1998-99 WHL SEASON

The '1998-99 WHL season' was the 33rd season for the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Calgary Hitmen won the President's Cup.

Contents

League notes

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

Goaltending Leaders

WHL Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Conference semifinals

Conference finals

WHL Championship

All-Star Game

WHL awards

See also

References

League notes

★ The Edmonton Ice relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia to become the Kootenay Ice.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
'x Prince Albert Raiders'	72	45	22	5	95	288	213
'x Brandon Wheat Kings'	72	39	29	4	82	293	267
'x Moose Jaw Warriors'	72	39	31	2	80	292	262
'x Swift Current Broncos'	72	34	32	6	74	232	211
'Regina Pats'	72	24	43	5	53	238	312
'Saskatoon Blades'	72	16	49	7	39	184	291

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
'x Calgary Hitmen'	72	51	13	8	110	319	187
'x Red Deer Rebels'	72	34	33	5	73	274	250
'x Lethbridge Hurricanes'	72	31	32	9	71	224	215
'x Kootenay Ice'	72	30	35	7	67	245	276
'Medicine Hat Tigers'	72	15	56	1	31	185	323

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
'x Kamloops Blazers'	72	48	11	13	109	298	195
'x Tri-City Americans'	72	43	23	6	92	311	219
'x Seattle Thunderbirds'	72	37	24	11	85	279	236
'x Prince George Cougars'	72	34	32	6	74	255	264
'x Portland Winter Hawks'	72	23	36	13	59	215	278
'x Kelowna Rockets'	72	25	42	5	55	241	282
'Spokane Chiefs'	72	19	44	9	47	193	268

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in Minutes''

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Pavel Brendl	Calgary Hitmen	68	73	61	134	40
Brad Moran	Calgary Hitmen	71	60	58	118	96
Dylan Gyori	Tri-City Americans	69	53	65	118	112
Chad Hinz	Moose Jaw Warriors	71	42	75	117	40
Scott Gomez	Tri-City Americans	58	30	78	108	55
Shawn McNeil	Red Deer Rebels	72	44	59	103	87
Brett McLean	Kelowna/Brandon	65	47	54	101	66
Bret DeCecco	Seattle Thunderbirds	72	57	43	100	81
Ryan Robson	Brandon Wheat Kings	72	33	61	94	35
Oleg Saprykin	Seattle Thunderbirds	66	47	46	93	107

Goaltending Leaders

''Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Total Ice Time; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals Against; SO = Total Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average''

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Kenric Exner	Kamloops Blazers	51	2967	34	6	8	114	5	.912	2.31
Bryce Wandler	Swift Current Broncos	51	2885	23	20	4	123	3	.905	2.56
Alexandre Fomitchev	Calgary Hitmen	57	3321	39	10	7	142	4	.901	2.57
Evan Lindsay	Prince Albert Raiders	56	3336	34	16	5	158	1	.905	2.84
Cody Rudkowsky	Seattle Thunderbirds	64	3670	34	17	10	177	7	.920	2.89

WHL Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

★ Top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (East and Central divisions) qualified for playoffs

★ Top six teams in the Western Conference (division) qualified for the playoffs

Eastern Conference

Calgary vs. Kootenay Date Away Home March 24 Kootenay 5 '7 Calgary' March 26 Calgary 3 '6 Kootenay' March 27 Calgary 4 '5 Kootenay' OT March 29 Kootenay 2 '5 Calgary' March 31 Kootenay 2 '3 Calgary' April 1 Calgary 3 '4 Kootenay' April 2 Kootenay 3 '8 Calgary' '''Calgary wins series 4-3'''	Prince Albert vs. Lethbridge Date Away Home March 24 Lethbridge 1 '7 Prince Albert' March 26 Lethbridge 2 '3 Prince Albert' March 27 'Prince Albert 11' 2 Lethbridge March 29 'Prince Albert 4' 1 Lethbridge '''Prince Albert wins series 4-0'''
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current Date Away Home March 25 Swift Current 2 '3 Moose Jaw' March 26 Swift Current 2 '4 Moose Jaw' March 28 Moose Jaw 3 '4 Swift Current' OT March 30 'Moose Jaw 5' 3 Swift Current March 31 'Swift Current 2' 0 Moose Jaw April 2 'Moose Jaw 3' 2 Swift Current '''Moose Jaw wins series 4-2'''	Red Deer vs. Brandon Date Away Home March 24 'Red Deer 5' 2 Brandon March 25 'Red Deer 5' 1 Brandon March 27 Brandon 5 '9 Red Deer' March 28 'Brandon 4' 3 Red Deer March 30 'Red Deer 7' 3 Brandon '''Red Deer wins series 4-1'''

Western Conference

Kamloops vs. Kelownaa Date Away Home March 25 Kelowna 1 '2 Kamloops' March 36 Kelowna 1 '3 Kamloops' March 30 Kamloops 1 '3 Kelowna' April 1 'Kamloops 3' 1 Kelowna April 3 'Kelowna 4' 3 Kamloops April 4 'Kamloops 3' 2 Kelowna '''Kamloops wins series 4-2'''	Tri-City vs. Portland Date Away Home March 26 Portland 3 '4 Tri-City' OT March 27 Portland 2 '6 Tri-City' March 31 'Tri-City 3' 2 Portland OT April 2 'Tri-City 6' 2 Portland '''Tri-City wins series 4-0'''
Seattle vs. Prince George Date Away Home March 27 Prince George 2 '5 Seattle' March 28 Prince George 1 '3 Seattle' March 30 Seattle 4 '5 Prince George' March 31 'Seattle 3' 2 Prince George April 3 'Prince George 3' 1 Seattle April 5 Seattle 1 '4 Prince George' April 7 Prince George 0 '6 Seattle' '''Seattle wins series 4-3'''

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Calgary vs. Red Deer Date Away Home April 5 Red Deer 3 '6 Calgary' April 6 'Calgary 4' 3 Red Deer OT April 8 Red Deer 2 '4 Calgary' April 9 'Calgary 3' 1 Red Deer '''Calgary wins series 4-0'''	Prince Albert vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home April 5 Moose Jaw 1 '5 Prince Albert' April 6 Moose Jaw 2 '5 Prince Albert' April 8 'Prince Albert 6' 0 Moose Jaw April 9 Prince Albert 3 '4 Moose Jaw' April 11 Moose Jaw 3 '8 Prince Albert' '''Prince Albert wins series 4-1'''

Western Conference
Tri-City vs. Seattle Date Away Home April 9 'Seattle 4' 3 Tri-City April 10 Seattle 0 '6 Tri-City' April 12 'Tri-City 4' 0 Seattle April 13 'Tri-City 4' 2 Seattle '''Tri-City wins series 3-1'''	Kamloops earns bye

Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Calgary vs. Prince Albert Date Away Home April 16 Prince Albert 3 '7 Calgary' April 18 Prince Albert 4 '5 Calgary' OT April 20 Calgary 5 '6 Prince Albert' April 22 'Calgary 7' 1 Prince Albert April 24 Prince Albert 2 '6 Calgary' '''Calgary wins series 4-1'''	Kamloops vs. Tri-City Date Away Home April 17 Tri-City 3 '4 Kamloops' April 18 Tri-City 0 '6 Kamloops' April 21 'Kamloops 3' 2 Tri-City OT April 22 'Kamloops 4' 3 Tri-City '''Kamloops wins series 4-0'''

WHL Championship

{| cellspacing="10"
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4" | Calgary vs. Kamloops
|-
! Date !! Away !! Home
|-
| April 30 || align="right" | 'Kamloops 4' || 2 Calgary
|-
| May 2 || align="right" | Kamloops 0 || '5 Calgary'
|-
| May 4 || align="right" | 'Calgary 4' || 2 Kamloops
|-
| May 5 || align="right" | 'Calgary 4' || 3 Kamloops || 2OT
|-
| May 7 || align="right" | Kamloops 2 || '5 Calgary'
|- align="center"
| colspan="4" | '''Calgary wins series 4-1'''
|}

All-Star Game

On January 20, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 11-9 at Lethbridge, Alberta before a crowd of 5,071.

WHL awards

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"
|Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
|-
|Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Chris Nielson, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Matt Kinch, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Brad Stuart, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
|-
|Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
|-
|Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
|-
|Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Kelly Sutherland
|-
|Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Scott Clark, Regina Pats
|-
|Humanitarian of the Year - Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks
|-
|WHL Plus-Minus Award: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
|-
|Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Brad Moran, Calgary Hitmen
|}

See also

★ 1999 Memorial Cup

★ 1999 NHL Entry Draft

★ 1998 in sports

★ 1999 in sports

References

★ whl.ca

★ 2005-06 WHL Guide