1986–87 WHL season

The 1986–87 WHL season was the 21st season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). While the Kamloops Blazers won their second Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions, the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup as playoff champions before going on to win the 1987 Memorial Cup tournament.

1986–87 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	14
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Kamloops Blazers (2)
Season MVP	Rob Brown (Kamloops Blazers) / Joe Sakic (Swift Current Broncos)
Top scorer	Rob Brown (Kamloops Blazers)
Playoffs
Finals champions	Medicine Hat Tigers (2)
Runners-up	Portland Winter Hawks

1986–87 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	39
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) (1st title)
Runners-up	Oshawa Generals (OHL)

The season saw the return of the Swift Current Broncos, with the Lethbridge Broncos relocating prior to the start of the season.

League notes

• On December 30, 1986, the Swift Current Broncos bus crash caused the deaths of four members of the Broncos: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff. Despite the tragedy, the Broncos opted to continue playing for the remainder of the season. The WHL would later rename its Most Valuable Player award the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in honour of the four players who were killed in the crash.^[1]
• On March 1, 1987, Regina Pats player Brad Hornung was paralyzed during a game by a body check. In 1988, the WHL renamed its Most Sportsmanlike Player award—previously the Frank Boucher Memorial Trophy—the Brad Hornung Trophy in his honor. The incident also led to a rule change, making body checking from behind illegal.^[2]
• Rob Brown established a league record with a 212-point season for the Kamloops Blazers.^[3] In a season where the league awarded Most Valuable Player honours to a player from each of the East and West Divisions, Brown shared the MVP title with the Broncos' Joe Sakic.

Team changes

• The Lethbridge Broncos relocate to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, becoming the Swift Current Broncos.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	48	19	5	101	383	264
x Saskatoon Blades	72	44	26	2	90	369	282
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	43	26	3	89	346	264
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	38	31	3	79	366	321
x Regina Pats	72	31	37	4	66	332	356
x Swift Current Broncos	72	28	40	4	60	331	393
Calgary Wranglers	72	23	46	3	49	304	390
Brandon Wheat Kings	72	19	49	4	42	282	443

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Kamloops Blazers	72	55	14	3	113	496	292
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	47	23	2	96	439	355
x Spokane Chiefs	72	37	33	2	76	374	350
x Victoria Cougars	72	30	41	1	61	334	412
Seattle Thunderbirds	72	21	47	4	46	328	430
New Westminster Bruins	72	18	50	4	40	300	432

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Rob Brown	Kamloops Blazers	63	76	136	212	101
Craig Endean	Regina Pats	72	69	77	146	34
Len Nielsen	Regina Pats	72	36	100	136	32
Joe Sakic	Swift Current Broncos	72	60	73	133	31
Theoren Fleury	Moose Jaw Warriors	66	61	68	129	110
Adam Morrison	Victoria Cougars	65	55	70	125	57
Greg Hawgood	Kamloops Blazers	61	30	93	123	139
Ron Shudra	Kamloops Blazers	71	49	70	119	68
Robin Bawa	Kamloops Blazers	62	57	62	113	91
Pat Elynuik	Prince Albert Raiders	64	51	62	113	40

1987 WHL Playoffs

First round

• Medicine Hat earned a bye
• Saskatoon earned a bye
• Prince Albert defeated Swift Current 3 games to 1
• Moose Jaw defeated Regina 3 games to 0

Division semi-finals

• Medicine Hat defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 2
• Saskatoon defeated Prince Albert 4 games to 0
• Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 0
• Portland defeated Spokane 5 games to 0

Division finals

• Medicine Hat defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 3
• Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3

WHL Championship

• Medicine Hat defeated Portland 4 games to 3

All-Star game

On January 20, the East Division defeated the West Division 4–3 at Regina, Saskatchewan with a crowd of 3,652.

WHL awards

• Note: For the 1986–87 season, the WHL handed out separate awards for the East and West Divisions.

Most Valuable Player - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: East: Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos; West: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers

Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Casey McMilan, Swift Current Broncos

Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: East: Craig Endean, Regina Pats; West: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers

WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player: East: Len Nielson, Regina Pats; West: Dave Archibald, Portland Winter Hawks

Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: East: Wayne McBean, Medicine Hat Tigers; West: Glen Wesley, Portland Winter Hawks

Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: East: Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos; West: Dennis Holland, Portland Winter Hawks

Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: East: Kenton Rein, Prince Albert Raiders; West: Dean Cook, Kamloops Blazers

Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: East: Graham James, Swift Current Broncos; West: Ken Hitchcock, Kamloops Blazers

Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Kamloops Blazers

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers

All-Star Teams

East Division
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Kenton Rein	Prince Albert Raiders	unknown
Defense	Wayne McBean	Medicine Hat Tigers
	Mark Tinordi	Calgary Wranglers
Center	Theoren Fleury	Moose Jaw Warriors
Left Wing	Mark Pederson	Medicine Hat Tigers
Right Wing	Pat Elynuik	Prince Albert Raiders
West Division
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Drago Adam	New Westminster Bruins	Peter Fry	Victoria Cougars
Defense	Greg Hawgood	Kamloops Blazers	Mike Berger	Spokane Chiefs
	Glen Wesley	Portland Winter Hawks	Chris Joseph	Seattle Thunderbirds
Center	Rob Brown	Kamloops Blazers	Glen Goodall	Seattle Thunderbirds
Left Wing	Brent Hughes	Victoria Cougars	Ken Priestlay	Victoria Cougars
Right Wing	Robin Bawa	Kamloops Blazers	Ron Shudra	Kamloops Blazers

See also

• 1987 NHL Entry Draft
• 1986 in sports
• 1987 in sports