- Western Hockey League
:"This article refers to the junior Western Hockey League. For other leagues with the same name, see
Western Hockey League (disambiguation) ".2007–08 season
The 2007–08 WHL season is the 42nd season for the Western Hockey League. A new expansion team, the Edmonton Oil Kings have joined the league, bringing the WHL to 22 teams that will play a 72 game season.
The Oil Kings join the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, bringing the Eastern Conference to twelve teams, and the Western Conference ten. The new team in Alberta's capital will be the fourth WHL team to represent the city of Edmonton, preceded by the original Oil Kings franchises that played in the 1960s and 1970s, and later the Edmonton Ice, who played two seasons from 1996–98 before relocating to the Kootenays.
The playoff format has been revised so that the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the playoffs, as opposed to the top four in each division. Division winners are guaranteed a top two seed in each conference.
WHL Bantam Draft
The
WHL Bantam Draft is an annual event which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups, 14 or 15 years old. The order of selection depends on the final standings of the teams, the last place team selects first the 2nd to last will choose 2nd and so on.Memorial Cup Champions
The
Memorial Cup has been captured by a WHL team 18 times since the league's founding:*2008:
Spokane Chiefs
*2007:Vancouver Giants
*2004:Kelowna Rockets
*2002:Kootenay Ice
*2001:Red Deer Rebels
*1998:Portland Winter Hawks
*1995:Kamloops Blazers
*1994:Kamloops Blazers
*1992:Kamloops Blazers
*1991:Spokane Chiefs
*1989:Swift Current Broncos
*1988:Medicine Hat Tigers
*1987:Medicine Hat Tigers
*1985:Prince Albert Raiders
*1983:Portland Winter Hawks
*1978:New Westminster Bruins
*1977:New Westminster Bruins
*1974:Regina Pats WHL Records
Individual records
*Most goals in a season: 108,Ray Ferraro , 1983–84
*Most assists in a season: 136, Rob Brown, 1986–87
*Most points in a season: 212, Rob Brown, 1986–87
*Most penalty minutes in a season: 511, Brent Gogol, 1977–78
*Most points in a season, rookie: 145, Petr Nedved, 1989–90
*Most points in a season, defenceman: 140,Cam Plante , 1983–84
*Most hat-tricks in a season: 15, Ray Ferraro, 1983–84Team records
*Most wins in a season: 60,Victoria Cougars , 1980–81
*Most wins in an inaugural season: 35,Everett Silvertips , 2003–04
*Most points in a season: 125,Brandon Wheat Kings , 1978–79
*Most goals in a season: 496,Kamloops Blazers , 1986–87
*Fewest goals against in a season: 125,Kelowna Rockets , 2003–04List of WHL trophies and awards
*
Ed Chynoweth Cup —playoff champions
*Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy —regular season champions
*Four Broncos Memorial Trophy —player of the year
*Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy —scholastic player of the year
*Bob Clarke Trophy —top scorer
*Brad Hornung Trophy —most sportsmanlike player
*Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy —top defencemen
*Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy —rookie of the year
*Del Wilson Trophy —top goaltender
*Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy —coach of the year
*Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy —executive of the year
*Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy —top official
*St. Clair Group Trophy —marketing/public relations award
*Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy —humanitarian of the year
*WHL Plus-Minus Award
*airBC Trophy —most valuable player in the playoffsReferences
* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/whl1979.html Archive of standings and statistics]
* 2005–06 WHL GuideSee also
*
List of WHL seasons
*Timeline of WHL history
*List of CHL franchise post-season droughts
*Ontario Hockey League
*Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
*Sports league attendances
*List of ice hockey leagues External links
* [http://www.whl.ca/ Official WHL web site]
* [http://whl.ca/about/history.php?id=95&showToc=1 WHL historical archive]
* [http://www.whlfans.ca WHLFans.ca Message Board]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
