entrusted to carry it forward.
We’re sharing this interview now not as a reaction, but as remembrance.
Because long after the final horn, the most important part of junior hockey has always been the people it helps shape—and the values it leaves behind.