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. 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 since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy. 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 Edmonton Oil Kings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team, and founding member of the Western Hockey League. They played at Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, and later Northlands Coliseum. In 1976, they moved to Portland, Oregon to become the Portland Winter Hawks. A second incarnation of the team played only one season in 1977–78 before moving to Great Falls, Montana.
The Sutter family, originally from Viking, Alberta, Canada, are one of the most famous families in the National Hockey League (NHL). Six brothers: Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron, reached the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four brothers, Brian, Duane, Darryl and Brent, have gone on to become coaches and general managers as well, with Brian, Darryl, and Brent each having a stint as head coach of the Calgary Flames. All brothers played either for the Chicago Blackhawks or the St. Louis Blues at one point or another. A seventh brother named Gary is said by his brothers to have been the best hockey player of all seven boys. Rather than making his living as a hockey player, Gary stayed home to work on the family farm, as Rich remarked on an episode of the Canadian sports show Off the Record.
This is a timeline of events throughout the 40-year history of the Western Hockey League
The Midget AAA World Invitational Tournament is an international ice hockey tournament held annually for U18 players in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. First held in 1978, as the CP Challenge Cup, the tournament features 25 male teams from across Canada, the United States and Europe. The female division of this tournament was contested from 2004 to 2017.
The Prince Albert Mintos are a Canadian ice hockey team that plays in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL). Their home rink is the Art Hauser Centre formerly Comuniplex. The Prince Albert Mintos won the Telus Cup and Western Canadian Regionals back to back years starting in the 2005–2006 season and 2006–2007 year. They won the Telus Cup and Western Canadian Regionals for the third time in 2013–2014 season.
The Telus Cup is Canada's national under-18 ice hockey club championship. It is an annual event, held by Hockey Canada each April. From 1979 to 2003, the national championship was sponsored by Air Canada.
The history of ice hockey in Calgary extends back well over a century to the first recorded ice hockey game in Alberta in 1893. Imported from eastern Canada, the game's popularity rapidly grew in the city, with teams at every level playing for and capturing Canada's national championships. Calgary is known today as one of Canada's best ice hockey cities with the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen receiving immense support from the city. The Calgary Oval X-Treme is one of the most dominant women's ice hockey teams in the country, while Junior A ice hockey is also well supported with two teams in the city. Calgary is home to the Mac's AAA midget hockey tournament, one of the most prestigious midget hockey tournaments in the world which has seen dozens of future National Hockey League players play in this city before their professional careers began.
The Red Deer Rustlers were a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League based in Red Deer, Alberta. They captured the inaugural Centennial Trophy in 1971. Their eight AJHL championships remains the second most in league history, behind the Calgary Canucks nine championships.
The BC Hockey Major Midget League or BC MML is the top provincial midget ice hockey league in British Columbia, Canada. Governed by BC Hockey and inaugurated in 2004, the league consists of 11 teams. Players range from 15 to 17 years old. BC MML is part of BC Hockeys' "High Proformance" program to develop the best midget-aged players around the province. The league champion goes on to compete with the top Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) team to represent the Pacific region at the annual Telus Cup, Canada's national midget championship. The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds are the current 2018 champions; the Okanagan Rockets (2014) are the last team to represent the BC MML at the Telus Cup.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The regular season league champions receive the Dave Duchak Trophy. The playoff champions receive the Inter Pipeline Cup. The winner of the AJHL playoffs continues on to play in the Doyle Cup series, which determines the Pacific region berth in the national Junior A championship, the Centennial Cup.
The 2012 Telus Cup was Canada's 34th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship played April 23–29, 2012 at Leduc, Alberta. The Red Deer Optimist Rebels completed an improbable comeback in the gold medal game, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period en route to 6-5 double overtime win over the Phénix du Collège Esther-Blondin. It was Red Deer's first gold medal after three previous silver medal finishes.
The 2007 Telus Cup was Canada's 29th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, played April 23–29, 2007 at Red Deer, Alberta. The Prince Albert Mintos went undefeated throughout the Telus Cup national tournament for the second consecutive year to defend their title, defeating the host Red Deer Optimist Rebels 3-2 in the gold medal game.
The 2004 National Midget Championship was Canada's 26th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, played April 18–25, 2004 at Kenora, Ontario. The Brandon Wheat Kings defeated the Riverains du Collège Charles-Lemoyne 2-1 in overtime to win their first and only national title. It also marked the first time that a Manitoba team was the national midget champion.
The 2013 Telus Cup was Canada's 35th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, held April 22 – 28, 2013 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The Red Deer Chiefs defeated the Ottawa Junior 67's in the gold medal game to win their second straight national title. The Rousseau Royal de Laval-Montréal won the bronze medal. This was Sault Ste. Marie's second time hosting the national championship – the 2003 Air Canada Cup was played at the old Sault Memorial Gardens.
The 1991 Air Canada Cup was Canada's 13th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, which was played April 23 – 28, 1991 at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, Alberta.
William Robert Peters is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former college player. He is currently the head coach of Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has served as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as the Canada men's national ice hockey team.
The 2017 Telus Cup was Canada's 39th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, contested April 24 – 30, 2017 at the CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia. The Cape Breton West Islanders defeated the Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François 5-4 in overtime to win the gold medal, becoming the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a national midget championship.
Matthew Phillips is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Stockton Heat in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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