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2022-23 WHL season
League Western Hockey League
Sport Hockey
Duration Regular season
Sept. 23, 2022 – Mar. 26, 2023
Playoffs
Mar. 31, 2023 – May 19, 2023
Number of teams 22
TV partner(s) KRCW-TV
KZJO
CBC
TSN
RDS
2022–23 CHL seasons
League Canadian Hockey League
Sport Hockey
Duration OHL
September 2022–May 2023
QMJHL
September 2022–May 2023
WHL
September 2022–May 2023
Number of teams 60
TV partner(s) CBC Television
CBC Gem
TSN
RDS
Rogers TV
Shaw TV
Western Hockey League

The 2022-23 Western Hockey League season. was the 57th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season started on September 23, 2022, and ended on March 26, 2023. The 2023 WHL Playoffs began on March 31, 2023 and ended on May 19, 2023. Teams went back to inter-conference games for first time since the 2019–20 season.[1]

The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Winnipeg Ice 4 games to 1 in the finals to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup and earn a spot in the Memorial Cup, hosted by the Kamloops Blazers.

Membership changes[]

  • None for 2022-23

Teams[]

Eastern Conference[]

Division Team City Arena Capacity
Central Calgary Hitmen Calgary, Alberta, Canada Scotiabank Saddledome

Stampede Corral
(some playoff games)

19,289

6,450

Edmonton Oil Kings Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Rogers Place 18,641
Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada ENMAX Centre 5,479
Medicine Hat Tigers Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada Co-op Place 5,500 (expandable to 6,500)
Red Deer Rebels Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Peavey Mart Centrium 6,000
Swift Current Broncos Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada Innovation Credit Union iPlex 3,239
East Brandon Wheat Kings Brandon, Manitoba, Canada Keystone Centre 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
Winnipeg Ice Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Wayne Fleming Arena 1,400

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 Angel of the Winds Arena 8,149
Portland Winterhawks Portland, Oregon, United States Memorial Coliseum
Moda Center
10,407
18,280
Seattle Thunderbirds Kent, Washington, United States Accesso 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[]

Western Conference
Team GP W L OTL SL GF GA Pts
Seattle Thunderbirds xy 68 54 11 1 2 300 155 111
Kamloops Blazers xy 68 48 13 4 3 313 198 103
Portland Winterhawks x 68 40 20 5 3 244 218 88
Prince George Cougars x 68 37 24 6 1 290 241 81
Tri-City Americans x 68 34 26 5 3 256 245 76
Everett Silvertips x 68 33 32 2 1 221 245 69
Vancouver Giants x 68 28 32 5 3 188 238 64
Kelowna Rockets x 68 27 37 4 0 210 256 58
Victoria Royals e 68 17 43 6 2 199 323 42
Spokane Chiefs e 68 15 43 4 6 195 314 40
Eastern Conference
Team GP W L OTL SL GF GA Pts
Winnipeg Ice xyz 68 57 10 1 0 325 177 115
Red Deer Rebels xy 68 43 19 3 3 248 189 92
Saskatoon Blades x 68 48 15 4 1 257 171 101
Moose Jaw Warriors x 68 41 24 0 3 252 237 85
Lethbridge Hurricanes x 68 36 26 3 3 204 207 78
Regina Pats x 68 34 30 3 1 262 277 72
Calgary Hitmen x 68 31 29 5 3 220 224 70
Medicine Hat Tigers x 68 30 29 8 1 248 224 69
Swift Current Broncos e 68 31 33 1 3 227 242 66
Brandon Wheat Kings e 68 26 33 8 1 212 242 61
Prince Albert Raiders e 68 28 37 3 0 198 239 59
Edmonton Oil Kings e 68 10 54 4 0 131 338 24


x – team has clinched playoff spot

y – team has clinched division

z – team has clinched best regular season record

e – team is eliminated from playoff contention

Statistical leaders[]

Scoring leaders[]

Players are listed by points, then goals.[3]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Connor Bedard Regina Pats 57 71 72 143 62
Chase Wheatcroft Prince George Cougars 68 47 60 107 46
Zachary Benson Winnipeg Ice 60 36 62 98 49
Logan Stankoven Kamloops Blazers 48 34 63 97 17
Riley Heidt Prince George Cougars 68 25 71 96 36
Andrew Cristall Kelowna Rockets 54 39 56 95 50
Matthew Savoie Winnipeg Ice 62 38 57 95 26
Connor McClennon Winnipeg Ice 64 46 46 92 49
Koehn Ziemmer Prince George Cougars 68 41 48 89 43
Jagger Firkus Moose Jaw Warriors 66 40 48 88 24

Goaltenders[]

These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that have played at least 1,200 minutes.[4]

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage

Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SOL SO GAA Sv%
Thomas Milic Seattle Thunderbirds 33 1,964 27 3 1 1 4 2.08 0.928
Scott Ratzlaff Seattle Thunderbirds 34 2,011 25 8 0 1 5 2.15 0.918
Austin Elliott Saskatoon Blades 37 2,123 25 6 3 0 2 2.20 0.911
Daniel Hauser Winnipeg Ice 42 2,504 37 4 1 0 2 2.28 0.917
Rhett Stoesser Red Deer Rebels 25 1,480 19 6 0 0 2 2.35 0.910


2023 Ed Chynoweth Cup Playoffs[]

Format[]

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 reverted to the conference based format last used in 2014 when the top 8 teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The division winners are seeded 1 or 2 based on record. The remaining teams are seeded 3 through 8. Teams are matched up 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5. Teams are reseeded after the first round 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. The conference semifinal winners meet in the conference final and the conference final winners meet in the league final.

The winner of the Chynoweth Cup advances to the 2023 Memorial Cup.

Bracket[]

  Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals WHL Championship
                                     
E1  Winnipeg 4  
E8  Medicine Hat 0  
  E1  Winnipeg 4  
  E4  Moose Jaw 2  
E2  Red Deer 4
E7  Calgary 1  
  E1  Winnipeg 4  
Eastern
  E3  Saskatoon 0  
E3  Saskatoon 4  
E6  Regina 3  
  E2  Red Deer 3
  E3  Saskatoon 4  
E4  Moose Jaw 4
E5  Lethbridge 0  
  E1  Winnipeg 1
Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.
  W1  Seattle 4
W1  Seattle 4  
W8  Kelowna 0  
  W1  Seattle 4
  W4  Prince George 0  
W2  Kamloops 4
W7  Vancouver 0  
  W1  Seattle 4
Western
  W2  Kamloops 2  
W3  Portland 4  
W6  Everett 1  
  W2  Kamloops 4
  W3  Portland 0  
W4  Prince George 4
W5  Tri-City 2  

Conference Quarter-finals[]

Eastern Conference[]

(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E8) Medicine Hat Tigers[]

March 31 Medicine Hat Tigers 3–5 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 1 Medicine Hat Tigers 2–5 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 4 Winnipeg Ice 7–2 Medicine Hat Tigers Co-op Place Recap
April 5 Winnipeg Ice 3–2 Medicine Hat Tigers Co-op Place Recap
Winnipeg wins series 4–0


(E2) Red Deer Rebels vs. (E7) Calgary Hitmen[]

March 31 Calgary Hitmen 0–3 Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
April 1 Calgary Hitmen 2–1 OT Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
April 3 Red Deer Rebels 4–2 Calgary Hitmen Scotiabank Saddledome Recap
April 5 Red Deer Rebels 6–1 Calgary Hitmen Scotiabank Saddledome Recap
April 7 Calgary Hitmen 5–6 OT Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
Red Deer wins series 4–1


(E3) Saskatoon Blades vs. (E6) Regina Pats[]

March 31 Regina Pats 6–1 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 2 Regina Pats 6–5 OT Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 4 Saskatoon Blades 4–3 OT Regina Pats Brandt Centre Recap
April 5 Saskatoon Blades 4–3 OT Regina Pats Brandt Centre Recap
April 7 Regina Pats 2–4 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 8 Saskatoon Blades 3–5 Regina Pats Brandt Centre Recap
April 10 Regina Pats 1–4 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
Saskatoon wins series 4–3


(E4) Moose Jaw Warriors vs. (E5) Lethbridge Hurricanes[]

March 31 Lethbridge Hurricanes 1–2 2OT Moose Jaw Warriors Moose Jaw Events Centre Recap
April 1 Lethbridge Hurricanes 1–5 Moose Jaw Warriors Moose Jaw Events Centre Recap
April 4 Moose Jaw Warriors 6–2 Lethbridge Hurricanes Enmax Centre Recap
April 5 Moose Jaw Warriors 5–2 Lethbridge Hurricanes Enmax Centre Recap
Moose Jaw wins series 4–0


Western Conference[]

(W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W8) Kelowna Rockets[]

March 31 Kelowna Rockets 2–3 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
April 1 Kelowna Rockets 1–4 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
April 4 Seattle Thunderbirds 4–1 Kelowna Rockets Prospera Place Recap
April 5 Seattle Thunderbirds 3–0 Kelowna Rockets Prospera Place Recap
Seattle wins series 4–0


(W2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (W7) Vancouver Giants[]

March 31 Vancouver Giants 0–8 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
April 1 Vancouver Giants 1–6 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
April 4 Kamloops Blazers 5–0 Vancouver Giants Langley Events Centre Recap
April 6 Kamloops Blazers 5–4 OT Vancouver Giants Langley Events Centre Recap
Kamloops wins series 4–0


(W3) Portland Winterhawks vs. (W6) Everett Silvertips[]

March 31 Everett Silvertips 3–4 Portland Winterhawks Veterans Memorial Coliseum Recap
April 1 Everett Silvertips 0–4 Portland Winterhawks Veterans Memorial Coliseum Recap
April 3 Portland Winterhawks 6–1 Everett Silvertips Angel of the Winds Arena Recap
April 7 Portland Winterhawks 0–5 Everett Silvertips Angel of the Winds Arena Recap
April 8 Everett Silvertips 2–3 OT Portland Winterhawks Veterans Memorial Coliseum Recap
Portland wins series 4–1


(W4) Prince George Cougars vs. (W5) Tri-City Americans[]

March 31 Tri-City Americans 6–4 Prince George Cougars CN Centre Recap
April 1 Tri-City Americans 1–2 OT Prince George Cougars CN Centre Recap
April 4 Prince George Cougars 2–4 Tri-City Americans Toyota Center Recap
April 5 Prince George Cougars 6–2 Tri-City Americans Toyota Center Recap
April 7 Prince George Cougars 6–2 Tri-City Americans Toyota Center Recap
April 9 Tri-City Americans 4–5 OT Prince George Cougars CN Centre Recap
Prince George wins series 4–2


Conference Semi-finals[]

Eastern Conference[]

(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E4) Moose Jaw Warriors[]

April 14 Moose Jaw Warriors 3–5 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 15 Moose Jaw Warriors 5–3 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 18 Winnipeg Ice 4–8 Moose Jaw Warriors Mosaic Place Recap
April 19 Winnipeg Ice 3–2 OT Moose Jaw Warriors Mosaic Place Recap
April 22 Moose Jaw Warriors 2–5 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 24 Winnipeg Ice 8–2 Moose Jaw Warriors Mosaic Place Recap
Winnipeg wins series 4–2


(E2) Red Deer Rebels vs. (E3) Saskatoon Blades[]

April 14 Red Deer Rebels 3–1 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 16 Red Deer Rebels 5–2 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 18 Saskatoon Blades 1–3 Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
April 19 Saskatoon Blades 4–2 Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
April 21 Red Deer Rebels 3–6 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
April 23 Saskatoon Blades 5–3 Red Deer Rebels Peavey Mart Centrium Recap
April 25 Red Deer Rebels 2–5 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
Saskatoon wins series 4–3


Western Conference[]

(W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W4) Prince George Cougars[]

April 14 Prince George Cougars 1–4 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
April 15 Prince George Cougars 1–5 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
April 18 Seattle Thunderbirds 8–1 Prince George Cougars CN Centre Recap
April 19 Seattle Thunderbirds 8–2 Prince George Cougars CN Centre Recap
Seattle wins series 4–0


(W2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (W3) Portland Winterhawks[]

April 14 Portland Winterhawks 4–6 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
April 15 Portland Winterhawks 0–5 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
April 19 Kamloops Blazers 3–2 Portland Winterhawks Veterans Memorial Coliseum Recap
April 20 Kamloops Blazers 10–4 Portland Winterhawks Veterans Memorial Coliseum Recap
Kamloops wins series 4–0


Conference Finals[]

Eastern Conference[]

(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E3) Saskatoon Blades[]

April 28 Saskatoon Blades 0–3 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
April 29 Saskatoon Blades 2–6 Winnipeg Ice Wayne Fleming Arena Recap
May 2 Winnipeg Ice 5–1 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
May 3 Winnipeg Ice 3–2 Saskatoon Blades SaskTel Centre Recap
Winnipeg wins series 4–0


Western Conference[]

(W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W2) Kamloops Blazers[]

April 29 Kamloops Blazers 1–5 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
April 30 Kamloops Blazers 3–4 OT Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
May 2 Seattle Thunderbirds 1–4 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
May 4 Seattle Thunderbirds 8–4 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
May 6 Kamloops Blazers 4–2 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
May 8 Seattle Thunderbirds 4–2 Kamloops Blazers Sandman Centre Recap
Seattle wins series 4–2


WHL Championship[]

(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (W1) Seattle Thunderbirds[]

May 12 Seattle Thunderbirds 2–3 Winnipeg Ice Canada Life Centre Recap
May 13 Seattle Thunderbirds 4–2 Winnipeg Ice Canada Life Centre Recap
May 16 Winnipeg Ice 3-6 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
May 17 Winnipeg Ice 2-4 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
May 19 Winnipeg Ice 1–3 Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center Recap
Seattle wins series 4–1


The Seattle Thunderbirds advance to the 2023 Memorial Cup.

Playoff scoring leaders[]

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Logan Stankoven Kamloops Blazers 14 10 20 30 4
Olen Zellweger Kamloops Blazers 14 11 18 29 10
Matthew Savoie Winnipeg Ice 19 11 18 29 8
Dylan Guenther Seattle Thunderbirds 19 16 12 28 12
Brad Lambert Seattle Thunderbirds 17 6 20 26 8
Ben Zloty Winnipeg Ice 19 1 23 24 2
Connor McClennon Winnipeg Ice 19 14 9 23 15
Jared Davidson Seattle Thunderbirds 19 11 12 23 17
Jeremy Hanzel Seattle Thunderbirds 19 5 17 22 18
Jagger Firkus Moose Jaw Warriors 10 10 11 21 10

Playoff leading goaltenders[]

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV& = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player Team GP Mins W L GA SO Sv% GAA
Thomas Milic Seattle Thunderbirds 19 1,141 16 3 37 1 0.933 1.95
Kyle Kelsey Red Deer Rebels 11 636 7 3 25 1 0.912 2.36
Dylan Ernst Kamloops Blazers 14 863 10 4 37 3 0.913 2.57
Daniel Hauser Winnipeg Ice 19 1,042 13 5 47 1 0.906 2.71
Connor Ungar Moose Jaw Warriors 10 635 6 4 29 0 0.915 2.74

WHL awards[]

Regular season Champions Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy Winnipeg Ice
Player of the Year Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Connor Bedard, Regina Pats
Top Scorer Bob Clarke Trophy Connor Bedard, Regina Pats
Top Defenseman Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy Olen Zellweger, Kamloops Blazers
Rookie of the Year Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy Ryder Ritchie, Prince Albert Raiders
Top Goaltender Del Wilson Trophy Thomas Milic, Seattle Thunderbirds
Top Plus-Minus Rating WHL Plus-Minus Award Jeremy Hanzel, Seattle Thunderbirds
Most Sportsmanlike Player Brad Hornung Trophy Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw Warriors
Scholastic player of the Year Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy Quinn Mantei, Brandon Wheat Kings
Coach of the Year Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy Brennan Sonne, Saskatoon Blades
Executive of the Year Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Bil La Forge, Seattle Thunderbirds
Top Official Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy Chris Crich
Marketing/Public Relations Award St. Clair Group Trophy Spokane Chiefs
Humanitarian of the Year Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers
WHL Finals Most Valuable Player airBC Trophy Thomas Millic, Seattle Thunderbirds
Alumni Achievement Awards Professional Hockey Achievement
Academic Recipient

See also[]

References[]

External links[]


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 2022-23 WHL season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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