Western Hockey League

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The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. The WHL is composed of 23 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions, each. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises 12 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The league will expand to 24 teams by 2026 with the addition of a team in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

The league was founded in 1966 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL), with seven teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta. For its 1967 season, the league was renamed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL). From 1968, the league was renamed the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and finally the Western Hockey League from 1978 after the admission of American-based teams to the league.

The league was the brainchild of Bill Hunter, who desired to build a western league capable of competing with the top leagues in Ontario and Quebec. He partnered with Scotty Munro, Del Wilson, and Jim Piggott to make this vision a reality. Originally considered an "outlaw league" by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the western league was not sanctioned as a top junior league until 1970, when Canadian junior hockey was reorganized.

History

Template:See also

Beginning

Despite winning the 1966 Memorial Cup, 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 larger leagues based in Ontario and Quebec. Desiring stronger competition, Hunter's Oil Kings were competing in both the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the senior Central Alberta Hockey League.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the 1966 Memorial Cup, Hunter made newspaper headlines when he outlined his vision for a nation-wide junior hockey league competing for the Memorial Cup. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association's (CAHA) second vice-president Lloyd Pollock responded by saying that the idea was a pipe dream, and was not feasible while the CAHA was re-negotiating a development agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL).<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref>

CAHA informed the Oil Kings that they were required to play full-time in a junior hockey league for the 1966–67 season or would be ineligible to compete for the Memorial Cup. This led Hunter to endorse the suggestion of Estevan Bruins owner Scotty Munro to create a new Western regional junior league.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Five members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL)—the Bruins, Moose Jaw Canucks, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, and Weyburn Red Wings—left the SJHL and joined the Oil Kings and the Calgary Buffaloes in forming the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL). Despite concerns that the CMJHL would mean the demise of the Alberta and Saskatchewan leagues—the SJHL did immediately fold—the governing bodies in both provinces sanctioned the new league. However, CAHA did not sanction it, declaring the CMJHL to be an "outlaw league" and suspending its teams and players from participation in CAHA events, including the Memorial Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new league accused CAHA of overstepping its boundaries and, with the support of the players and their families, chose to play the season regardless.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The CMJHL began legal action against the CAHA executive in March 1967, fighting to regain eligibility to enter the Memorial Cup tournament.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref>

In May 1967, the CMJHL renamed itself to the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref> The league also added four new teams, including the Swift Current Broncos and three teams based in Manitoba—the Brandon Wheat Kings, Flin Flon Bombers, and Winnipeg Jets.<ref name=":1" /> The new CAHA-NHL development agreement came into effect July 1, 1967. The new pact ended direct sponsorship of junior teams by the NHL, which shifted to paying development fees to CAHA, with junior players becoming eligible for the NHL entry draft at age 20.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref> With the agreement settled, CAHA finally sanctioned the WCHL, which allowed for the league champion Estevan Bruins to compete for the 1968 Memorial Cup.<ref name=":2" /> However, in May 1968, Hunter announced that the league would use an age limit of 21 in spite of the CAHA-NHL agreement. The WCJHL claimed that the lower age limit decreased its talent pool and negatively impacted ticket sales. In response, CAHA again suspended the league and its players.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref>

In June 1968, the WCJHL changed its name to the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and announced that it was leaving CAHA to form the rival Canadian Hockey Association (CHA). Hunter became chairman of the board for the WCHL, and Ron Butlin became president of the WCHL and the CHA.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref> Concerns over the WCHL's relationship with CAHA and a desire to compete for the Memorial Cup led the Pats, Canucks, and Red Wings to withdraw before the 1968–69 season, and join a revived Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League instead.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> At the conclusion of the season, the CHA organized its own national championship, which pitted the WCHL-champion Flin Flon Bombers against the St. Thomas Barons from Ontario. The initiative was undermined when the Barons withdrew from the best-of-seven series during the fourth game in protest of alleged violent play on the part of the Bombers. The Bombers, who were awarded the title, proceeded to challenge the Memorial Cup champion-Montreal Junior Canadiens to a championship showdown, but the Montreal team declined.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After years of disputes, Canadian junior hockey was reorganized in 1970, with CAHA absorbing the CHA and re-sanctioning the WCHL, making it one of three top-flight major junior leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey Association—now the Ontario Hockey League—and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League—now the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.<ref name=":2" /> Then, in 1972, the format of the Memorial Cup was changed to become a tournament between the champion of each major junior league.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Early years

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

The league's first decade saw constant expansion and franchise movement as the league spread throughout the west. The Flin Flon Bombers, led by future NHL stars Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach, became the league's first powerhouse team, making three straight finals appearances and winning back-to-back championships in 1969 and 1970. The WCHL became a truly western league in 1971 when the Estevan Bruins moved to British Columbia to become the New Westminster Bruins, joined by the expansion Victoria Cougars and Vancouver Nats.<ref name=":1" />

In the mid-1970s, the Bruins established the WCHL's first true dynasty, capturing four consecutive championships between 1975 and 1978. The Bruins also won back-to-back Memorial Cup championships in 1977 and 1978.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1976, the Oil Kings, facing pressure from the professional Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, relocated to Oregon to become the Portland Winter Hawks, marking the WCHL's first American club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With the addition of two more American teams in the Seattle Breakers and Billings Bighorns a year later, the WCHL shortened its name to the Western Hockey League.<ref name=":1" /> Despite the Flin Flon Bombers' early success, the remoteness and size of the community increasingly posed a challenge, and in 1978 the team relocated to Edmonton in a brief revival of the Oil Kings—the team would move again a year later and become the Great Falls Americans.

The 1980s

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 manager and 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 $2,250 and players suspended for 73 combined games. 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."Template:Citation needed LaForge resigned following the season after serving three separate suspensions.

On January 19, 1983, the Seattle Breakers dealt Tom Martin and $35,000 to the Victoria Cougars for the Cougars' team bus. The Breakers had been unable to sign Martin, who wanted to play in his home town of Victoria, and the Cougars were unable to use the bus, which they had purchased from the folded Spokane Flyers, because they were unwilling to pay the taxes and duties required to register the vehicle in Canada.

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 in the crash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Broncos retired their numbers and introduced a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players; in 2016, a memorial was unveiled at the crash site.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> The WHL later renamed its award for most valuable player as the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in their honour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1989, less than three years after the crash, the Broncos won the league title and the Memorial Cup.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite news</ref>

The 1990s

The Moose Jaw Warriors in action against the Saskatoon Blades.

The 1990s saw another period of expansion and the return of the league to Western Canada's major cities. In 1991, the Spokane Chiefs became the second American team to win the Memorial Cup. The Kamloops Blazers established themselves as the WHL's second dynasty when they won both the WHL Championship and Memorial Cup three times in four years between 1992 and 1995.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1995, the Calgary Hitmen, founded by 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 were a success, averaging as many as 10,000 fans per game by 2004–05. The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice, but that team failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers. The team became the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and found better success—including winning the 2002 Memorial Cup—despite being in one of the smallest markets in the league.

The 21st century

In the 2000s, the league expanded four more times. The Vancouver Giants joined in 2001, the Everett Silvertips in 2003, the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005—the team relocated in 2011 and became the Victoria Royals—and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007. The Kelowna Rockets established a run of dominance, winning three WHL titles in 2003, 2005, and 2009, and winning the Memorial Cup as host in 2004.

2011 saw WHL teams participate in two outdoor games for the first time. The Spokane Chiefs hosted the Kootenay Ice on January 15, and on February 21, the Calgary Hitmen hosted the Regina Pats for a game in conjunction with the 2011 Heritage Classic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A third outdoor game was hosted by Regina as part of the 2019 Heritage Classic, featuring a rematch against the Hitmen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The league was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in North America in early 2020. The 2019–20 season was cut short and its playoffs ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic, while the 2020–21 season was played in a modified format, with teams playing 24-game in-division schedules with no playoffs. As such, neither the Ed Chynoweth Cup nor the Memorial Cup were awarded in 2020 or 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The league returned to a regular schedule for 2021–22, and the Oil Kings became the first team to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup since the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Teams

The WHL comprises 23 teams divided into two conferences, making it the largest league in the CHL—the Ontario Hockey League has 20 teams and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 18. The WHL has member teams across four Canadian provinces and two American states. The Eastern Conference comprises teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Western Conference is made up of teams based in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

On March 24, 2025, the league announced that it had awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Penticton to begin play in the 2025–26 WHL season; while an application process had begun for an expansion franchise in the City of Chilliwack to begin play in the 2026–27 WHL season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The league subsequently announced that the Chilliwack expansion franchise would debut in the 2027–28 season.<ref name="theprovince_21october2025">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="theprogress_22october2025">Template:Cite news</ref>

The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, with the division winners declared the top two seeds in the first round of the post-season. In the playoffs, the four remaining teams in each conference are reseeded by regular season points in the second round.

Eastern Conference
Division Team City Arena Founded Joined
Central Calgary Hitmen Calgary, Alberta Scotiabank Saddledome 1994 1995
Edmonton Oil Kings Edmonton, Alberta Rogers Place 2006 2007
Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridge, Alberta VisitLethbridge.com Arena 1967*
Medicine Hat Tigers Medicine Hat, Alberta Co-op Place 1970
Red Deer Rebels Red Deer, Alberta Marchant Crane Centrium 1991 1992
East Brandon Wheat Kings Brandon, Manitoba Keystone Centre 1936 1967
Moose Jaw Warriors Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Mosaic Place 1980*
Prince Albert Raiders Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Art Hauser Centre 1971 1982
Regina Pats Regina, Saskatchewan Brandt Centre 1917 1966
Saskatoon Blades Saskatoon, Saskatchewan SaskTel Centre 1964 1966
Swift Current Broncos Swift Current, Saskatchewan InnovationPlex 1967*
Western Conference
Division Team City Arena Founded Joined
B.C. Kamloops Blazers Kamloops, British Columbia Sandman Centre 1966*
Kelowna Rockets Kelowna, British Columbia Prospera Place 1991*
Penticton Vees Penticton, British Columbia South Okanagan Events Centre 1961 2025
Prince George Cougars Prince George, British Columbia CN Centre 1962 1971*
Vancouver Giants Langley, British Columbia Langley Events Centre 2001
Victoria Royals Victoria, British Columbia Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre 2005 2006*
U.S. Everett Silvertips Everett, Washington Angel of the Winds Arena 2001 2003
Portland Winterhawks Portland, Oregon Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1949 1966*
Seattle Thunderbirds Kent, Washington accesso ShoWare Center 1971*
Spokane Chiefs Spokane, Washington Numerica Veterans Arena 1982*
Tri-City Americans Kennewick, Washington Toyota Center 1966*
Wenatchee Wild Wenatchee, Washington Town Toyota Center 1996*

* Indicates franchise was relocated from original location

Future

Team City Arena Founded Joining
Chilliwack Chilliwack, British Columbia Chilliwack Coliseum 2025 2027

Template:OSM Location map

Franchise timeline

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id:line        value:pink
id:bg          value:white
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id:Former      value:rgb(0.82,0.80,0.80) # Use this color to denote a team that is a former league member
id:Current     value:rgb(0.0,0.16,0.36) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member
id:Future     value:rgb(0,0.5,0.5) # Use this color to denote a team that is a future league member
id:gold2       value:rgb(1,0.75,0.0)
id:gray        value:rgb(0.62,0.60,0.60)
id:lineColor   value:gray(0.5)
id:silver      value:rgb(0.75,0.75,0.75)

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bar:1   color:Former  from:09/01/1982 till:06/01/1983 $RightMargin text:Nanaimo
bar:1   color:Former  from:09/01/1983 till:06/01/1988 $UpRight text:New West~Bruins
bar:1   color:Current from:09/01/1988 till:end        $t:white text:Tri-City Americans

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bar:2   color:Current from:09/01/1976 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Portland Winter Hawks / Winterhawks
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bar:2   at:06/01/1972 $champ
bar:2   at:06/01/1982 $champ
bar:2   at:06/01/1998 $champ
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bar:3   color:Former  from:09/01/1971 till:06/01/1981 $Down text:New Westminster Bruins
bar:3   color:Current from:09/01/1981 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Kamloops Junior Oilers / Blazers
bar:3   at:06/01/1968 $champ
bar:3   at:06/01/1975 $champ
bar:3   at:06/01/1976 $champ
bar:3   at:06/01/1977 $champ
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bar:3   at:06/01/1992 $champ
bar:3   at:06/01/1994 $champ
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bar:4   at:06/01/1967 $champ

bar:5   color:Current from:09/01/1966 till:06/01/1968 $t:white $Down text:                    Regina Pats
bar:5   color:Current from:09/01/1970 till:end        text: 
bar:5   at:06/01/1974 $champ
bar:5   at:06/01/1980 $champ

bar:6   color:Current from:09/01/1966 till:end        $t:white text:Saskatoon Blades

bar:7   color:Former  from:09/01/1966 till:06/01/1968 text:Weyburn Red Wings

bar:8   color:Current from:09/01/1967 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Brandon Wheat Kings
bar:8   at:06/01/1979 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/1996 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/2016 $champ

bar:9   color:Former  from:09/01/1967 till:06/01/1978 $Down text:Flin Flon Bombers
bar:9   color:Former  from:09/01/1978 till:06/01/1979 align:center text:"1"
bar:9   color:Former  from:09/01/1979 till:06/01/1980 align:center text:"2"
bar:9   color:Former  from:09/01/1980 till:06/01/1982 align:center text:"3"
 bar:9  at:09/01/1982 $Left text:"1) Edmonton Oil Kings (1978–79), 2) Great Falls Americans (1979–80), 3) Spokane Flyers (1980–82)"
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bar:9   at:06/01/1970 $champ

bar:10  color:Current from:09/01/1967 till:06/01/1974 $t:white $RightMargin shift:(2) text:Swift Current Broncos
bar:10  color:Former  from:09/01/1974 till:06/01/1986 $Down text:Lethbridge Broncos
bar:10  color:Current from:09/01/1986 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Swift Current Broncos
bar:10  at:06/01/1983 $champ
bar:10  at:06/01/1989 $champ
bar:10  at:06/01/1993 $champ
bar:10  at:06/01/2018 $champ

bar:11  color:Former  from:09/01/1967 till:06/01/1977 $RightMargin text:Winnipeg Jets / Clubs / Monarchs
bar:11  color:Former  from:09/01/1977 till:06/01/1987 text:Calgary Wranglers
bar:11  color:Current from:09/01/1987 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Lethbridge Hurricanes
bar:11   at:06/01/1997 $champ

bar:12  color:Current from:09/01/1970 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Medicine Hat Tigers
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bar:12   at:06/01/2007 $champ
bar:12   at:06/01/2025 $champ

bar:13  color:Former  from:09/01/1971 till:06/01/1973 $RightMargin text:Vancouver Nats
bar:13  color:Former  from:09/01/1973 till:06/01/1977 $UpLeft text:Kamloops~Chiefs
bar:13  color:Current from:09/01/1977 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Seattle Breakers / Thunderbirds
bar:13  at:06/01/2017 $champ
bar:13  at:06/01/2023 $champ

bar:14  color:Former  from:09/01/1971 till:06/01/1994 $Down text:Victoria Cougars
bar:14  color:Current from:09/01/1994 till:end        $t:white text:Prince George Cougars
bar:14   at:06/01/1981 $champ

bar:15  color:Former  from:09/01/1980 till:06/01/1984 $RightMargin text:Winnipeg Warriors
bar:15  color:Current from:09/01/1984 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Moose Jaw Warriors
bar:15  at:06/01/2024 $champ

bar:16  color:Former  from:09/01/1982 till:06/01/1985 $RightMargin text:Kelowna Wings
bar:16  color:Current from:09/01/1985 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Spokane Chiefs
bar:16   at:06/01/1991 $champ
bar:16   at:06/01/2008 $champ

bar:17  color:Current from:09/01/1982 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Prince Albert Raiders
bar:17   at:06/01/1985 $champ
bar:17   at:06/01/2019 $champ

bar:18  color:Former  from:09/01/1991 till:06/01/1995 $RightMargin text:Tacoma Rockets
bar:18  color:Current from:09/01/1995 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Kelowna Rockets
bar:18  at:06/01/2003 $champ
bar:18  at:06/01/2005 $champ
bar:18  at:06/01/2009 $champ
bar:18  at:06/01/2015 $champ

bar:19  color:Current from:09/01/1992 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Red Deer Rebels
bar:19  at:06/01/2001 $champ

bar:20  color:Current from:09/01/1995 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Calgary Hitmen
bar:20  at:06/01/1999 $champ
bar:20  at:06/01/2010 $champ

bar:21  color:Former  from:09/01/1996 till:06/01/1998 $RightMargin text:Edmonton Ice
bar:21  color:Former  from:09/01/1998 till:06/01/2019 $Down text:Kootenay Ice
bar:21  color:Former from:09/01/2019 till:06/01/2023  $UpLeft  text:Winnipeg~Ice
bar:21 color:Current from:09/01/2023 till:end         shift:(-1) $t:white $UpLeft text:Wenatchee~Wild
bar:21  at:06/01/2000 $champ
bar:21  at:06/01/2002 $champ
bar:21  at:06/01/2011 $champ

bar:22  color:Current from:09/01/2001 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Vancouver Giants
bar:22  at:06/01/2006 $champ

bar:23  color:Current from:09/01/2003 till:end        $t:white text:Everett Silvertips

bar:24  color:Former  from:09/01/2006 till:06/01/2011 $RightMargin text:Chilliwack Bruins
bar:24  color:Current from:09/01/2011 till:end        $t:white text:Victoria Royals

bar:25  color:Current from:09/01/2007 till:end        $t:white $Down text:Edmonton Oil Kings
bar:25  at:06/01/2012 $champ
bar:25  at:06/01/2014 $champ
bar:25  at:06/01/2022 $champ

bar:26  color:Current from:09/01/2025 till:end        $RightMargin2 text:Penticton Vees

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</timeline>

Franchise histories

Player eligibility

The WHL bantam draft is an annual event in which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups (i.e. 14 or 15 years old). The order of selection depends on the league's standings.

Players aged 15 to 20 are eligible to play in the WHL, with some restrictions. 15-year-olds are permitted to play only five games, unless their midget team's season has ended. Meanwhile, each team is allowed to have only three 20-year-olds on their rosters, except for expansion teams, for which five 20-year-olds are eligible to play. Each team is permitted to carry only two non-North American players, and teams have the opportunity to select such players through the CHL Import Draft.<ref name="WHLFAQ">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Each of the CHL's three member leagues are granted exclusive territorial rights to players from within North America. The WHL holds rights to players from the four western provinces, the American Pacific Northwest, all other American states west of the Mississippi River (except Missouri), and the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Exceptional status

In 2005, the CHL introduced exceptional status, which could be conferred on select players to make them eligible to play full-time in a CHL league as a 15-year-old. In 2020, Connor Bedard became the first player to be granted exceptional status to play in the WHL, and the seventh player overall to have been granted exceptional status since 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bedard was selected by the Regina Pats in the 2020 bantam draft.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2024, Landon DuPont became the second player to be granted exceptional status for the WHL, and the ninth overall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> DuPont was selected by the Everett Silvertips in the 2024 bantam draft.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Education

With most players joining the league while still attending school, the WHL takes a role in its players educational needs. Teams maintain academic advisors, who monitor the academic progress of players along with the league's Director of Education Services.<ref name="0809guide-education">Template:Cite book</ref> The league also operates a scholarship program that offers one full year of Canadian university tuition, textbooks, and compulsory fees for each season played in the WHL. Since this program was introduced in 1993, more than 3,000 scholarships had been handed out at a total value of Template:CAD by 2008.<ref name="ProspectsEducation">Template:Cite journal</ref> Canadian universities and colleges thus recruit extensively from the WHL, affording graduating players the opportunity to continue playing hockey in U Sports competition as they attend post-secondary institutions.

Until 2024, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) considered CHL players professionals—due both to the fact that they received stipends and that eligible players could sign National Hockey League contracts—and thus ineligible to participate in college hockey programs in the United States. Players hoping to receive scholarships to American universities thus had to play Junior A hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League or the United States Hockey League, rather than major junior hockey, to retain NCAA eligibility.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, in August 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed by a former CHL player, alleging that the NCAA ban on CHL players violated US anti-trust laws.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following month, Regina Pats forward Braxton Whitehead became the first CHL player to verbally commit to an NCAA team.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2024, amid increasing pressure, the NCAA voted to open eligibility to CHL players as of the 2025–26 season, marking a significant departure from longstanding policy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Champions and awards

Memorial Cup Champions

The Vancouver Giants celebrate their 2007 Memorial Cup victory.
The Spokane Chiefs' 2008 Memorial Cup banner.

WHL teams earn the right to compete in the annual Memorial Cup tournament by winning the WHL playoff championship or, since 1983, by hosting the tournament. Altogether, the Memorial Cup has been won by WHL teams nineteen times since the league's founding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

League records

Team records for a single season<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
Statistic Total Team Season
Most points 125 Brandon Wheat Kings 1978–79
Most wins 60 Victoria Cougars 1980–81
Most wins, inaugural season 35 Everett Silvertips 2003–04
Most goals for 496 Kamloops Blazers 1986–87
Fewest goals against 125 Kelowna Rockets 2003–04
Individual player records for a single season<ref name=":0" />
Statistic Player Total Season
Most goals Ray Ferraro 108 1983–84
Most assists Rob Brown 136 1986–87
Most points Rob Brown 212 1986–87
Most points, rookie Petr Nedved 145 1989–90
Most points, defenceman Cam Plante 140 1983–84

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League awards

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The Ed Chynoweth Cup is awarded to the WHL's playoff champion.
Award Purpose Most recent
Ed Chynoweth Cup Playoff champion Medicine Hat Tigers
WHL Playoff MVP Most valuable player in the playoffs Harrison Meneghin (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy Regular season champion Everett Silvertips
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Player of the year Jagger Firkus (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Doc Seaman Trophy Scholastic player of the year Noah Chadwick (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Bob Clarke Trophy Top scorer Jagger Firkus (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Brad Hornung Trophy Most sportsmanlike Brayden Yager (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy Top defenceman Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Del Wilson Trophy Top goaltender Brett Mirwald (Vancouver Giants)
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy Top rookie Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers)
WHL Plus-Minus Award Best +/- rating Zac Funk (Prince George Cougars)
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy Top coach Mark Lamb (Prince George Cougars)
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Top executive Mark Lamb (Prince George Cougars)
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy Top official Jeff Ingram
Doug Wickenheiser Humanitarian of the year Ty Hurley (Kelowna Rockets)
St. Clair Group Trophy Best public relations Edmonton Oil Kings

Commissioners

See also

References

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Further reading

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