1955-56 WHL (minor pro) Season



This is the 1955-56 season of the Western Hockey League. It was the fourth season of the league.

Seattle rejoined the league with the Seattle Americans. The league expanded into Manitoba for the first time, with new teams Brandon Regals (moved from Regina in December) and the Winnipeg Warriors.

The league was divided into two divisions - Coast and Prairie.

Standings
Coast Division

Vancouver Canucks        70-38-28-4-80    252-181 Victoria Cougars         70-35-30-5-75    206-196 Seattle Americans        70-31-37-2-64    201-243 New Westminster Royals   70-31-37-2-64    238-258

Prairie Division

Winnipeg Warriors        70-40-28-2-82    248-212 Calgary Stampeders       70-40-30-0-80    292-242 Saskatoon Quakers        70-27-35-8-62    208-249 Edmonton Flyers          70-33-34-3-69    236-256 Brandon Regals           70-23-39-8-54    199-243

Semi Final
Round Robin

Victoria Cougars         4-0-0-8   11- 6 Vancouver Canucks        1-3-0-2   12-11 New Westminster Royals   1-3-0-2    7-13

Final
Best of 7


 * Vancouver Canucks beat the Victoria Cougars 4 wins to 1. (7-1, 3-2, 7-2, 0-2, 5-0)

Semi Finals
Best of 5


 * Winnipeg Warriors beat the Saskatoon Quakers 3 wins to none. (6-1, 5-3, 6-5)
 * Calgary Stampeders beat the Edmonton Flyers 3 wins to none. (5-4, 3-2, 5-2)

Final
Best of 7


 * Winnipeg Warriors beat the Calgary Stampeders 4 wins to 1. (7-2, 6-4, 3-7, 7-2, 4-3)

League Final
Best of 7


 * Winnipeg Warriors beat the Vancouver Canucks 4 wins to 2. (1-3, 5-2, 3-2, 2-4, 4-2, 6-3)

The Winnipeg Warriors won the Lester Patrick Cup.

The Winnipeg Warriors advanced to the 1955-56 Edinburgh Trophy Final.



All-Star Team

 * Goaltender: Marcel Pelletier, Victoria Cougars
 * Defenceman: Fred Hucul, Calgary Stampeders
 * Defenceman: Art Michaluk, Calgary Stampeders
 * Center: Phil Maloney, Vancouver Canucks
 * Left Winger: Colin Kilburn, Victoria Cougars
 * Right Winger: Jackie McLeod, Saskatoon Quakers

Attendance

 * 1) Winnipeg: 166,270
 * 2) Calgary: 157,805
 * 3) Edmonton: 108,993
 * 4) Vancouver: 107,911
 * 5) Victoria: 99,107
 * 6) New Westminster: 79,915
 * 7) Seattle: 77,570
 * 8) Saskatoon: 64,710
 * 9) Brandon: 58,777 (included 14 games @ Regina with 11,430)

NHL Working Agreements

 * Winnipeg: Montreal Canadiens & Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Calgary: Chicago Blackhawks
 * Edmonton: Detroit Red Wings
 * Vancouver: New York Rangers
 * Victoria: Montreal Canadiens
 * New Westminster: none
 * Seattle: Boston Bruins
 * Saskatoon: New York Rangers
 * Brandon: none