The 1982–83 WHL season was the 17th 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). Fourteen teams completed a 72-game season. The
Saskatoon Blades topped the regular season standings to capture their second
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy. In the playoffs, the
Lethbridge Broncos won the
President's Cup, defeating the
Portland Winter Hawks in the championship series. The Broncos thus earned a berth in the
1983 Memorial Cup tournament. This was the first Memorial Cup to feature a host team as a fourth participant, and that host was the host Winter Hawks. Portland won the tournament, becoming the first American team to win 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 ...
title.
The season was the first for the
Nanaimo Islanders, after the
Billings Bighorns relocated to Vancouver Island prior to the season. In addition, two expansion teams joined the WHL: the
Prince Albert Raiders and the
Kelowna Wings.
Team changes
*The
Billings Bighorns are relocated to
Nanaimo, British Columbia, becoming the
Nanaimo Islanders.
*The
Kelowna Wings join the WHL as an expansion team.
*The
Prince Albert Raiders join the WHL as an expansion team.
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''
1983 WHL Playoffs
First round
*Saskatoon earned a bye
*Regina earned a bye
*Calgary defeated Medicine Hat 3 games to 2
*Lethbridge defeated Winnipeg 3 games to 0
Division semi-finals
*Calgary defeated Regina 4 games to 1
*Lethbridge defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 2
*Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 0
*Victoria defeated Kamloops 4 games to 3
Division finals
*Lethbridge defeated Calgary 4 games to 2
*Portland defeated Victoria 4 games to 1
WHL Championship
*Lethbridge defeated Portland 4 games to 1
WHL awards
All-Star Teams
See also
*
1983 NHL Entry Draft
*
1982 in sports
1982 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* 1981–82 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Alpine Skiing World Cup:
** Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, United States
** Women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, S ...
*
1983 in sports
References
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:1982-83 Whl Season
Western Hockey League seasons
WHL
WHL