The 1968–69 WCHL season was the third season of the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

. Eight teams completed a 60-game season, with 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 Canadian ...

winning the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

League business

The Western Canada Junior Hockey League changed its name to the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) on June 8, 1968, and broke away from the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

(CAHA) and affiliated with the new Canadian Hockey Association instead.

Ron Butlin Ron Butlin (born 1949 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish poet and novelist who was Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate) from 2008 to 2014. Education Butlin was educated at the University of Edinburgh. He later became writer in residence in 1982 and 1984 a ...

was named president of both of the WCHL and the Canadian Hockey Association. The league changed its name since it no longer conformed to the CAHA age limit of 19, but rather raised its age limit to 21. The

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * R ...

chose to withdraw from the WCHL, and play in the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League under the jurisdiction of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association. Butlin expected the WCHL to go ahead with the remaining ten teams separated into two divisions, but actively searched for prospective owners of a team in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. The WCHL sought for payments from the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) as per the existing

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

agreement in which CAHA were paid for developing future professional players. On July 20, 1968, Butlin suspended the

Moose Jaw Canucks The Moose Jaw Canucks were a junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. They were one of the founding members of the ''Western Canada Junior Hockey League'' (known today as the Western Hockey League) in 1966 following a rebel ...

from the WCHL for failure to fulfill financial obligations to the league. The Canucks then joined then Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League, becoming the second former WCHL team to do so. The

Weyburn Red Wings The Weyburn Red Wings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Crescent Point Place, which has a seating capacity of 1,750. T ...

later withdrew from the WCHL due to concerns of increased operating costs, and were the third team to join the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League. As of August 13, eight of the eleven teams from the WCJHL remained with the WCHL

Regular season

The WCHL was split into two four-team divisions with an interlocking season schedule. In February 1969, the

Dauphin Kings The Dauphin Kings are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The Kings were established in ...

in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

challenged the validity of the Canadian Hockey Association contract when it signed

Butch Goring Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring (born October 22, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four- ...

from the Winnipeg Jets.

Merv Haney Merv Haney (born August 13, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. During the 1972–73 season, Haney played seven games in the World Hockey Association with the Ottawa Nationals The Ottawa Nationals were a professio ...

also departed the Jets for the Kings, and Butlin stated that the WCHL would seek a court injunction to prevent both from playing for Dauphin and take legal action to seek damages.

Final standings

Scoring leaders

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

League playoffs

Butlin arranged for the WCHL to compete in an east-west national championship of the Canadian Hockey Association, against the champions of the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League. WCHL playoffs were the first team to eight points would win series.

Quarterfinals

*Calgary defeated Swift Current 8 points to 0 *Edmonton defeated Saskatoon 8 points to 0 *Estevan defeated Brandon 8 points to 2 *Flin Flon defeated Winnipeg 9 points to 5

Semifinals

*Flin Flon defeated Estevan 9 points to 1 *Edmonton defeated Calgary 9 points to 5

Finals

*Flin Flon defeated Edmonton 8 points to 4

National championship

The national final was scheduled to begin April 25 versus the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League champion. The

and

St. Thomas Barons The St. Thomas Stars are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. The team plays in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Junior ice hockey in St. Thomas began in 1961 with ...

played in the CHA east-west national final for the Father

Athol Murray Athol Murray (January 9, 1892December 15, 1975) was a Canadian Catholic priest and educator. He built a collection of shacks in Wilcox, 55 km south of Regina into a non-denominational residential college. It began as a convent school founded ...

Trophy. It was arranged as a best-of-seven series to begin in St. Thomas, Ontario. The series would be the first Canadian national

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

championship not under the jurisdiction of the CAHA. The Barons withdrew from the championship series during the fourth game, played at the

Whitney Forum The Whitney Forum is an ice hockey arena located in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. It is home to the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Whitney Forum opened in 1958 and has seating capacity for 1,650 ...

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within ...

on May 5. The team left after an on-ice brawl during the second period. The referee defaulted the game to the Bombers, who were leading by a 4–0 score at the time. The Bombers led the series three games to one after the default win. Game five was scheduled in Flin Flon on May 7, and games six and seven would have been in St. Thomas if necessary. The Barons were escorted from the arena to their hotel by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, and abandoned the series in the interest of player safety. The team departed for St. Thomas on May 6, despite game five being scheduled for the next day.

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

described the Barons as being over-matched in the series and were not up to the calibre of WCHL teams. On May 7, Butlin awarded the series and the championship to the Flin Flon Bombers.

All-star game

The 1968–69 WCHL all-star game was held in

Flin Flon, Manitoba Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within ...

, with the WCHL All-stars and

ending in a 4–4 draw before a crowd of 2,100.

Awards

All-star team

*Goaltender:

Ray Martyniuk Ray Martynuik (March 28, 1950 – October 20, 2013), sometimes spelled Martyniuk, was a professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and played for the Flin Flon Bombers in the Western Canada Hockey League, where he ear ...

*Defenceman:

Dale Hoganson Dale Gordon Hoganson (born July 8, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 344 games in the National Hockey League and 378 games in the World Hockey Association between 1969 and 1982. He played for the Los Angeles King ...

Estevan Bruins Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

*Defenceman: Herb Howdle,

*Centerman:

Bobby Clarke Robert Earle Clarke (born August 13, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire 15-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team. Popular ...

*Left winger:

Greg Polis Gregory Linn Polis (August 8, 1950 – March 18, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Polis played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. Early ...

*Right winger:

Reggie Leach Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1968-69 Wchl Season Western Hockey League seasons WCHL