WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE

:''This article refers to the 'junior' Western Hockey League. For other leagues with the same name, see Western Hockey League (disambiguation)''.
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The 'Western Hockey League' is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. It was founded in 1966 as the 'Western Canada Junior Hockey League', and then 'Western Canada Hockey League' with Bill Hunter as chairman of the board. In 1978, it became known as the Western Hockey League. The league is often referred to as the "dub".

Contents
History
The early years
Brawling 80s
The modern WHL
Member teams
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
2006-07 season
WHL Bantam Draft
Memorial Cup champions
WHL Records
List of WHL Trophies and Awards
References
See also
External links

History


:''See Also: Timeline of WHL history
Despite winning the 1966 Memorial Cup, the Edmonton Oil Kings' owner, Bill Hunter, was growing concerned about the state of junior hockey in western Canada. Each of the West's four provinces had its own junior league, and Hunter felt that this put them at a disadvantage when competing nationally against the powerful leagues in Ontario and Quebec. Hunter hoped to form a unified western league to compete.
Hunter's hopes became reality in the summer of 1966, when a revolt within the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League caused several of its top clubs, the Estevan Bruins, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Moose Jaw Canucks, and Weyburn Red Wings, to leave the league and join Hunter's Oil Kings and a new franchise in Calgary, the Calgary Buffaloes. The seven franchises formed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League. The Moose Jaw Canucks won the first league championship.
The early years

Bobby Clarke's Bombers jersey on display at the 2007 Memorial Cup in Vancouver.

In the beginning, the WCHL - which dropped the word 'Junior' from its name in 1968 - battled continuously with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. Initially, the CAHA considered the WCHL to be an "outlaw league", and denied its champions the right to compete for the Memorial Cup. The provincial junior leagues quickly realized that the WCHL was too strong to compete against, and bowed out of competition for the Memorial Cup. When the CAHA reorganized junior hockey in 1971, it named the WCHL one of three Tier I Major-Junior leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey Association's Tier I division (now the Ontario Hockey League) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The first decade of the WCHL saw constant expansion and franchise movement as the league spread throughout the West. The Flin Flon Bombers became the league's first powerhouse team, led by future NHL stars Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach. The Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos joined in 1967, the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1970. The WCHL truly became a western league in 1971 when Estevan moved to B.C. to become the New Westminster Bruins, joined by expansion franchises the Victoria Cougars and Vancouver Nats.
In the mid 1970s, the New Westminster Bruins became the WCHL's first true dynasty, capturing four consecutive championships between 1975 and 1978. The Bruins also won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 1977 and 1978.
In 1976, the Oil Kings succumbed to the competing Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association and relocated to Portland to become the Winter Hawks, the WCHL's first American franchise. With the addition of American teams in Seattle and Billings a year later, the WCHL shortened its name to the ''Western Hockey League''.
Brawling 80s

The 1980s were marked by several brawls that involved police intervention, one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history, and the tragic deaths of four players in a bus crash.
Early in the 1980-81 WHL season, Medicine Hat Tigers GM/Coach Pat Ginnell traded blows with a linesman during a bench clearing brawl against the Lethbridge Broncos. Ginnell was found guilty of assault, fined $360, and suspended for 36 games by the WHL. In March 1982 a violent brawl between the Regina Pats and Calgary Wranglers saw the two teams collectively fined $2250 and players suspended for 73 games combined. Pats coach Bill LaForge would end up in a courtroom later that season when he got into an altercation with a fan. LaForge was acquitted when the judge noted that it was hard to convict a man for assault when faced with "an obnoxious person trying to get into the coach's area."[1]. LaForge resigned following the season after serving three separate suspensions.
On January 19, 1983, the Seattle Breakers dealt the rights to Tom Martin to the Victoria Cougars in exchange for the Cougars' team bus. The Breakers could not sign Martin, who wanted to play in his home town of Victoria, while the Cougars could not use the bus, as they had purchased it from the Spokane Flyers when they folded, but were unwilling to pay the taxes and duties it would cost to register the vehicle in Canada. Thus, the deal made perfect sense.
On December 30, 1986, tragedy struck the Swift Current Broncos when their bus slid off an icy highway and rolled on the way to Regina for a game. Scott Kruger, Trent Kresse, Brent Ruff, and Chris Mantyka were killed. The Broncos retired their numbers, and as of 2006 still wear a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players who died. The WHL would later rename the award for Most Valuable Player as the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in their honour.
The modern WHL

Calgary Hitmen in action against the Saskatoon Blades

The last 15 years in the WHL have been marked by another period of expansion and the return of the league to Western Canada's major cities. The Kamloops Blazers became the WHL's second dynasty in the early 1990s when they won both the WHL Championship and Memorial Cup three times in four years between 1992 and 1995. The Kelowna Rockets have become the third dynasty, winning two WHL titles in 2003 and 2005, and winning the Memorial Cup as host city in 2004.
In 1995, the Calgary Hitmen were born when a group of investors, including Bret "the Hitman" Hart, from whom the team got its name, were granted an expansion franchise. Despite early fears that the WHL could not succeed in an NHL city, the Hitmen have been a major success, averaging as many as 10,000 fans per game in 2004-05. The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice, who failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers. The team would become the Kootenay Ice, who have become a major success in Cranbrook, British Columbia despite being one of the smallest markets in the league. In the new millennium, the league has given birth to four new expansion teams - the Vancouver Giants in 2001, the Everett Silvertips in 2003, the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005, and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007, as the Oilers have taken an interest in cultivating a junior team in the Alberta capital.
The WHL is stereotypically known for producing large, hard-hitting defencemen and gritty power forwards, although recently a high percentage of quality goaltenders have come out of the Dub as well, as evidenced by the fact that the last four winners of the CHL Goaltender of the Year award have come from the WHL.

Member teams


A map of the WHL teams' home cities.

For the 2007-08 season, the WHL is comprised of 22 teams divided into two conferences. The WHL will welcome the city of Edmonton back into the fold, as the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings will revive a historical team name in the Alberta capital.
The WHL has member teams across four Canadian provinces, and two American states. The Eastern Conference comprises teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and eastern British Columbia. The Western Conference is made up of teams based in British Columbia, Washington State and Oregon.
Eastern Conference

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 65%"
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! width=7%|Division
! width=17%|Team
! width=17%|City
! width=20%|Arena
|-
! rowspan="6" | East
| 'Brandon Wheat Kings'
| Brandon, Manitoba
| Westman Communication Group Place
|-
| 'Moose Jaw Warriors'
| Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
| Moose Jaw Civic Centre
|-
| 'Prince Albert Raiders'
| Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
| Art Hauser Centre
|-
| 'Regina Pats'
| Regina, Saskatchewan
| Brandt Centre
|-
| 'Saskatoon Blades'
| Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
| Credit Union Centre
|-
| 'Swift Current Broncos'
| Swift Current, Saskatchewan
| Centennial Civic Centre
|-
! rowspan="6" | Central
| 'Calgary Hitmen'
| Calgary, Alberta
| Pengrowth Saddledome
|-
| 'Edmonton Oil Kings'
| Edmonton, Alberta
| Rexall Place
|-
| 'Kootenay Ice'
| Cranbrook, British Columbia
| Cranbrook Recreational Complex
|-
| 'Lethbridge Hurricanes'
| Lethbridge, Alberta
| ENMAX Centre
|-
| 'Medicine Hat Tigers'
| Medicine Hat, Alberta
| Medicine Hat Arena
|-
| 'Red Deer Rebels'
| Red Deer, Alberta
| ENMAX Centrium
|}
Western Conference

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 65%"
|-
! width=7%|Division
! width=17%|Team
! width=17%|City
! width=20%|Arena
|-
! rowspan="5" | B.C.
| 'Chilliwack Bruins'
| Chilliwack, British Columbia
| Prospera Centre
|-
| 'Kamloops Blazers'
| Kamloops, British Columbia
| Interior Savings Centre
|-
| 'Kelowna Rockets'
| Kelowna, British Columbia
| Prospera Place
|-
| 'Prince George Cougars'
| Prince George, British Columbia
| CN Centre
|-
| 'Vancouver Giants'
| Vancouver, British Columbia
| Pacific Coliseum
|-
! rowspan="5" | U.S.
| 'Everett Silvertips'
| Everett, Washington
| Everett Event Center
|-
| 'Portland Winter Hawks'
| Portland, Oregon
| Memorial Coliseum & Rose Garden
|-
| 'Seattle Thunderbirds'
| Seattle, Washington
| Key Arena
|-
| 'Spokane Chiefs'
| Spokane, Washington
| Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
|-
| 'Tri-City Americans'
| Kennewick, Washington
| Toyota Center
|}

2006-07 season


Main articles: 2006-07 WHL season

The addition of the expansion Chilliwack Bruins led to some realignment by the WHL. The Bruins played in the B.C. Division, moving the Kootenay Ice to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The Swift Current Broncos moved to the East Division.
The defending WHL champion Vancouver Giants are guaranteed a berth into the 2007 Memorial Cup as they are hosting the tournament. Two teams will represent the WHL in this years national championship.
On October 23, three players with the Moose Jaw Warriors were struck by a suspected drunk driver while returning home following a road trip. Two players were treated and released from a Moose Jaw hospital; however, Garrett Robinson was critically injured in the accident, and was in hospital in Regina. He recuperated in his native British Columbia but returned to Moose Jaw near the end of the 2006–2007 regular season. [2] A recovery fund was established by the Warriors and the WHL. Details of the fund are at whl.ca.
The season ended with a playoff series between the Vancouver Giants and the Medicine Hat Tigers. It extended to seven games, in which the Tigers came out on top in the second overtime of game seven and claimed the 2006–2007 league title.

WHL Bantam Draft


The WHL Bantam Draft is an annual event which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups, 14 or 15 years old. The order of selection depends on the final standings of the teams, the last place team selects first the 2nd to last will choose 2nd and so on.

Memorial Cup champions


The Memorial Cup has been captured by a WHL team 17 times since the league's founding:

2007: Vancouver Giants

2004: Kelowna Rockets

2002: Kootenay Ice

2001: Red Deer Rebels

1998: Portland Winter Hawks

1995: Kamloops Blazers

1994: Kamloops Blazers

1992: Kamloops Blazers

1991: Spokane Chiefs

1989: Swift Current Broncos

1988: Medicine Hat Tigers

1987: Medicine Hat Tigers

1985: Prince Albert Raiders

1983: Portland Winter Hawks

1978: New Westminster Bruins

1977: New Westminster Bruins

1974: Regina Pats

WHL Records


'Individual records'

★ Most goals in a season: 108, Ray Ferraro, 1983-84

★ Most assists in a season: 136, Rob Brown, 1986-87

★ Most points in a season: 212, Rob Brown, 1986-87

★ Most penalty minutes in a season: 511, Brent Gogol, 1977-78

★ Most points in a season, rookie: 145, Petr Nedved, 1989-90

★ Most points in a season, defenceman: 140, Cam Plante, 1983-84

★ Most hat-tricks in a season: 15, Ray Ferraro, 1983-84
'Team Records'

★ Most wins in a season: 60, Victoria Cougars, 1980-81

★ Most points in a season: 125, Brandon Wheat Kings, 1978-79

★ Most goals in a season: 496, Kamloops Blazers, 1986-87

★ Fewest goals against in a season: 125, Kelowna Rockets, 2003-04

List of WHL Trophies and Awards


The Ed Chynoweth Cup is awarded to the WHL's champion


Ed Chynoweth Cup - Playoff Champions

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy - Regular Season Champions

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy - Player of the Year

Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy - Scholastic Player of the Year

Bob Clarke Trophy - Top Scorer

Brad Hornung Trophy - Most Sportsmanlike Player

Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy - Top Defencemen

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy - Rookie of the Year

Del Wilson Trophy - Top Goaltender

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy - Coach of the Year

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy - Executive of the Year

Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy - Top Official

St. Clair Group Trophy - Marketing/Public Relations Award

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy - Humanitarian of the Year

WHL Plus-Minus Award

airBC Trophy - Most Valuable Player in the Playoffs

References



Archive of standings and statistics

★ 2005-06 WHL Guide

See also



List of WHL seasons

Timeline of WHL history

List of CHL franchise post-season droughts

Ontario Hockey League

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Sports league attendances

List of ice hockey leagues

External links



Official WHL web site

WHL historical archive

WHLFans.ca Message Board

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