The 1988–89 WHL season was the 23rd season for the Western Hockey League. Fourteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Swift Current Broncos won the President's Cup before going on to win the Memorial Cup.
League notes[]
- The New Westminster Bruins relocated to Kennewick, Washington to become the Tri-City Americans.
Regular season[]
Final standings[]
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 55 | 16 | 1 | 111 | 447 | 319 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 42 | 28 | 2 | 86 | 366 | 335 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 41 | 27 | 4 | 86 | 359 | 326 |
| x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 76 | 302 | 286 |
| x Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 27 | 39 | 6 | 60 | 356 | 380 |
| x Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 27 | 42 | 3 | 57 | 318 | 372 |
| Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 25 | 43 | 4 | 54 | 286 | 331 |
| Regina Pats | 72 | 23 | 43 | 6 | 52 | 306 | 358 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 40 | 28 | 4 | 84 | 408 | 395 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 36 | 32 | 4 | 76 | 341 | 351 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 34 | 33 | 5 | 73 | 326 | 309 |
| x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 33 | 34 | 5 | 71 | 300 | 299 |
| Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 33 | 35 | 4 | 70 | 315 | 276 |
| Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 25 | 45 | 2 | 52 | 326 | 419 |
Scoring leaders[]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Holland | Portland Winter Hawks | 69 | 82 | 85 | 167 | 120 |
| Stu Barnes | Tri-City Americans | 70 | 59 | 82 | 141 | 117 |
| Tim Tisdale | Swift Current Broncos | 68 | 51 | 82 | 139 | 89 |
| Blair Atecheynum | Moose Jaw Warriors | 71 | 70 | 68 | 138 | 70 |
| Troy Mick | Portland Winter Hawks | 66 | 49 | 87 | 136 | 70 |
| Wayne Hynes | Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 54 | 81 | 135 | 66 |
| Peter Kasowski | Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 58 | 73 | 131 | 46 |
| Mike Sillinger | Regina Pats | 72 | 53 | 78 | 131 | 52 |
| Sean Lebrun | Tri-City Americans | 71 | 52 | 73 | 125 | 92 |
| Kirby Lindal | Medicine Hat Tigers | 71 | 67 | 55 | 122 | 83 |
WHL Playoffs[]
First round[]
- Swift Current earned a bye
- Saskatoon earned a bye
- Lethbridge defeated Prince Albert 3 games to 1
- Moose Jaw defeated Medicine Hat 3 games to 0
Division semi-finals[]
- Swift Current defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 0
- Saskatoon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
- Portland defeated Tri-City 5 games to 2
- Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 3
Division finals[]
- Swift Current defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
- Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3
WHL Championship[]
- Swift Current defeated Portland 4 games to 0
All-Star Game[]
On January 24, the West Division defeated the East Division 5–1 at Brandon, Manitoba with a crowd of 2,933.
WHL awards[]
| Most Valuable Player - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Stu Barnes, Tri-City Americans |
| Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Jeff Nelson, Prince Albert Raiders |
| Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Dennis Holland, Portland Winterhawks |
| Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Blair Atcheynum, Moose Jaw Warriors |
| Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dan Lambert, Swift Current Broncos |
| Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Wes Walz, Lethbridge Hurricanes |
| Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Danny Lorenz, Seattle Thunderbirds |
| Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Ron Kennedy, Medicine Hat Tigers |
| Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Dennis Beyak, Saskatoon Blades |
| Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Swift Current Broncos |
| WHL Plus-Minus Award: Darren Stolk, Medicine Hat Tigers |
All-Star Teams[]
| East Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team | Second Team | |||
| Goal | Frederic Chabot | Prince Albert Raiders | Stan Reddick | Moose Jaw Warriors |
| Defense | Dan Lambert | Swift Current Broncos | Gord Kruppke (tied) | Prince Albert Raiders |
| Collin Bauer | Saskatoon Blades | Todd Nelson (tied) | Prince Albert Raiders | |
| - | - | Bob Woods (tied) | Brandon Wheat Kings | |
| Center | Mike Modano | Prince Albert Raiders | Tim Tisdale | Swift Current Broncos |
| Left Wing | Kirby Lindal | Medicine Hat Tigers | Gary Dickie | Regina Pats |
| Right Wing | Blair Atcheynum | Moose Jaw Warriors | Sheldon Kennedy | Swift Current Broncos |
| West Division | ||||
| First Team | Second Team | |||
| Goal | Danny Lorenz | Seattle Thunderbirds | Olaf Kolzig | Tri-City Americans |
| Defense | Steve Jaques | Tri-City Americans | Pat MacLeod | Kamloops Blazers |
| Chad Biafore | Portland Winter Hawks | Geoff Smith | Kamloops Blazers | |
| Center | Dennis Holland | Portland Winter Hawks | Stu Barnes | Tri-City Americans |
| Left Wing | Dave Chyzowski | Kamloops Blazers | Troy Mick | Portland Winter Hawks |
| Right Wing | Jackson Penney | Victoria Cougars | Pat Falloon | Spokane Chiefs |
References[]
- whl.ca
- 2005–06 WHL Guide
| Preceded by 1987–88 WHL season |
WHL seasons | Succeeded by 1989–90 WHL season |
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