The 1971–72 WCHL season was the sixth season of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). It featured twelve teams and a 68-game regular season. While the Calgary Centennials topped the season standings with 49 wins, the Edmonton Oil Kings won their second consecutive President's Cup, defeating the Regina Pats in the championship series. This season also saw the league expand into

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, becoming a truly Western Canadian organization. On the national scene, 1972 also marked the beginning of a new era as it was decided that the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

would be contested through a round robin tournament featuring the champions from the country's three major junior leagues—the WCHL, the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

, and the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

. The Oil Kings became the WCHL's first participant under this new format at the 1972 Memorial Cup tournament.

League notes

*The Estevan Bruins, one of the league's charter members, relocated to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

and became the

New Westminster Bruins The New Westminster Bruins were a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * ...

. While the move left Estevan without major junior hockey, a new Estevan Bruins Junior A franchise was started in 1971, playing in the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

. *The Victoria Cougars and the Vancouver Nats joined the WCHL as expansion clubs, bringing the number of British Columbia-based teams up to three. *With the B.C. teams joining the West Division, the Swift Current Broncos and

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played ev ...

moved to the East division to create two divisions of six teams each. *The season schedule expanded from 66 games to 68.

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

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

1972 WCHL Playoffs

Quarterfinals

*Brandon defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 3 with 1 tie *Regina defeated Flin Flon 3 games to 2 with 2 ties *Calgary defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 2 with 1 tie *Edmonton defeated New Westminster 4 games to 1

Semifinals

*Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 2 *Edmonton defeated Calgary 4 games to 2

Finals

*Edmonton defeated Regina 4 games to 1

All-Star game

The 1971–72 WCHL All-Star Game was held in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, with the East Division All-Stars defeating the West Division All-Stars 4–2 before a crowd of 5,783.

Awards

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1971-72 Wchl Season Western Hockey League seasons WCHL