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 league was founded in 1966 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL), with seven teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
For its 1967 season, the league was renamed the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).
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In May 1967, the CMJHL renamed itself to the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).
In June 1968, the WCJHL changed its name to the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and announced that it was leaving CAHA to form the rival Canadian Hockey Association (CHA).
The league's first decade saw constant expansion and franchise movement as the league spread throughout the west.
The Flin Flon Bombers, led by future NHL stars Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach, became the league's first powerhouse team, making three straight finals appearances and winning back-to-back championships in 1969 and 1970.
In the mid-1970s, the Bruins established the WCHL's first true dynasty, capturing four consecutive championships between 1975 and 1978.
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The 1990s saw another period of expansion and the return of the league to Western Canada's major cities. In 1991, the Spokane Chiefs became the second American team to win the Memorial Cup.
In 1995, the Calgary Hitmen, founded by a group of investors including Bret "the Hitman" Hart, from whom the team got its name, were granted an expansion franchise. Despite early fears that the WHL could not succeed in an NHL city, the Hitmen were a success, averaging as many as 10,000 fans per game by 2004-05.
The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice, but that team failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers.
In the 2000s, the league expanded four more times. The Vancouver Giants joined in 2001, the Everett Silvertips in 2003, the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005-the team relocated in 2011 and became the Victoria Royals-and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007. 2011 saw WHL teams participate in two outdoor games for the first time.
The league was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in North America in early 2020. The 2019-20 season was cut short and its playoffs ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic, while the 2020-21 season was played in a modified format, with teams playing 24-game in-division schedules with no playoffs.
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WHL Structure and Teams
The WHL comprises 23 teams divided into two conferences, making it the largest league in the CHL-the Ontario Hockey League has 20 teams and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 18.
The WHL has member teams across four Canadian provinces and two American states. The Eastern Conference comprises teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
The Western Conference comprises 12 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, with the division winners declared the top two seeds in the first round of the post-season. In the playoffs, the four remaining teams in each conference are reseeded by regular season points in the second round.
Here is a breakdown of the current WHL teams by conference and division:
| Conference | Division | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | Central Division |
|
| East Division |
| |
| Western Conference | B.C. Division |
|
| U.S. Division |
|
Player Eligibility and Development
The WHL bantam draft is an annual event in which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups (i.e. 14 or 15 years old).
Players aged 15 to 20 are eligible to play in the WHL, with some restrictions. 15-year-olds are permitted to play only five games, unless their midget team's season has ended.
Meanwhile, each team is allowed to have only three 20-year-olds on their rosters, except for expansion teams, for which five 20-year-olds are eligible to play.
Each of the CHL's three member leagues are granted exclusive territorial rights to players from within North America.
In 2005, the CHL introduced exceptional status, which could be conferred on select players to make them eligible to play full-time in a CHL league as a 15-year-old.
With most players joining the league while still attending school, the WHL takes a role in its players educational needs. Teams maintain academic advisors, who monitor the academic progress of players along with the league's Director of Education Services.
The league also operates a scholarship program that offers one full year of Canadian university tuition, textbooks, and compulsory fees for each season played in the WHL.
Until 2024, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) considered CHL players professionals-due both to the fact that they received stipends and that eligible players could sign National Hockey League contracts-and thus ineligible to participate in college hockey programs in the United States.
WHL teams earn the right to compete in the annual Memorial Cup tournament by winning the WHL playoff championship or, since 1983, by hosting the tournament.