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 22 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises eleven teams from British Columbia and the American states of Washington and Oregon.
The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrived in Seattle in 1977 and played as the Breakers until 1985, when they adopted the Thunderbirds name. The team played in Seattle for three decades before moving to the accesso ShoWare Center in nearby Kent in 2008. The Thunderbirds are two-time WHL champions, with their most recent title coming in 2023.
William Dickenson Hunter, was a Canadian sports promoter and ice hockey player, coach, manager, and investor. Also known as "Wild Bill", Hunter co-founded the Western Hockey League (WHL), helped to launch the World Hockey Association (WHA), and worked to bring professional hockey to Edmonton and to his hometown of Saskatoon.
The Kootenay Ice were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and playing its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise, which began as the Edmonton Ice before moving to Cranbrook in 1998, was owned by Ed Chynoweth from 1995 until it was sold to Winnipeg-based company 50 Below Sports and Entertainment in 2017. The team won three WHL championships and one Memorial Cup title as Canadian junior champions. Despite the club's on-ice success, the Ice moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2019, where they were known as the Winnipeg Ice.
Jarret Lee Stoll is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild.
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 league's founding franchises, and later as the head coach and general manager of the Calgary Centennials.
This is a timeline of events throughout the history of the Western Hockey League (WHL), which dates back to its founding in 1966. The league was founded by a group of team owners and managers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including Bill Hunter, Scotty Munro, Del Wilson, and Jim Piggott, who thought a larger western league would help western teams compete for the Memorial Cup against teams from the larger associations in Ontario and Quebec. Since the league's founding, it has expanded to include 22 teams across the four Western Canadian provinces along with the Northwest United States, and it has produced 19 Memorial Cup championship teams.
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 Edmonton Oil Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, that play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team, founded in 2006, shares an ownership group with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The team is the fourth WHL team based in Edmonton, and its identity connects to the original Oil Kings club, which was one of the league's founding franchises in 1966. The Oil Kings are three-time WHL champions and won the 2014 Memorial Cup.
Brad R. Lauer is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is currently an associate coach of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lauer previously served as the head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. Lauer was drafted 34th overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders and played in the NHL for the Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1986 and 1996
Ryan Clifford McGill is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in the 151 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Edmonton Oilers between 1991 and 1995. McGill's playing career ended prematurely as a result of an eye injury.
The Wenatchee Wild were a Junior A ice hockey team. The team played its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. The team joined the North American Hockey League as an expansion club for the 2008–09 season, and in that time they were well known for their rivalry with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The Wild moved to the British Columbia Hockey League for 2015–16, after seeking approval from both Hockey Canada and USA Hockey for three years. In 2023, the ownership of the Wild purchased and relocated the Winnipeg Ice, a major junior Western Hockey League franchise, under the Wenatchee Wild brand, but ceased operations of their junior A team.
The Cranbrook Colts were a Junior "B" and a Junior "A" team in Cranbrook, British Columbia. They were formed in 1970 as a Junior "B" team in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. They were immediately successful, winning the league title in their first four years. The Colts jumped to the Junior "A" Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League in 1991, winning three league titles in their seven years in the league.
The Victoria Royals are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia. The Royals play in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team began play during the 2011–12 season after the league announced the relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria. It marked the return of the WHL to Vancouver Island, 17 years after the departure of the Victoria Cougars. The Royals play their home games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Winnipeg Ice were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded as an expansion Western Hockey League team in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice, the team played in Cranbrook, British Columbia from 1998 to 2019 as the Kootenay Ice. The team moved to Winnipeg ahead of the 2019–20 WHL season, and played home games at Wayne Fleming Arena. Despite success on the ice, a failure to construct a new arena for the team—a condition of the team's move to Winnipeg—led to the team being sold and relocated to Wenatchee, Washington ahead of the 2023–24 season.
Kris Knoblauch is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He had previously been the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
The 2021–22 WHL season was the 56th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The league played a full regular season schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 season. The season began on October 1, 2021, and ended on April 17, 2022.
The Cranbrook Bucks are a Junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Western Financial Place.
The Wenatchee Wild are an American major junior ice hockey team based in Wenatchee, Washington and playing in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice, the franchise was known as the Winnipeg Ice from 2019 until 2023, when it was purchased and relocated to Wenatchee ahead of the 2023–24 season. The Wild play in the U.S. Division of the WHL's Western Conference, hosting games at the Town Toyota Center.
