The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season for the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major 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 ...
. Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The
Medicine Hat Tigers
The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divi ...
won the
President's Cup, while the host
Kelowna Rockets won the
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between ...
.
League notes
* The
Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the western Conference.
* The playoff crossover if the 5th-place team in the B.C. Division finished ahead of the 4th-place team in the U.S. division was discontinued. The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs.
*The 2003–04 season became a historic one for the WHL. The Everett Silvertips, the league's newest franchise, broke 10 junior hockey expansion team records, including winning both a division title and conference title in the team's first season. The Silvertips also became the first expansion team in WHL history to win a playoff series against the league's top team in the regular season, defeating the regular-season champions and reigning WHL champions
Kelowna Rockets in seven games after falling behind 3–1 in the Western Conference Finals before winning three straight games in overtime, becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference title.
Regular season
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''
Goaltending leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average''
2004 WHL Playoffs
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
WHL Championship
RE/Max Canada-Russia Challenge
On November 26, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 4–1 in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population ...
before a crowd of 7,844.
On November 27, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 7–1 in
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...
before a crowd of 4,908.
WHL awards
All-Star Teams
*source: Western Hockey League press release
2004 Bantam Draft
The 2004
WHL Bantam Draft was held at the WHL's head office in Calgary on April 29, 2004.
:''List of first round picks in the bantam draft.''
See also
*
2004 Memorial Cup
*
2004 NHL Entry Draft
*
2003 in sports
*
2004 in sports
2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
American football
* Super Bowl XXXVIII – the New England Patriots (AFC) won 32–29 over the Carolina Panthers (NFC)
**Location: Reliant Stadium
**Attendance: 71,525
**MVP: Tom Brady ...
References
whl.ca* 2005–06 WHL Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 WHL season
Western Hockey League seasons
WHL
WHL