The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. For the 2023–24 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.
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 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. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007. Their home rink was the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, an arena previously used by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vancouver Canucks. Effective with the 2016–17 season, the team relocated to the Langley Events Centre in the Township of Langley, in the eastern part of Metro Vancouver.
The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, USA, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated to Flint, Michigan.
The 2004 Memorial Cup occurred May 15–23 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia. It was the 86th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It featured the host team, the Kelowna Rockets as well as the winners of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League which were the Guelph Storm, Gatineau Olympiques and the Medicine Hat Tigers respectively. The Kelowna Rockets would be the eventual winners, and would become only the fourth host team to win without winning their league as well. Kelowna defeated the Olympiques who made their second straight Memorial Cup final, but as with 2003, the 'Piques came up short. Kelowna also participated in the 2003 tournament as WHL champions but did not advance to the final, and would participate as WHL champions in the 2005 Memorial Cup as well.
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 Division Titles, and continues to rally for the Cup annually. Starting in the 2015–16 season, the Tigers have begun play at Co-op Place after forty-five seasons at the Medicine Hat Arena. They had a sell-out streak at The Arena dating back 197 games.
The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its home games at the Art Hauser Centre.
The Lewiston Maineiacs were a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Lewiston, Maine, United States. The team played its home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. They were the second QMJHL team in the United States, and the only one to play a full season. They won the President's Cup in 2007, becoming the only American based franchise to accomplish the feat.
The 2006 Memorial Cup was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, from May 19–28. It was the 88th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The host team Moncton Wildcats were the only team guaranteed a spot in the tournament. The other teams were the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Peterborough Petes; the Western Hockey League (WHL) champions, the Vancouver Giants; and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Quebec Remparts, who were runners-up in the QMJHL final to the champion Wildcats. The Remparts won the Memorial Cup, defeating the Wildcats 6–2 in the first all-QMJHL final in tournament history. It also marked the first time in Memorial Cup history that the winning team was neither the host nor a league champion.
The 2006–07 WHL season was the 41st season for the Western Hockey League. Twenty-one teams completed a 72-game season. The Everett Silvertips won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, after having the best record in the WHL during the regular season. The Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, defeating the Vancouver Giants in seven games. The Giants captured the 2007 Memorial Cup as tournament hosts, defeating the Tigers in the championship game.
The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honour Ed Chynoweth's long service to junior hockey in Canada. The WHL champion earns a berth into the Memorial Cup tournament, Canada's junior hockey championship. The Kamloops Blazers have won the most WHL championships with six, followed by the Medicine Hat Tigers with five. The Spokane Chiefs were the first team to win the renamed trophy in the 2007–08 WHL season. The current (2022–23) holders of the Ed Chynoweth Cup are the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Cody Franson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). Franson was drafted in the third round, 79th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Franson has also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks.
Michal Řepík is a Czech professional ice hockey left winger. He is currently under contract with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Repik was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 2nd round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Jonathon Gregory Blum is an American professional ice hockey defenseman, currently playing with EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Milan Lucic is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior hockey with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for three seasons and captured the Memorial Cup, while being named tournament MVP in 2007. He was selected 50th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and made the Bruins’ roster as a 19-year-old in 2007–08. Three years later, he won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins. He spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career with Boston prior to being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in June 2015. After a single season in Los Angeles, Lucic signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers in July 2016, playing three seasons for the Oilers before being traded to the Calgary Flames in July 2019.
Matt Keetley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in one game for Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2007–08 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2007 to 2013, was spent in the minor leagues.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 2007 in ice hockey.
The 2010 Memorial Cup was a four-team round-robin format tournament played during May 14–23, 2010 in Brandon, Manitoba. It was the 92nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Western Hockey League (WHL) announced on October 15, 2008, that the Brandon Wheat Kings were chosen to host the event at the Keystone Centre. Other tournament participants included the Windsor Spitfires, champions of the OHL, the Moncton Wildcats, champions of the QMJHL and the Calgary Hitmen, champions of the WHL. The Spitfires went 4–0 in the tournament, defeating Brandon 9–1 in the championship to claim their second straight Memorial Cup title.
Paul Albers is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Houston Aeros.
