This is the 2016-17 Western Hockey League season. This is the league's 51st season dating back to its' founding as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League in 1966 and subsequent renaming to the Western Canada Hockey League in 1968 and to the present name in 1978.
Game 6 of the Everett Silvertips-Victoria Royals first round series on April 2nd became the longest game in Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League history with Cal Babych scoring at 11:36 of the fifth overtime to give Everett a 3-2 win and to win the series. The previous CHL record was 146:31 for a Victoriaville/Hull game in 1999 and the WHL record was 136:56 between Kamloops and Kootenay on March 25, 2003.
Membership changes[]
- none
Teams[]
Eastern Conference[]
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Brandon Wheat Kings | Brandon, Manitoba, Canada | Westman Communications Group Place | 5,102 |
| Moose Jaw Warriors | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada | Mosaic Place | 4,714 | |
| Prince Albert Raiders | Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada | Art Hauser Centre | 3,366 | |
| Regina Pats | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | Brandt Centre | 6,200 | |
| Saskatoon Blades | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 | |
| Swift Current Broncos | Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada | Credit Union iPlex | 3,239 | |
| Central | Calgary Hitmen | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Stampede Corral (some playoff games) |
19,289 6,450 |
| Edmonton Oil Kings | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Rexall Place | 16,839 | |
| Kootenay Ice | Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada | Western Financial Place | 4,654 | |
| Lethbridge Hurricanes | Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada | ENMAX Centre | 5,479 | |
| Medicine Hat Tigers | Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada |
5,500 (expandable to 6,500) | ||
| Red Deer Rebels | Red Deer, Alberta, Canada | ENMAX Centrium | 6,000 |
Western Conference[]
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.C. | Kamloops Blazers | Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada | Sandman Centre | 5,464 |
| Kelowna Rockets | Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | Prospera Place | 6,286 | |
| Prince George Cougars | Prince George, British Columbia, Canada | CN Centre | 5,971 | |
| Vancouver Giants | Langley, British Columbia, Canada | Langley Event Center | 5,276 | |
| Victoria Royals | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre | 7,006 | |
| U.S. | Everett Silvertips | Everett, Washington, United States | Xfinity Arena at Everett | 8,149 |
| Portland Winterhawks | Portland, Oregon, United States | Memorial Coliseum Moda Center |
10,407 18,280 | |
| Seattle Thunderbirds | Kent, Washington, United States | ShoWare Center | 6,500 | |
| Spokane Chiefs | Spokane, Washington, United States | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | 10,759 | |
| Tri-City Americans | Kennewick, Washington, United States | Toyota Center | 6,000 |
Standings[]
Eastern Conference[]
Eastern Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regina Pats | 72 | 52 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 353 | 211 | 112 |
| Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 42 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 255 | 219 | 93 |
| Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 39 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 247 | 239 | 88 |
Central Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 51 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 350 | 248 | 103 |
| Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 44 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 280 | 253 | 95 |
| Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 30 | 29 | 9 | 4 | 239 | 258 | 73 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 31 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 225 | 247 | 72 |
| Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 30 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 215 | 282 | 70 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 28 | 35 | 7 | 2 | 190 | 248 | 65 |
| Edmonton Oil Kings | 72 | 23 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 193 | 292 | 52 |
| Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 21 | 44 | 5 | 2 | 198 | 283 | 49 |
| Kootenay Ice | 72 | 14 | 46 | 10 | 2 | 177 | 335 | 40 |
Western Conference[]
BC Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George Cougars | 72 | 45 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 253 | 201 | 96 |
| Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 45 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 283 | 206 | 95 |
| Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 42 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 243 | 198 | 90 |
US Division[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everett Silvertips | 72 | 44 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 229 | 169 | 100 |
| Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 46 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 253 | 206 | 98 |
| Tri-City Americans | 72 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 272 | 252 | 85 |
Western Conference Wild Card[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Winterhawks | 72 | 40 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 278 | 256 | 84 |
| Victoria Royals | 72 | 37 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 239 | 219 | 80 |
| Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 27 | 33 | 8 | 4 | 235 | 272 | 66 |
| Vancouver Giants | 72 | 20 | 46 | 3 | 3 | 183 | 296 | 46 |
Link to League website standings page
2017 Ed Chynoweth Cup Playoffs[]
The league is divided up into 2 conferences with 2 divisions each. The Eastern Conference is made up of the 6-team East Division and the 6-team Central Division while the Western Conference is made up of the 5-team BC and 5-team US Divisions. The league presently uses the same format as the NHL does with the top 3 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs and the next two best records in the conference qualifying as the 7 and 8 seeds and joining the playoffs for the division they start the playoffs in.
The winner of the Chynoweth Cup advances to the 2017 Memorial Cup, which is being held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario and hosted by the Windsor Spitfires.
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals[]
- Regina Pats defeated Calgary Hitmen 4 games to none
- Swift Current Broncos defeated Moose Jaw Warriors 4 games to 3
- Medicine Hat Tigers defeated Brandon Wheat Kings 4 games to none
- Lethbridge Hurricanes defeated Red Deer Rebels 4 games to 3
Western Conference Quarterfinals[]
- Portland Winterhawks defeated Prince George Cougars 4 games to 2
- Kelowna Rockets defeated Kamloops Blazers 4 games to 2
- Everett Silvertips defeated Victoria Royals 4 games to 2
- Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Tri-City Americans 4 games to none
Eastern Conference Semifinals[]
- Regina Pats defeated Swift Current Broncos 4 games to 3
- Lethbridge Hurricanes defeated Medicine Hat Tigers 4 games to 3
Western Conference Semifinals[]
- Kelowna Rockets defeated Portland Winterhawks 4 games to 1
- Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Everett Silvertips 4 games to none
Eastern Conference Final[]
- Regina Pats defeated Lethbridge Hurricanes 4 games to 2
Western Conference Final[]
- Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Kelowna Rockets 4 games to 2
Chynoweth Cup Final[]
- Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 2
2017 WHL champs Seattle Thunderbirds
Playoff Bracket[]
| Conference Quarter-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Finals | WHL Championship | |||||||||||||||
| E1 | Regina | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Calgary | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Regina | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Swift Current | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Moose Jaw | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Swift Current | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Regina | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern | ||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Lethbridge | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Brandon | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Lethbridge | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Lethbridge | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Red Deer | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Regina | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Seattle | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Victoria | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Seattle | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Seattle | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| U3 | Tri-City | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Seattle | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western | ||||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Kelowna | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Kelowna | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| B3 | Kamloops | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Kelowna | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Prince George | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland | 4 | ||||||||||||||||