Western Hockey League (1952–1974)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 hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. The WHL is composed of 23 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions, each. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises 12 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The league will expand to 24 teams by 2026 with the addition of a team in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

The league was founded in 1966 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL), with seven teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta. For its 1967 season, the league was renamed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL). From 1968, the league was renamed the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and finally the Western Hockey League from 1978 after the admission of American-based teams to the league.

The league was the brainchild of Bill Hunter, who desired to build a western league capable of competing with the top leagues in Ontario and Quebec. He partnered with Scotty Munro, Del Wilson, and Jim Piggott to make this vision a reality. Originally considered an "outlaw league" by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the western league was not sanctioned as a top junior league until 1970, when Canadian junior hockey was reorganized.

History

Beginning

Despite winning the 1966 Memorial Cup, Edmonton Oil Kings' owner Bill Hunter was growing concerned about the state of junior hockey in Western Canada. Each of the West's four provinces had its own junior league, and Hunter felt that this put them at a disadvantage when competing nationally against larger leagues based in Ontario and Quebec. Desiring stronger competition, Hunter's Oil Kings were competing in both the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the senior Central Alberta Hockey League. During the 1966 Memorial Cup, Hunter made newspaper headlines when he outlined his vision for a nation-wide junior hockey league competing for the Memorial Cup. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association's (CAHA) second vice-president Lloyd Pollock responded by saying that the idea was a pipe dream, and was not feasible while the CAHA was re-negotiating a development agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL).

CAHA informed the Oil Kings that they were required to play full-time in a junior hockey league for the 1966–67 season or would be ineligible to compete for the Memorial Cup. This led Hunter to endorse the suggestion of Estevan Bruins owner Scotty Munro to create a new Western regional junior league. Five members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL)—the Bruins, Moose Jaw Canucks, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, and Weyburn Red Wings—left the SJHL and joined the Oil Kings and the Calgary Buffaloes in forming the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL). Despite concerns that the CMJHL would mean the demise of the Alberta and Saskatchewan leagues—the SJHL did immediately fold—the governing bodies in both provinces sanctioned the new league. However, CAHA did not sanction it, declaring the CMJHL to be an "outlaw league" and suspending its teams and players from participation in CAHA events, including the Memorial Cup. The new league accused CAHA of overstepping its boundaries and, with the support of the players and their families, chose to play the season regardless. The CMJHL began legal action against the CAHA executive in March 1967, fighting to regain eligibility to enter the Memorial Cup tournament.

In May 1967, the CMJHL renamed itself to the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL). The league also added four new teams, including the Swift Current Broncos and three teams based in Manitoba—the Brandon Wheat Kings, Flin Flon Bombers, and Winnipeg Jets. The new CAHA-NHL development agreement came into effect July 1, 1967. The new pact ended direct sponsorship of junior teams by the NHL, which shifted to paying development fees to CAHA, with junior players becoming eligible for the NHL entry draft at age 20. With the agreement settled, CAHA finally sanctioned the WCHL, which allowed for the league champion Estevan Bruins to compete for the 1968 Memorial Cup. However, in May 1968, Hunter announced that the league would use an age limit of 21 in spite of the CAHA-NHL agreement. The WCJHL claimed that the lower age limit decreased its talent pool and negatively impacted ticket sales. In response, CAHA again suspended the league and its players.

In June 1968, the WCJHL changed its name to the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and announced that it was leaving CAHA to form the rival Canadian Hockey Association (CHA). Hunter became chairman of the board for the WCHL, and Ron Butlin became president of the WCHL and the CHA. Concerns over the WCHL's relationship with CAHA and a desire to compete for the Memorial Cup led the Pats, Canucks, and Red Wings to withdraw before the 1968–69 season, and join a revived Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League instead. At the conclusion of the season, the CHA organized its own national championship, which pitted the WCHL-champion Flin Flon Bombers against the St. Thomas Barons from Ontario. The initiative was undermined when the Barons withdrew from the best-of-seven series during the fourth game in protest of alleged violent play on the part of the Bombers. The Bombers, who were awarded the title, proceeded to challenge the Memorial Cup champion-Montreal Junior Canadiens to a championship showdown, but the Montreal team declined.

After years of disputes, Canadian junior hockey was reorganized in 1970, with CAHA absorbing the CHA and re-sanctioning the WCHL, making it one of three top-flight major junior leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey Association—now the Ontario Hockey League—and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League—now the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Then, in 1972, the format of the Memorial Cup was changed to become a tournament between the champion of each major junior league.
File:WHLlogo1968.gif, 1968–1978
File:WHLlogo1978.gif, 1978–2002
File:Western Hockey League.svg, 2002–present

Early years

The league's first decade saw constant expansion and franchise movement as the league spread throughout the west. The Flin Flon Bombers, led by future NHL stars Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach, became the league's first powerhouse team, making three straight finals appearances and winning back-to-back championships in 1969 and 1970. The WCHL became a truly western league in 1971 when the Estevan Bruins moved to British Columbia to become the New Westminster Bruins, joined by the expansion Victoria Cougars and Vancouver Nats.

In the mid-1970s, the Bruins established the WCHL's first true dynasty, capturing four consecutive championships between 1975 and 1978. The Bruins also won back-to-back Memorial Cup championships in 1977 and 1978.

In 1976, the Oil Kings, facing pressure from the professional Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, relocated to Oregon to become the Portland Winter Hawks, marking the WCHL's first American club. With the addition of two more American teams in the Seattle Breakers and Billings Bighorns a year later, the WCHL shortened its name to the Western Hockey League. Despite the Flin Flon Bombers' early success, the remoteness and size of the community increasingly posed a challenge, and in 1978 the team relocated to Edmonton in a brief revival of the Oil Kings—the team would move again a year later and become the Great Falls Americans.

The 1980s

The 1980s were marked by several brawls that involved police intervention, one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history, and the tragic deaths of four players in a bus crash.

Early in the 1980–81 WHL season, Medicine Hat Tigers manager and coach Pat Ginnell traded blows with a linesman during a bench clearing brawl against the Lethbridge Broncos. Ginnell was found guilty of assault, fined $360, and suspended for 36 games by the WHL. In March 1982, a violent brawl between the Regina Pats and Calgary Wranglers saw the two teams collectively fined $2,250 and players suspended for 73 combined games. Pats coach Bill LaForge would end up in a courtroom later that season when he got into an altercation with a fan. LaForge was acquitted when the judge noted that it was hard to convict a man for assault when faced with "an obnoxious person trying to get into the coach's area." LaForge resigned following the season after serving three separate suspensions.

On January 19, 1983, the Seattle Breakers dealt Tom Martin and $35,000 to the Victoria Cougars for the Cougars' team bus. The Breakers had been unable to sign Martin, who wanted to play in his home town of Victoria, and the Cougars were unable to use the bus, which they had purchased from the folded Spokane Flyers, because they were unwilling to pay the taxes and duties required to register the vehicle in Canada.

On December 30, 1986, tragedy struck the Swift Current Broncos when their bus slid off an icy highway and rolled on the way to Regina for a game. Scott Kruger, Trent Kresse, Brent Ruff, and Chris Mantyka were killed in the crash. The Broncos retired their numbers and introduced a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players; in 2016, a memorial was unveiled at the crash site. The WHL later renamed its award for most valuable player as the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in their honour. In 1989, less than three years after the crash, the Broncos won the league title and the Memorial Cup.

The 1990s

The 1990s saw another period of expansion and the return of the league to Western Canada's major cities. In 1991, the Spokane Chiefs became the second American team to win the Memorial Cup. The Kamloops Blazers established themselves as the WHL's second dynasty when they won both the WHL Championship and Memorial Cup three times in four years between 1992 and 1995.

In 1995, the Calgary Hitmen, founded by a group of investors including Bret "the Hitman" Hart, from whom the team got its name, were granted an expansion franchise. Despite early fears that the WHL could not succeed in an NHL city, the Hitmen were a success, averaging as many as 10,000 fans per game by 2004–05. The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice, but that team failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers. The team became the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and found better success—including winning the 2002 Memorial Cup—despite being in one of the smallest markets in the league.

The 21st century

In the 2000s, the league expanded four more times. The Vancouver Giants joined in 2001, the Everett Silvertips in 2003, the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005—the team relocated in 2011 and became the Victoria Royals—and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007. The Kelowna Rockets established a run of dominance, winning three WHL titles in 2003, 2005, and 2009, and winning the Memorial Cup as host in 2004.

2011 saw WHL teams participate in two outdoor games for the first time. The Spokane Chiefs hosted the Kootenay Ice on January 15, and on February 21, the Calgary Hitmen hosted the Regina Pats for a game in conjunction with the 2011 Heritage Classic. A third outdoor game was hosted by Regina as part of the 2019 Heritage Classic, featuring a rematch against the Hitmen.

The league was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in North America in early 2020. The 2019–20 season was cut short and its playoffs ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic, while the 2020–21 season was played in a modified format, with teams playing 24-game in-division schedules with no playoffs. As such, neither the Ed Chynoweth Cup nor the Memorial Cup were awarded in 2020 or 2021. The league returned to a regular schedule for 2021–22, and the Oil Kings became the first team to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup since the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019.

Teams

The WHL comprises 23 teams divided into two conferences, making it the largest league in the CHL—the Ontario Hockey League has 20 teams and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 18. The WHL has member teams across four Canadian provinces and two American states. The Eastern Conference comprises teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Western Conference is made up of teams based in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

On March 24, 2025, the league announced that it had awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Penticton to begin play in the 2025–26 WHL season; while an application process had begun for an expansion franchise in the City of Chilliwack to begin play in the 2026–27 WHL season.

The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, with the division winners declared the top two seeds in the first round of the post-season. In the playoffs, the four remaining teams in each conference are reseeded by regular season points in the second round.

* Indicates franchise was relocated from original location

Future

Franchise timeline

Note: Current teams are shown in blue. Gold stars denote league championships.

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Franchise histories

*Calgary Buffaloes (1966–67) → Calgary Centennials (1967–77) → Billings Bighorns (1977–82) → Nanaimo Islanders (1982–83) → New Westminster Bruins (1983–88) → Tri-City Americans (1988–present)
*Edmonton Oil Kings (1966–76) → Portland Winter Hawks (1976–2009) → Portland Winterhawks (2009–present)
*Estevan Bruins (1966–71) → New Westminster Bruins (1971–81) → Kamloops Junior Oilers (1981–84) → Kamloops Blazers (1984–present)
*Moose Jaw Canucks (1966–68)
*Regina Pats (1966–68, 1970–present)
*Saskatoon Blades (1966–present)
*Weyburn Red Wings (1966–68)
* Brandon Wheat Kings (1967–present)
*Flin Flon Bombers (1967–78) → Edmonton Oil Kings (1978–79) → Great Falls Americans (1979–80) → Spokane Flyers (1980–82)
*Swift Current Broncos (1967–74) → Lethbridge Broncos (1974–86) → Swift Current Broncos (1986–present)
*Winnipeg Jets (1967–73) → Winnipeg Clubs (1973–76) → Winnipeg Monarchs (1976–77) → Calgary Wranglers (1977–87) → Lethbridge Hurricanes (1987–present)
*Medicine Hat Tigers (1970–present)
*Vancouver Nats (1971–73) → Kamloops Chiefs (1973–77) → Seattle Breakers (1977–85) → Seattle Thunderbirds (1985–present)
*Victoria Cougars (1971–94) → Prince George Cougars (1994–present)
*Winnipeg Warriors (1980–84) → Moose Jaw Warriors (1984–present)
*Kelowna Wings (1982–85) → Spokane Chiefs (1985–present)
*Prince Albert Raiders (1982–present)
*Tacoma Rockets (1991–95) → Kelowna Rockets (1995–present)
*Red Deer Rebels (1992–present)
*Calgary Hitmen (1995–present)
*Edmonton Ice (1996–98) → Kootenay Ice (1998–2019) → Winnipeg Ice (2019–2023) → Wenatchee Wild (2023–present)
*Vancouver Giants (2001–present)
*Everett Silvertips (2003–present)
*Chilliwack Bruins (2006–11) → Victoria Royals (2011–present)
*Edmonton Oil Kings (2007–present)
*Penticton Vees (2025–present)

Player eligibility

The WHL bantam draft is an annual event in which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups (i.e. 14 or 15 years old). The order of selection depends on the league's standings.

Players aged 15 to 20 are eligible to play in the WHL, with some restrictions. 15-year-olds are permitted to play only five games, unless their midget team's season has ended. Meanwhile, each team is allowed to have only three 20-year-olds on their rosters, except for expansion teams, for which five 20-year-olds are eligible to play. Each team is permitted to carry only two non-North American players, and teams have the opportunity to select such players through the CHL Import Draft.

Each of the CHL's three member leagues are granted exclusive territorial rights to players from within North America. The WHL holds rights to players from the four western provinces, the American Pacific Northwest, all other American states west of the Mississippi River (except Missouri), and the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Exceptional status

In 2005, the CHL introduced exceptional status, which could be conferred on select players to make them eligible to play full-time in a CHL league as a 15-year-old. In 2020, Connor Bedard became the first player to be granted exceptional status to play in the WHL, and the seventh player overall to have been granted exceptional status since 2005. Bedard was selected by the Regina Pats in the 2020 bantam draft. In 2024, Landon DuPont became the second player to be granted exceptional status for the WHL, and the ninth overall. DuPont was selected by the Everett Silvertips in the 2024 bantam draft.

Education

With most players joining the league while still attending school, the WHL takes a role in its players educational needs. Teams maintain academic advisors, who monitor the academic progress of players along with the league's Director of Education Services. The league also operates a scholarship program that offers one full year of Canadian university tuition, textbooks, and compulsory fees for each season played in the WHL. Since this program was introduced in 1993, more than 3,000 scholarships had been handed out at a total value of by 2008. Canadian universities and colleges thus recruit extensively from the WHL, affording graduating players the opportunity to continue playing hockey in U Sports competition as they attend post-secondary institutions.

Until 2024, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) considered CHL players professionals—due both to the fact that they received stipends and that eligible players could sign National Hockey League contracts—and thus ineligible to participate in college hockey programs in the United States. Players hoping to receive scholarships to American universities thus had to play Junior A hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League or the United States Hockey League, rather than major junior hockey, to retain NCAA eligibility. However, in August 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed by a former CHL player, alleging that the NCAA ban on CHL players violated US anti-trust laws. The following month, Regina Pats forward Braxton Whitehead became the first CHL player to verbally commit to an NCAA team. In November 2024, amid increasing pressure, the NCAA voted to open eligibility to CHL players as of the 2025–26 season, marking a significant departure from longstanding policy.

Champions and awards

Memorial Cup Champions

WHL teams earn the right to compete in the annual Memorial Cup tournament by winning the WHL playoff championship or, since 1983, by hosting the tournament. Altogether, the Memorial Cup has been won by WHL teams nineteen times since the league's founding.

League records

League awards

Commissioners

* Frank Boucher (Commissioner), 1966–1968
* Ron Butlin (President), 1968–1971
* Jim Piggott (President) & Tom Fisher (Executive Secretary), 1971–1972
* Del Wilson (President) & Tom Fisher (Executive Secretary), 1972–1973
* Ed Chynoweth (President), 1973–1979
* David Descent (President), 1979–1980
* Ed Chynoweth (President), 1980–1995
* Dev Dley (Commissioner), 1995–2000
* Ron Robison (Commissioner), 2000–2024
* Dan Near (Commissioner), 2024–presentAdidas executive Dan Near named new WHL Commissioner
/ref>

See also

* List of ice hockey leagues
* CHL/USA Prospects Challenge

References

Further reading

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External links

*

Official website of the Canadian Hockey League

{{Junior Hockey

Sports leagues established in 1966
1
Junior ice hockey leagues in the United States
1966 establishments in Canada