The 1981–82 WHL season was the 16th 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), featuring twelve teams completing a 72-game regular season. The Lethbridge Broncos won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best record during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Portland Winter Hawks became the first American-based club to win the President's Cup championship when they defeated the Regina Pats in the championship series. This also made the Winter Hawks the first American team to compete for 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 ...

at the 1982 tournament. The season was the first for the Kamloops Junior Oilers, after the New Westminster Bruins relocated to

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

prior to the season. The season also marked the end of the Spokane Flyers organization, as it ceased operations on December 2, 1981, after playing only 26 games. As such, although the season began with thirteen teams, only twelve completed the season.

Team changes

*The New Westminster Bruins are relocated to Kamloops, British Columbia, becoming the Kamloops Junior Oilers.

Regular season

Final standings

¹Folded mid-season

Scoring leaders

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

1982 WHL Playoffs

First round

*Lethbridge defeated Billings 4 games to 1 *Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 0 *Calgary defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 1

Division semi-finals

*Lethbridge earned a bye *Regina defeated Calgary 3 games to 1 *Portland defeated Kamloops 4 games to 0 *Seattle defeated Victoria 4 games to 0

Division finals

*Regina defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 3 *Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 2

WHL Championship

*Portland defeated Regina 4 games to 1

All-Star game

On January 19, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 4–2 at

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, before a crowd of 3,500.

WHL awards

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1981-82 Whl Season Western Hockey League seasons WHL WHL