The 1978–79 WHL season was the 13th season of the

Western Hockey League 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 hocke ...

(WHL), and the first under that shortened name after previously operating as the Western Canada Hockey League. The season featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

secured their third consecutive regular season title, posting the league's best record—accumulating a league record 125 points in the standings—and followed the title up with the team's first playoff championship, defeating the

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...

in the final series to capture the President's Cup. The season was the first—and only—season for the second incarnation of the Edmonton Oil Kings after the

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba–Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadia ...

relocated to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

prior to the season.

Team changes

*The

relocated to

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, becoming the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

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

1979 WHL Playoffs

Division semi-finals

Round robin format *Brandon (7–1) advanced *Saskatoon (3–5) advanced *Edmonton (2–6) eliminated *Lethbridge (5–3) advanced *Calgary (4–4) advanced *Billings (3–5) eliminated *Portland (7–1) advanced *Victoria (3–5) advanced *New Westminster (2–6) eliminated

Division finals

*Brandon defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0 *Lethbridge defeated Calgary 4 games to 3 *Portland defeated Victoria 4 games to 3

League semi-finals

Round Robin format *Brandon (3–1) advanced *Portland (3–1) advanced *Lethbridge (0–4) eliminated

WHL Championship

*Brandon defeated Portland 4 games to 2

WHL awards

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 Whl Season Western Hockey League seasons WCHL WCHL