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).
Orland John Kurtenbach is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. A centre notable for his defensive skill and as one of the toughest fighters in the game, he played for several National Hockey League (NHL) teams during his twenty professional seasons, principally the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he became the NHL franchise's inaugural captain.
Kenneth Stephen Daneyko is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played his entire twenty-season career with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), winning three Stanley Cup championships with the team. He has been nicknamed "Mr. Devil" by Devils fans, as he currently holds both the franchise record for games played as a Devil with 1,283 games and in penalty minutes with 2,516. Daneyko now provides colour analysis alongside Bill Spaulding during broadcasts of Devils games on MSG Sportsnet.
The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Hockey League, and are the only club that has played every season in the league in its original location. Today, the team plays in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and hosts games at the SaskTel Centre. Despite five appearances in the championship series, the Blades have never won a league title.
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 for either 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.
Nicholas Andrew Schultz is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers. The Minnesota Wild drafted him in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He played junior ice hockey for the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Schultz represented Canada in international competition at the junior and senior level.
Robert William Brown is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.
Marc Joseph Habscheid is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League player. Habscheid is the former head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in the sixth round, 113th Overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. He played 345 games in the NHL over parts of 10 seasons, amassing 72 goals and 163 points.
David Michayluk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.
Kelly Wayne Chase is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 458 games in the National Hockey League. He formerly served as the color commentator for St. Louis Blues radio broadcasts on KMOX radio in St. Louis. He is an uncle of Gregory Chase, who was drafted 188th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Michael Walter Blaisdell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1980 and 1989 and later in the British Hockey League (BHL) from 1990 to 2001. He was selected 11th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Blaisdell later worked as a coach in the United Kingdom.
Robert James Schmautz was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and Colorado Rockies from 1967 to 1981. He featured in three Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins.
Ray Cote is a former professional ice hockey forward. He spent his junior career with the Calgary Wranglers of the WHL, and signed a free agent contract with the Edmonton Oilers in 1981 after going undrafted. Cote spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues and European leagues, but saw three separate stints with the Oilers. His only career NHL points were recorded in the 1982–83 playoffs. In the 1983 playoffs, he and George McPhee of the New York Rangers became the first players to score three goals in a single postseason prior to playing a regular season NHL game. He also played for the Canadian National Team on four separate occasions.
Daryl Stanley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks from 1983 until 1990. He also spent several seasons in the minor leagues, mainly playing in the American Hockey League.
Gordon R. Sherven is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played 97 games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, and Hartford Whalers between 1984 and 1988. He later moved to Germany and played there from 1988 to 2000. Internationally Sherven played for the Canadian national team at the 1983 World Junior and senior World Championships, as well as the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Todd Andrew McLellan is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as head coach of the San Jose Sharks (2008–2015) and Edmonton Oilers (2015–2018), and as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings (2005–2008), with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He was drafted in 1986 by the New York Islanders, and played five games with the major league club in the 1987–88 season before retiring in the minors the following season due to recurring injury.
Gary Spencer Leeman is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the NHL. In 1990, he became the second Toronto Maple Leaf player ever to score 50 goals or more in a single NHL season, after Rick Vaive did it in 1981-82.
Mark William Lamb is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current general manager and head coach of the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Lamb was previously the head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Lamb was born in Ponteix, Saskatchewan but grew up in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
Robert John McLeod was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. He played professionally for the New York Rangers for parts of six seasons from 1949 to 1954, and played eight seasons of senior hockey between 1953 and 1965, where he competed at multiple Ice Hockey World Championships, winning the gold medal in 1961. He served as head coach of the Canada men's national ice hockey team from 1966 to 1969, leading them to two bronze medals at the World Championships and a bronze medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He later coached the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1971 to 1979, and coached the Canada men's national junior team to a silver medal at the 1975 World Junior Championships. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and inducted as a player into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999.
Marcel Comeau is a Canadian ice hockey scout, and former player, coach, and National Hockey League team executive. He played eleven seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL), where he was the league's top scorer and won the IHL Most Valuable Player Award in 1981. He later coached in the Western Hockey League (WHL), winning two WHL Coach of the Year Awards, and a Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year Award. He also led Team Canada to a gold medal at the 1996 World Juniors, and later served as a team executive for the Atlanta Thrashers, and the Winnipeg Jets.
