1996–97 WHL season

The 1996–97 WHL season was the 31st season of the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes won the President's Cup.

League notes

• The Edmonton Ice joined the WHL as it's 18th franchise, playing out of the Central division.
• The Swift Current Broncos moved to the East division.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	47	24	1	95	339	208
x Swift Current Broncos	72	44	23	5	93	336	243
x Regina Pats	72	42	27	3	87	326	259
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	36	29	7	79	278	240
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	29	34	9	67	235	262
Saskatoon Blades	72	18	48	6	42	227	344

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	47	22	3	97	342	248
x Red Deer Rebels	72	43	26	3	89	317	297
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	39	32	1	79	270	278
Calgary Hitmen	72	15	53	4	34	199	360
Edmonton Ice	72	14	56	2	30	231	395

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	46	21	5	97	300	196
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	41	27	4	86	311	249
x Spokane Chiefs	72	35	33	4	74	260	235
x Kelowna Rockets	72	35	35	2	72	298	314
x Kamloops Blazers	72	28	37	7	63	256	285
x Prince George Cougars	72	28	39	5	61	238	287
Tri-City Americans	72	22	43	7	51	225	288

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Todd Robinson	Portland Winter Hawks	71	38	96	134	53
Byron Ritchie	Lethbridge Hurricanes	63	50	76	126	86
Patrick Marleau	Seattle Thunderbirds	71	51	74	125	22
Peter Schaefer	Brandon Wheat Kings	61	49	74	123	66
B.J. Young	Red Deer Rebels	63	58	56	114	72
Josh St. Louis	Swift Current Broncos	65	57	51	108	20
Brett McLean	Kelowna Rockets	72	44	60	104	89
Kelly Smart	Brandon Wheat Kings	69	39	60	99	8
Josh Holden	Regina Pats	58	49	49	98	111
Greg Schmidt	Red Deer Rebels	66	45	53	98	97

Goaltending leaders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Brian Elder	Brandon Wheat Kings	52	2930	32	15	0	132	2	.906	2.70
Brent Belecki	Portland Winter Hawks	27	1568	17	7	1	71	1	.909	2.72
Chris Wickenheiser	Red Deer/Portland	41	2428	24	14	3	110	3	.913	2.72
David Haun	Brandon Wheat Kings	27	1442	15	9	1	72	1	.898	3.00
Donavon Nunweiler	Moose Jaw Warriors	56	3278	27	21	5	166	6	.907	3.04

WHL Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

• Top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (East and Central divisions) qualified for playoffs
• Top six teams in the Western Conference (division) qualified for the playoffs

Eastern Conference

Lethbridge vs. Prince Albert Date Away Home March 19 Prince Albert 2 4 Lethbridge March 21 Prince Albert 1 2 Lethbridge March 23 Lethbridge 5 4 Prince Albert March 24 Lethbridge 5 4 Prince Albert Lethbridge wins series 4–0	Swift Current vs. Medicine Hat Date Away Home March 18 Medicine Hat 1 8 Swift Current March 20 Swift Current 5 1 Medicine Hat March 22 Medicine Hat 1 5 Swift Current March 23 Swift Current 4 2 Medicine Hat Swift Current wins series 4–0
Brandon vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home March 20 Moose Jaw 4 2 Brandon March 21 Moose Jaw 4 3 Brandon March 23 Brandon 5 4 Moose Jaw March 24 Brandon 3 2 Moose Jaw March 26 Moose Jaw 3 2 Brandon OT March 28 Brandon 2 3 Moose Jaw OT Moose Jaw wins series 4–2	Red Deer vs. Regina Date Away Home March 20 Regina 4 6 Red Deer March 21 Regina 4 5 Red Deer OT March 23 Red Deer 6 2 Regina March 24 Red Deer 1 5 Regina March 26 Regina 1 5 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–1

Western Conference

Portland vs. Prince George Date Away Home March 21 Prince George 2 5 Portland March 22 Prince George 5 3 Portland March 25 Portland 0 4 Prince George March 26 Portland 2 4 Prince George March 29 Prince George 1 2 Portland March 31 Portland 2 3 Prince George Prince George wins series 4–2	Spokane vs. Kelowna Date Away Home March 21 Spokane 5 3 Kelowna March 22 Spokane 5 3 Kelowna March 26 Kelowna 5 2 Spokane March 28 Kelowna 0 4 Spokane March 29 Kelowna 6 3 Spokane March 31 Spokane 5 2 Kelowna Spokane wins series 4–2
Seattle vs. Kamloops Date Away Home March 21 Kamloops 2 5 Seattle March 23 Kamloops 3 7 Seattle March 25 Seattle 4 1 Kamloops March 27 Seattle 2 3 Kamloops March 29 Kamloops 4 5 Seattle Seattle wins series 4–1

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Lethbridge vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home March 31 Moose Jaw 2 3 Lethbridge OT April 1 Moose Jaw 5 4 Lethbridge OT April 3 Lethbridge 5 3 Moose Jaw April 4 Lethbridge 4 5 Moose Jaw April 6 Moose Jaw 1 5 Lethbridge April 8 Lethbridge 5 4 Moose Jaw Lethbridge wins series 4–2	Swift Current vs. Red Deer Date Away Home March 31 Red Deer 5 2 Swift Current April 1 Red Deer 5 3 Swift Current April 3 Swift Current 2 4 Red Deer April 4 Swift Current 3 2 Red Deer OT April 6 Red Deer 2 11 Swift Current April 8 Swift Current 2 6 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–2

Western Conference
Spokane vs. Prince George Date Away Home April 4 Prince George 5 4 Spokane OT April 5 Prince George 4 2 Spokane April 7 Spokane 1 2 Prince George Prince George wins series 3–0	Seattle earns bye

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer Date Away Home April 12 Red Deer 2 3 Lethbridge OT April 13 Red Deer 7 4 Lethbridge April 15 Lethbridge 5 3 Red Deer April 16 Lethbridge 6 4 Red Deer April 18 Red Deer 2 5 Lethbridge Lethbridge wins series 4–1	Seattle vs. Prince George Date Away Home April 10 Prince George 3 2 Seattle 2OT April 11 Prince George 1 4 Seattle April 14 Seattle 5 2 Prince George April 15 Seattle 3 4 Prince George April 18 Prince George 1 4 Seattle April 20 Seattle 6 1 Prince George Seattle wins series 4–2

WHL Championship

Lethbridge vs. Seattle Date Away Home April 25 Seattle 2 7 Lethbridge April 26 Seattle 1 4 Lethbridge April 29 Lethbridge 3 1 Seattle April 30 Lethbridge 5 1 Seattle Lethbridge wins series 4–0 All-Star Game On January 22, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 7–5 at Spokane, Washington before a WHL record crowd of 10,455. WHL awards Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Peter Schaefer, Brandon Wheat Kings Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Stefan Cherneski, Brandon Wheat Kings Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Todd Robinson, Portland Winter Hawks Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Kelly Smart, Brandon Wheat Kings Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Chris Phillips, Lethbridge Hurricanes Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Donavon Nunweiler, Moose Jaw Warriors Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Brian Boucher, Tri-City Americans Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Brent Peterson, Portland Winter Hawks Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Todd McLellan, Swift Current Broncos Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Lethbridge Hurricanes Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Tom Kowal Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Pat Garrity, Red Deer Rebels Humanitarian of the Year - Jesse Wallin, Red Deer Rebels WHL Plus-Minus Award: Peter Schaefer, Brandon Wheat Kings Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Blaine Russell, Lethbridge Hurricanes All-Star Teams Eastern Conference First Team Second Team Goal Donovan Nunweiler Moose Jaw Warriors Brian Elder Brandon Wheat Kings Defense Chris Phillips Lethbridge Hurricanes Justin Kurtz Brandon Wheat Kings Derek Morris Regina Pats David Van Drunen Prince Albert Raiders Forward Peter Schaefer Brandon Wheat Kings Brad Larsen Swift Current Broncos Shane Willis Lethbridge Hurricanes Dmitri Nabokov Regina Pats B.J. Young Red Deer Rebels Byron Ritchie Lethbridge Hurricanes Western Conference First Team Second Team Goal Brian Boucher Tri-City Americans Chris Wickenheiser Portland Winter Hawks Defense Randy Perry Seattle Thunderbirds Hugh Hamilton Spokane Chiefs Zenith Komarniski Tri-City Americans Joel Kwiatkowski Prince George Cougars Forward Patrick Marleau Seattle Thunderbirds Brad Isbister Portland Winter Hawks Todd Robinson Portland Winter Hawks Donnie Kinney Kamloops Blazers Trent Whitfield Spokane Chiefs Brett McLean Kelowna Rockets Team Photos Brandon Wheat Kings Regina Pats References whl.ca 2005–06 WHL Guide Preceded by 1995–96 WHL season WHL seasons Succeeded by 1997–98 WHL season