The 1986–87 WHL season was the 21st 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). While the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

won their second

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy The Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the regular season champion of the Western Hockey League. It is named after one of the league's founders, Scotty Munro. Munro served as the general manager of the Estevan Bruins, one of the ...

as regular season champions, the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

won the President's Cup as playoff champions before going on to win the

1987 Memorial Cup The 1987 Memorial Cup occurred May 9–15 at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium in Oshawa, Ontario. It was the 69th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Oshawa ea ...

tournament. The season saw the return of the

Swift Current Broncos The Swift Current Broncos are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1967, the Broncos relocated to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1974, and were known as the Lethbridge Broncos, before returning to S ...

, with the

Lethbridge Broncos The Lethbridge Broncos were a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League from 1974 until 1986. They played at the Lethbridge Sportsplex. :Division titles won: 1977–78, 1981–82 :Regular season titles won: 1981–82 : WHL Championshi ...

relocating prior to the start of the season.

League notes

*On December 30, 1986, the Swift Current Broncos bus crash caused the deaths of four members of the Broncos: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff. Despite the tragedy, the Broncos opted to continue playing for the remainder of the season. The WHL would later rename its Most Valuable Player award the

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year. The trophy is named in honour of four members of the Swift Current Broncos who were killed on December 30, 1986 in the Swift Current Broncos ...

in honour of the four players who were killed in the crash. *On March 1, 1987,

Regina Pats The Regina Pats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1917, the Pats are the world's oldest continuously operating major junior hockey franchise in its original location and using its original name. The ...

player Brad Hornung was paralyzed during a game by a body check. In 1988, the WHL renamed its Most Sportsmanlike Player award—previously the Frank Boucher Memorial Trophy—the

Brad Hornung Trophy The Brad Hornung Trophy is awarded annually to the most sportsmanlike player of the Western Hockey League. First presented in 1967, it was later renamed in honour of former Regina Pats player Brad Hornung who was paralyzed during a game on March 1 ...

in his honor. The incident also led to a rule change, making body checking from behind illegal. * Rob Brown established a league record with a 212-point season for the

. In a season where the league awarded Most Valuable Player honours to a player from each of the East and West Divisions, Brown shared the MVP title with the Broncos'

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; () born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, which lasted from 1988 to 2009, with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado ...

Team changes

*The

relocate to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, becoming the

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

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

1987 WHL Playoffs

First round

*Medicine Hat earned a bye *Saskatoon earned a bye *Prince Albert defeated Swift Current 3 games to 1 *Moose Jaw defeated Regina 3 games to 0

Division semi-finals

*Medicine Hat defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 2 *Saskatoon defeated Prince Albert 4 games to 0 *Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 0 *Portland defeated Spokane 5 games to 0

Division finals

*Medicine Hat defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 3 *Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3

WHL Championship

*Medicine Hat defeated Portland 4 games to 3

All-Star game

On January 20, the East Division defeated the West Division 4–3 at

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, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

with a crowd of 3,652.

WHL awards

*Note: For the 1986–87 season, the WHL handed out separate awards for the East and West Divisions.

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Whl Season Western Hockey League seasons WHL WHL