1995–96 WHL season
The 1995–96 WHL season was the 30th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring seventeen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Brandon Wheat Kings won the franchise's fourth Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best regular season record, and followed this up in the playoffs by securing their second President's Cup as league champions, their first since 1978–79.
| 1995–96 WHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 17 |
| Regular season | |
| Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy | Brandon Wheat Kings (4) |
| Season MVP | Jarome Iginla (Kamloops Blazers) |
| Top scorer | Mark Deyell (Saskatoon Blades) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Bobby Brown (Wheat Kings) |
| Finals champions | Brandon Wheat Kings (2) |
| Runners-up | Spokane Chiefs |
| 1995–96 CHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Canadian Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 48 |
| OHL | |
| QMJHL | |
| WHL | |
| Memorial Cup | |
| Finals champions | Granby Prédateurs (QMJHL) (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
The Calgary Hitmen joined the WHL as its seventeenth franchise, and the first to be located in Calgary since the Calgary Wranglers in 1987. The Tacoma Rockets relocated to Kelowna, British Columbia and became the Kelowna Rockets.
League notes
- Following the addition of the Calgary Hitmen and the relocation of the Rockets to Kelowna, the WHL divided into three divisions: The East and Central Divisions formed the Eastern Conference, consisting of five teams per division. The West Division was made up of the seven B.C. and U.S.-based teams.
- The playoff format was changed so that the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference and the top six in the West Division qualified. The 14 playoff qualifiers all played best-of-seven series in the first round. The East semifinals were best-of-seven affairs, while the highest remaining seed in the West earned a bye. The remaining two West teams played a best-of-five series. Conference and League final series remained best-of-seven.
- The Spokane Chiefs became the first team in WHL history to win a seven-game playoff series after being down 3 games to 0, against the Portland Winter Hawks in the first round of the West Division playoffs.
Regular season
Final standings
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 52 | 19 | 1 | 105 | 369 | 231 |
| x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 47 | 19 | 6 | 100 | 309 | 250 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 76 | 316 | 284 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 29 | 42 | 1 | 59 | 314 | 351 |
| Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 18 | 49 | 5 | 41 | 223 | 331 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 36 | 31 | 5 | 77 | 285 | 271 |
| x Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 33 | 36 | 3 | 69 | 259 | 270 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 30 | 37 | 5 | 65 | 243 | 288 |
| x Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 28 | 39 | 5 | 61 | 263 | 300 |
| Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 18 | 51 | 3 | 39 | 222 | 359 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 50 | 18 | 4 | 104 | 322 | 221 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 48 | 22 | 2 | 98 | 343 | 257 |
| x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 45 | 25 | 2 | 92 | 336 | 255 |
| x Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 35 | 33 | 4 | 74 | 338 | 309 |
| x Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 29 | 36 | 7 | 65 | 255 | 281 |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 30 | 39 | 3 | 63 | 283 | 301 |
| Prince George Cougars | 72 | 17 | 53 | 2 | 36 | 219 | 340 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Deyell | Saskatoon Blades | 69 | 61 | 98 | 159 | 122 |
| Frank Banham | Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 83 | 69 | 152 | 116 |
| Hnat Domenichelli | Kamloops Blazers | 62 | 59 | 89 | 148 | 37 |
| Jarome Iginla | Kamloops Blazers | 63 | 63 | 73 | 136 | 120 |
| Robb Gordon | Kelowna Rockets | 58 | 51 | 63 | 114 | 84 |
| Josh Holden | Regina Pats | 70 | 57 | 55 | 112 | 105 |
| Mike Leclerc | Brandon Wheat Kings | 71 | 58 | 53 | 111 | 161 |
| Clarke Wilm | Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 49 | 61 | 110 | 83 |
| Peter Schaefer | Brandon Wheat Kings | 69 | 47 | 61 | 108 | 53 |
| Marty Flichel | Kelowna Rockets | 69 | 28 | 79 | 107 | 107 |
1996 WHL Playoffs
| First round | Division Semi-Finals | Division Finals | WHL Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Saskatoon | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Red Deer | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Swift Current | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Red Deer | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Prince Albert | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Prince Albert | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Medicine Hat | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Prince Albert | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Regina | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Regina | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Lethbridge | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Spokane | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Spokane | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Spokane | bye | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Spokane | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Kamloops | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Kamloops | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Seattle | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Kamloops | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Tri-City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Tri-City | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Kelowna | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
All-Star game
On January 23, the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 10–7 at Prince George, British Columbia before a crowd of 5,992.
Awards
All-Star Teams
| Eastern Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team | Second Team | |||
| Goal | Chad Mercier | Regina Pats | Terry Friesen | Swift Current Broncos |
| Defense | Wade Redden | Brandon Wheat Kings | Chad Allan | Saskatoon Blades |
| Craig Millar | Swift Current Broncos | Justin Kurtz | Brandon Wheat Kings | |
| Forward | Frank Banham | Saskatoon Blades | Curtis Brown | Prince Albert Raiders |
| Mark Deyell | Saskatoon Blades | Mike Leclerc | Brandon Wheat Kings | |
| Peter Schaefer | Brandon Wheat Kings | Byron Ritchie | Lethbridge Hurricanes | |
| Western Conference | ||||
| First Team | Second Team | |||
| Goal | David Lemanowicz | Spokane Chiefs | Brian Boucher | Tri-City Americans |
| Defense | Nolan Baumgartner | Kamloops Blazers | Sean Gillam | Spokane Chiefs |
| Jason Holland | Kamloops Blazers | Sheldon Souray | Kelowna Rockets | |
| Forward | Jarome Iginla | Kamloops Blazers | Daymond Langkow | Tri-City Americans |
| Hnat Domenichelli | Kamloops Blazers | Jaroslav Svejkovsky | Tri-City Americans | |
| Robb Gordon | Kelowna Rockets | Jason Podollan (tied) | Spokane Chiefs | |
| - | Richard Zedník (tied) | Portland Winter Hawks | ||
References
- 2005–06 WHL Guide
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