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This article refers to the junior Western Hockey League. For other leagues with the same name, see Western Hockey League (disambiguation).

The Western Hockey League is one of the three hockey Major Junior Tier I 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.

History

''See Also: Timeline of WHL history
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 all had their 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

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."*. LaForge would resign 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 to this day 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 honor.

The modern WHL

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. 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 unfortunately 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 2001, the Vancouver Giants were born. In 2006, with the Oilers finally supporting the WHL rather than opposing it, Edmonton will get its third chance, as the Oilers were granted an expansion team to begin play in the 2007-08 season.

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 may become the third dynasty, winning two WHL titles in 2003 and 2005, and winning the Memorial Cup as host city in 2004.

The WHL is known for producing large, hard-hitting defensemen and gritty power fowards.

Member teams

For the 2006-07 season, the WHL will be comprised of 21 teams divided into two conferences. With the addition of the expansion Chilliwack Bruins, the league is realigning as follows:

Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference is divided into the East and Central divisions, which comprises teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

Division Team City Arena Founded* Titles**
East Brandon Wheat Kings Brandon, Manitoba Keystone Centre 1968† 2
Moose Jaw Warriors Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw Civic Centre 1984 (1980 as Winnipeg Warriors) 0
Prince Albert Raiders Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Art Hauser Centre 1982† 1
Regina Pats Regina, Saskatchewan Brandt Centre 1966† 2
Saskatoon Blades Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Credit Union Centre 1966† 0
Swift Current Broncos Swift Current, Saskatchewan Centennial Civic Centre 1967 2 (3)
Central Calgary Hitmen Calgary, Alberta Pengrowth Saddledome 1995 1
Edmonton WHL‡ Edmonton, Alberta Rexall Place 2007 0
Kootenay Ice Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook Recreational Complex 1998 (1996 as Edmonton Ice) 2
Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridge, Alberta ENMAX Centre 1987 (1967 as Winnipeg Jets) 1
Medicine Hat Tigers Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat Arena 1970 4
Red Deer Rebels Red Deer, Alberta ENMAX Centrium 1992 1

Western Conference

The Western Conference is divided into the B.C. and U.S. divisions, which consist of teams from British Columbia, Oregon and Washington.

Division Team City Arena Founded* Titles**
B.C. Chilliwack Bruins Chilliwack, British Columbia Prospera Centre 2006 0
Kamloops Blazers Kamloops, British Columbia Interior Savings Centre 1981 (1966† as Estevan Bruins) 6 (11)
Kelowna Rockets Kelowna, British Columbia Prospera Place 1995 (1991 as Tacoma Rockets) 2
Prince George Cougars Prince George, British Columbia CN Centre 1994 (1971 as Victoria Cougars) 0 (1)
Vancouver Giants Vancouver, British Columbia Pacific Coliseum 2001 1
U.S. Everett Silvertips Everett, Washington Everett Event Center 2003 0
Portland Winter Hawks Portland, Oregon Memorial Coliseum & Rose Garden 1976 (1966† as Edmonton Oil Kings) 2 (4)
Seattle Thunderbirds Seattle, Washington Key Arena 1977 (1971 as Vancouver Nats) 0
Spokane Chiefs Spokane, Washington Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena 1985 (1982 as Kelowna Wings) 1
Tri-City Americans Kennewick, Washington Toyota Center 1988 (1982 as Nanaimo Islanders) 0

†Denotes franchise originated in a different league prior to this date
‡ The as-yet unnamed Edmonton team will begin play in the 2007-08 season
* First year is when team began in current market. Year in brackets is original franchise date
** First number is titles won in current market. Number in brackets is titles won in franchise history

2005-06 season

For regular season final standings and other stats, see 2005-06 WHL season

Memorial Cup champions

The Memorial Cup has been captured by a WHL team 16 times since the league's founding:

List of WHL Trophies and Awards

See also

Links

Ice hockey leagues | Western Hockey League | 1966 establishments

Western Hockey League | Western Hockey League | Western Hockey League

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Western Hockey League".

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