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 11 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
Larry Clark Robinson is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils, as well as the Los Angeles Kings. For his play in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, Robinson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995. He was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2017, Robinson was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players". Larry is the brother of Moe Robinson.
Marcel Elphège Dionne is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers between 1971 and 1989. A prolific scorer, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer in 1979–80, and recorded 50 goals or more in a season six times, and 100 points or more in a season 8 times during his career. Internationally Dionne played for the Canadian national team at two Canada Cups and three World Championships. Dionne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Dionne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Barry James Melrose is a Canadian–American retired broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player and head coach. Melrose played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). After retiring from playing, he became a head coach and is best known for being the coach of the Los Angeles Kings in their run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. Until 2023, he was a long-time commentator and hockey analyst for ESPN as well as a contributor for the NHL Network.
David Andrew Taylor is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Los Angeles Kings from 1977 to 1994. He featured in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals with the Kings.
Rogatien Rosaire "Rogie" Vachon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League between 1967 and 1982.
The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Wheat Kings joined the Western Hockey League ahead of the 1967–68 season, and today play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference, hosting games at Keystone Centre. The team owns the best regular season record in WHL history from the 1978–79 season, when the Wheat Kings posted 58 wins and 125 points. That season, they won their first of three league championships.
The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name:
The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL); French: Ligue de hockey centrale du Canada (LHCC), is a Junior A ice hockey league in Eastern Canada consisting of 12 teams – all around the National Capital Region. The Bogart Cup is awarded annually to the league's playoff champion at the end of each season. The CCHL is one of the nine Junior A ice hockey leagues in Canada, and is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.
Robert Jesse Pulford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spending 30 years with the Chicago Blackhawks as a coach and general manager.
Gary Edwards is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1968 to 1982. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft and played for six teams during his career.
Gary Alan Sargent is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 402 games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota North Stars between 1975 and 1983. Internationally he played for the American national team at the 1976 Canada Cup. A first-team all-star and league MVP at Bemidji State University, his professional hockey career was cut short by injuries.
Dale Allen McCourt is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1977 and 1984. He later played with HC Ambrì–Piotta in the Swiss Nationalliga A between 1985 and 1992. He was selected first overall by the Red Wings in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. Internationally McCourt played for the Canadian national team at the 1979 and 1981 World Championships.
William Earl White was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Black Hawks from 1967 to 1976. He then coached Chicago during the 1976–77 season. White was one of the most notable defensive defencemen of the 1970s.
Garry Noel Price is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with seven teams between 1957 and 1976. He also spent considerable time in the minor American Hockey League during his career, which lasted from 1956 to 1976.
The 1976 Memorial Cup occurred from May 9 to 16 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. It was the 58th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams were the winners of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League which were the Hamilton Fincups, Quebec Remparts and New Westminster Bruins. Hamilton won their second Memorial Cup, and first since changing their name to Fincups, defeating New Westminster in the final game.
The 1976–77 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' tenth season in the National Hockey League.
The Pacific Northwest Hockey League (PNWHL) was an amateur mixed-level ice hockey league in British Columbia from 1973 to 1976. The league had 10 teams in its 1973–74 season, 9 teams in 1974–75, and 6 teams in 1975–76. The teams that played in the league were of both the Junior and Intermediate level due to the distances between towns in the area. The Intermediate teams were the Smithers Totems, Houston Luckies, Burns Lake Bears, Kitimat Eagles and Prince Rupert Kings. The Junior teams were the Prince George Spruce Kings, Vanderhoof Bears, Smithers Nats, Terrace Centennials and Kitimat Cohoes.
The Brandon Travellers were a Canadian junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba that played in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League from 1973 to 1980. The team was owned by the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings.
The 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1975 and concluded with the 1976 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 27, 1976 at the University of Denver Arena in Denver, Colorado. This was the 29th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 82nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
