2007–08 WHL season

The 2007–08 WHL season was the 42nd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 20, 2007, and ended on March 16, 2008. The Tri-City Americans won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record. The playoffs began on March 21, and ended on May 7, with the Spokane Chiefs defeating the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the championship series to claim their second Ed Chynoweth Cup and a berth at the 2008 Memorial Cup tournament, which Spokane would go on to win.^[1]

2007–08 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	Regular season September 20, 2007 – March 16, 2008 Playoffs March 21 – May 7, 2008
Number of teams	22
TV partner(s)	Shaw TV
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Tri-City Americans (1)
Season MVP	Karl Alzner (Calgary Hitmen)
Top scorer	Mark Santorelli (Chilliwack Bruins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Tyler Johnson (Chiefs)
Finals champions	Spokane Chiefs (2)
Runners-up	Lethbridge Hurricanes

2007–08 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	60
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Spokane Chiefs (WHL) (2nd title)
Runners-up	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

The Edmonton Oil Kings joined the league as an expansion club—their name paying homage to Edmonton's original WHL team—bringing the WHL to 22 teams.^[2]

League notes

• The WHL had announced at the 2007 Memorial Cup tournament that it would rename its championship trophy—until then, known as the President's Cup—after Ed Chynoweth.^[3] The Chiefs 2008 championship was thus the first featuring the renamed trophy.
• The Edmonton Oil Kings joined the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, bringing the Eastern Conference to twelve teams, while the Western Conference remained at ten.
• The playoff format was revised so that the top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, as opposed to the top four in each division. Division winners are guaranteed a top two seed in each conference.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; x = Clinched playoff berth; y = Clinched conference title

Eastern Conference

East Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	Rank
x Regina Pats	72	44	22	4	2	94	217	206	2
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	42	24	3	3	90	253	209	6
x Swift Current Broncos	72	41	24	1	6	89	244	205	7
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	37	21	6	8	88	229	214	8
Saskatoon Blades	72	29	34	3	6	67	182	229	9
Prince Albert Raiders	72	26	41	3	2	57	196	248	10

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	Rank
y Calgary Hitmen	72	47	20	1	4	99	259	166	1
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	45	21	2	4	96	245	175	3
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	43	22	5	2	93	234	198	4
x Kootenay Ice	72	42	22	5	3	92	229	214	5
Edmonton Oil Kings	72	22	39	4	7	55	162	241	11
Red Deer Rebels	72	18	47	4	3	43	145	255	12

Western Conference

B.C. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	Rank
x Vancouver Giants	72	49	15	2	6	106	250	155	2
x Kelowna Rockets	72	38	26	2	6	84	248	215	5
x Chilliwack Bruins	72	28	35	4	5	65	206	241	7
x Kamloops Blazers	72	27	41	2	2	58	197	253	8
Prince George Cougars	72	20	48	1	3	44	172	304	9

U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	Rank
y Tri-City Americans	72	52	16	2	2	108	262	176	1
x Spokane Chiefs	72	50	15	1	6	107	251	160	3
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	42	23	5	2	91	241	179	4
x Everett Silvertips	72	39	30	0	3	81	205	198	6
Portland Winter Hawks	72	11	58	2	1	25	132	318	10

Map of WHL, 2007–08 to 2010–11

190km
118miles

Wheat Kings

Pats

Warriors

Raiders

Blades

Broncos

Tigers

Hurricanes

Oil Kings

Rebels

Hitmen

Ice

Chiefs

Americans

Rockets

Blazers

Bruins

Silvertips

Thunderbirds

Winterhawks

Cougars

Giants

   

   East Division

   Central Division

   BC Division

   US Division

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Mark Santorelli	Chilliwack Bruins	72	27	74	101	40
Colin Long	Kelowna Rockets	72	31	69	100	41
Colton Yellow Horn	Tri-City Americans	67	48	49	97	63
Tyler Ennis	Medicine Hat Tigers	70	43	48	91	42
Steve DaSilva	Kootenay Ice	68	40	49	89	47
Mitch Fadden	Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	34	55	89	72
Jordan Knackstedt	Moose Jaw Warriors	72	31	54	85	116
Dan Gendur	Everett Silvertips	60	29	55	84	68
Bud Holloway	Seattle Thunderbirds	70	43	40	83	55
Oscar Moller	Chilliwack Bruins	63	39	44	83	42

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Min	W	L	OTL	SL	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Tyson Sexsmith	Vancouver Giants	62	3678	43	11	2	6	116	9	.911	1.89
Juha Metsola	Lethbridge Hurricanes	30	1693	20	7	0	1	56	3	.916	1.98
Dustin Tokarski	Spokane Chiefs	45	2543	30	10	0	3	87	6	.922	2.05
Martin Jones	Calgary Hitmen	27	1529	18	8	0	1	54	1	.911	2.12
Kevin Armstrong	Spokane Chiefs	33	1840	20	5	1	3	66	2	.915	2.15

2008 WHL Playoffs

Overview

	Conference Quarter-finals					Conference Semi-finals					Conference Finals					WHL Championship
	1	Calgary	4
	8	Moose Jaw	2
						1	Calgary	4
						7	Swift Current	2
	2	Regina	2
	7	Swift Current	4
											1	Calgary	0
	Eastern
											3	Lethbridge	4
	3	Lethbridge	4
	6	Brandon	2
						3	Lethbridge	4
						5	Kootenay	1
	4	Medicine Hat	1
	5	Kootenay	4
																E3	Lethbridge	0
																W3	Spokane	4
	1	Tri-City	4
	8	Kamloops	0
						1	Tri-City	4
						4	Seattle	1
	4	Seattle	4
	5	Kelowna	3
											1	Tri-City	3
	Western
											3	Spokane	4
	2	Vancouver	4
	7	Chilliwack	0
						2	Vancouver	2
						3	Spokane	4
	3	Spokane	4
	6	Everett	0

Conference quarter-finals

Eastern Conference

Moose Jaw vs. Calgary Date Away Home March 21 Moose Jaw 1 5 Calgary March 23 Moose Jaw 4 2 Calgary March 25 Calgary 8 3 Moose Jaw March 26 Calgary 3 1 Moose Jaw March 28 Moose Jaw 4 2 Calgary March 30 Calgary 4 2 Moose Jaw Calgary wins 4–2	Swift Current vs. Regina Date Away Home March 21 Swift Current 1 2 Regina March 22 Swift Current 5 3 Regina March 25 (OT) Regina 4 3 Swift Current March 26 Regina 4 5 Swift Current (2OT) March 28 Swift Current 6 3 Regina March 29 Regina 2 5 Swift Current Swift Current wins 4–2
Brandon vs. Lethbridge Date Away Home March 21 Brandon 1 2 Lethbridge March 22 Brandon 3 4 Lethbridge March 25 Lethbridge 4 3 Brandon March 26 Lethbridge 1 5 Brandon March 28 Lethbridge 3 4 Brandon March 30 Brandon 0 4 Lethbridge Lethbridge wins 4–2	Kootenay vs. Medicine Hat Date Away Home March 21 Kootenay 5 2 Medicine Hat March 22 (OT) Kootenay 4 3 Medicine Hat March 25 Medicine Hat 1 2 Kootenay March 26 Medicine Hat 5 3 Kootenay March 28 Kootenay 3 1 Medicine Hat Kootenay wins 4–1

Western Conference

Kamloops vs. Tri-City Date Away Home March 21 Kamloops 1 6 Tri-City March 22 Kamloops 1 4 Tri-City March 25 Tri-City 4 3 Kamloops March 26 Tri-City 6 2 Kamloops Tri-City wins 4–0	Chilliwack vs. Vancouver Date Away Home March 21 Chilliwack 1 2 Vancouver March 22 Chilliwack 2 3 Vancouver March 25 (3OT) Vancouver 4 3 Chilliwack March 26 Vancouver 2 1 Chilliwack Vancouver wins 4–0
Everett vs. Spokane Date Away Home March 21 Everett 2 5 Spokane March 22 Everett 1 4 Spokane March 26 Spokane 4 1 Everett March 28 (OT) Spokane 3 2 Everett Spokane wins 4–0	Kelowna vs. Seattle Date Away Home March 21 Kelowna 3 2 Seattle March 22 Kelowna 3 1 Seattle March 24 (OT) Seattle 3 2 Kelowna March 25 Seattle 6 4 Kelowna March 27 Kelowna 2 6 Seattle March 29 Seattle 3 4 Kelowna (OT) April 1 Kelowna 2 4 Seattle Seattle wins 4–3

Conference semi-finals

Eastern Conference
Swift Current vs. Calgary Date Away Home April 4 Calgary 2 3 Swift Current April 5 Calgary 5 2 Swift Current April 8 Swift Current 5 6 Calgary (2OT) April 9 Swift Current 2 3 Calgary April 11 Swift Current 5 2 Calgary April 12 Calgary 8 4 Swift Current Calgary wins 4–2	Kootenay vs. Lethbridge Date Away Home April 4 Kootenay 3 2 Lethbridge April 5 Kootenay 4 5 Lethbridge (OT) April 8 Lethbridge 5 2 Kootenay April 9 (2OT) Lethbridge 2 1 Kootenay April 11 Kootenay 0 3 Lethbridge Lethbridge wins 4–1

Western Conference
Vancouver vs. Spokane Date Away Home April 4 Vancouver 4 1 Spokane April 6 Vancouver 1 4 Spokane April 9 Spokane 3 2 Vancouver April 11 Spokane 1 3 Vancouver April 12 Spokane 4 0 Vancouver April 14 Vancouver 1 3 Spokane Spokane wins 4–2	Seattle vs. Tri-City Date Away Home April 4 Seattle 7 1 Tri-City April 5 Seattle 0 4 Tri-City April 8 Tri-City 3 2 Seattle April 9 (OT) Tri-City 3 2 Seattle April 11 Seattle 0 4 Tri-City Tri-City wins 4–1

Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Lethbridge vs. Calgary Date Away Home April 17 Lethbridge 5 2 Calgary April 18 (OT) Lethbridge 4 3 Calgary April 22 Calgary 0 6 Lethbridge April 23 Calgary 2 4 Lethbridge Lethbridge wins 4–0	Spokane vs. Tri-City Date Away Home April 18 (2OT) Spokane 1 0 Tri-City April 20 Spokane 0 1 Tri-City (2OT) April 21 Tri-City 0 2 Spokane April 22 (OT) Tri-City 3 2 Spokane April 26 (2OT) Spokane 4 3 Tri-City April 28 (OT) Tri-City 2 1 Spokane April 29 Spokane 4 1 Tri-City Spokane wins 4–3

WHL Championship

Lethbridge vs. Spokane
Date	Away	Home
May 2	Lethbridge 1	4 Spokane
May 3	Lethbridge 2	5 Spokane
May 6	(OT) Spokane 2	1 Lethbridge
May 7	Spokane 4	1 Lethbridge
Spokane wins 4-0

Memorial Cup

Main article: 2008 Memorial Cup

The 90th Memorial Cup was held in Kitchener, Ontario.^[4]

WHL awards

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy	Player of the Year	Karl Alzner	Calgary Hitmen
Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy	Scholastic Player of the Year	Jordan Eberle	Regina Pats
Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy	Scholastic team of the Year	Chilliwack Bruins
Bob Clarke Trophy	Top Scorer	Mark Santorelli	Chilliwack Bruins
Brad Hornung Trophy	Most Sportsmanlike Player	Tyler Ennis	Medicine Hat Tigers
Bill Hunter Trophy	Top Defenseman	Karl Alzner	Calgary Hitmen
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy	Rookie of the Year	Brayden Schenn	Brandon Wheat Kings
Del Wilson Trophy	Top Goaltender	Chet Pickard	Tri-City Americans
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy	Coach of the Year	Don Nachbaur	Tri-City Americans
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy	Executive of the Year	Bob Tory	Tri-City Americans
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Regular season champions	Tri-City Americans
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy	Top Official	Andy Thiessen
St. Clair Group Trophy	Marketing/Public Relations Award	Kip Reghenas	Calgary Hitmen
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy	Humanitarian of the Year	Ashton Hewson	Prince Albert Raiders
WHL Plus-Minus Award		Greg Scott	Seattle Thunderbirds
WHL Playoff MVP	WHL Finals Most Valuable Player	Tyler Johnson	Spokane Chiefs
Professional Hockey Achievement Academic Recipient	Alumni Achievement Awards	Lanny McDonald Blair St. Martin

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Linden Rowat	Regina Pats	Dan Spence	Calgary Hitmen
Defense	Karl Alzner	Calgary Hitmen	Ty Wishart	Moose Jaw Warriors
	Logan Pyett	Regina Pats	Daryl Boyle	Brandon Wheat Kings
Forward	Steve DaSilva	Kootenay Ice	Mitch Fadden	Lethbridge Hurricanes
	Tyler Ennis	Medicine Hat Tigers	Zach Boychuk	Lethbridge Hurricanes
	Jordan Eberle	Regina Pats	Ryan White	Calgary Hitmen
Western Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Chet Pickard	Tri-City Americans	Tyson Sexsmith	Vancouver Giants
Defense	T.J. Fast	Tri-City Americans	Jonathon Blum	Vancouver Giants
	Thomas Hickey	Seattle Thunderbirds	Luke Schenn	Kelowna Rockets
Forward	Colton Yellow Horn	Tri-City Americans	Dan Gendur	Everett Silvertips
	Colin Long	Kelowna Rockets	Mark Santorelli	Chilliwack Bruins
	Oscar Moller	Chilliwack Bruins	Drayson Bowman	Spokane Chiefs

• source: Western Hockey League press release

2008 Bantam Draft

First round^[5]

#	Player	Nationality	WHL Team
1	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C)	Canada	Red Deer Rebels
2	Ty Rattie (LW)	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks
3	Duncan Siemens (D)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (from Prince George)
4	Michael St. Croix (C)	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings
5	Mark McNeill (C)	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders
6	Brent Benson (C)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades
7	Colin Smith (C)	Canada	Kamloops Blazers
8	Mitch Topping (D)	Canada	Chilliwack Bruins
9	Ryan Murray (D)	Canada	Everett Silvertips
10	Klarc Wilson (RW)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings
11	Jesse Forsberg (D)	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (from Prince George)
12	Reece Scarlett (D)	Canada	Swift Current Broncos
13	Shane McColgan (C)	United States	Kelowna Rockets
14	Connor Sanvido (C)	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds
15	Brendan Hurley (LW)	Canada	Kootenay Ice
16	Dylan Busenius (D)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers
17	Myles Bell (D)	Canada	Regina Pats
18	Phil Tot (C)	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes
19	Peter Kosterman (D)	Canada	Calgary Hitmen
20	Zach Hodder (D)	Canada	Vancouver Giants
21	Mitch Holmberg (RW)	Canada	Spokane Chiefs
22	Zac Yuen (D)	Canada	Tri-City Americans

See also

• 2007–08 OHL season
• 2007–08 QMJHL season
• 2008 NHL Entry Draft
• 2007 in ice hockey
• 2008 in ice hockey