1996–97 WHL season

The 1996–97 WHL season was the 31st season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring eighteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and the President's Cup as playoff champions, both for the first time in team history. The Hurricanes went on to finish as runners-up at the 1997 Memorial Cup tournament.

1996–97 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	18
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Lethbridge Hurricanes (1)
Season MVP	Peter Schaefer (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Top scorer	Todd Robinson (Portland Winter Hawks)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Blaine Russell (Hurricanes)
Finals champions	Lethbridge Hurricanes (1)
Runners-up	Seattle Thunderbirds

1996–97 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	49
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) (1st title)
Runners-up	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

The Edmonton Ice joined the WHL as its eighteenth team, and the first to call Edmonton home since the second iteration of the Oil Kings left the city in 1979.

League notes

• The addition of the Edmonton Ice to the Central Division precipitated a realignment for the Swift Current Broncos, who 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; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Min	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

1997 WHL Playoffs

• 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

First Round

Division Semi-Finals

Division Finals

WHL Championship

C1

Lethbridge

4

E5

Prince Albert

0

C1

Lethbridge

4

E4

Moose Jaw

2

E1

Brandon

2

E4

Moose Jaw

4

C1

Lethbridge

4

C2

Red Deer

1

E2

Swift Current

4

C3

Medicine Hat

0

E2

Swift Current

2

C2

Red Deer

4

C2

Red Deer

4

E3

Regina

1

C1

Lethbridge

4

W2

Seattle

0

W2

Seattle

4

W5

Kamloops

1

W2

Seattle

bye

W2

Seattle

4

W6

Prince George

2

W1

Portland

2

W6

Prince George

4

W3

Spokane

0

W6

Prince George

3

W3

Spokane

4

W4

Kelowna

2

Conference Quarterfinals

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

WHL Humanitarian of the Year: Jesse Wallin, Red Deer Rebels

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Peter Schaefer, Brandon Wheat Kings

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: 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

See also

• 1997 NHL Entry Draft
• 1996 in sports
• 1997 in sports

References

• 2005–06 WHL Guide

Preceded by 1995–96 WHL season

WHL seasons

Succeeded by 1997–98 WHL season