2003–04 WHL season
The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament.
| 2003–04 WHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Regular season | |
| Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy | Kelowna Rockets (2) |
| Season MVP | Cam Ward (Red Deer Rebels) |
| Top scorer | Tyler Redenbach (Swift Current Broncos) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Kevin Nastiuk (Tigers) |
| Finals champions | Medicine Hat Tigers (4) |
| Runners-up | Everett Silvertips |
| 2003–04 CHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Canadian Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 56 |
| OHL | |
| QMJHL | |
| WHL | |
| Memorial Cup | |
| Finals champions | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
League notes
- The Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.[1] The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top regular season team, and becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference championship.
- The playoff format was simplified so that the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of cross-overs between divisions.
Regular season
Eastern Conference
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 41 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 91 | 209 | 172 |
| x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 38 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 87 | 215 | 186 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 28 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 68 | 230 | 224 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 24 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 59 | 155 | 232 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 7 | 52 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 140 | 279 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 92 | 277 | 216 |
| x Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 85 | 167 | 169 |
| x Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 34 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 82 | 220 | 187 |
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 79 | 234 | 209 |
| Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 27 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 71 | 196 | 203 |
Western Conference
| B.C. Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 47 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 98 | 185 | 125 |
| x Vancouver Giants | 72 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 81 | 215 | 196 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 34 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 78 | 192 | 192 |
| x Kootenay Ice | 72 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 74 | 183 | 200 |
| Prince George Cougars | 72 | 30 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 68 | 214 | 236 |
| U.S. Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Everett Silvertips | 72 | 35 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 157 | 153 |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 34 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 77 | 199 | 206 |
| x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 31 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 76 | 199 | 206 |
| x Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 32 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 75 | 200 | 215 |
| Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 24 | 31 | 8 | 9 | 65 | 192 | 198 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Redenbach | Swift Current Broncos | 71 | 31 | 74 | 105 | 52 |
| Jeremy Williams | Swift Current Broncos | 68 | 52 | 49 | 101 | 82 |
| Kyle Brodziak | Moose Jaw Warriors | 70 | 39 | 54 | 93 | 58 |
| Brad Schell | Spokane Chiefs | 71 | 35 | 57 | 92 | 47 |
| Chris St. Jaques | Medicine Hat Tigers | 64 | 33 | 59 | 92 | 80 |
| Chad Klassen | Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 35 | 56 | 91 | 67 |
| Seth Leonard | Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 50 | 40 | 90 | 53 |
| Eric Fehr | Brandon Wheat Kings | 71 | 40 | 34 | 84 | 129 |
| Adam Courchaine | Vancouver Giants | 70 | 39 | 43 | 82 | 34 |
| Darren Reid | Medicine Hat Tigers | 67 | 33 | 48 | 81 | 194 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Guard | Kelowna Rockets | 62 | 3651 | 44 | 14 | 4 | 95 | 13 | .925 | 1.56 |
| Jeff Harvey | Everett Silvertips | 48 | 2684 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 89 | 3 | .925 | 1.99 |
| Cam Ward | Red Deer Rebels | 56 | 3338 | 31 | 16 | 8 | 114 | 4 | .926 | 2.05 |
| Mike Brodeur | Moose Jaw Warriors | 41 | 2385 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 84 | 4 | .929 | 2.11 |
| Mike Wall | Prince George/Everett | 36 | 1716 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 65 | 2 | .920 | 2.27 |
2004 WHL Playoffs
| Conference Quarter-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Finals | WHL Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Moose Jaw | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Regina | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Brandon | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Prince Albert | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern | |||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Red Deer | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Swift Current | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Moose Jaw | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Red Deer | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Red Deer | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Kelowna | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B4 | Kootenay | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Kelowna | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U3 | Tri-City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B3 | Kamloops | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western | |||||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Kelowna | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U4 | Spokane | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Portland | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| U3 | Tri-City | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference
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Western Conference
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Conference semifinals
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Conference finals
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WHL Championship
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RE/Max Canada-Russia Challenge
On November 26, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 4–1 in Calgary, Alberta before a crowd of 7,844.
On November 27, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 7–1 in Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,908.
WHL awards
All-Star Teams
- source: Western Hockey League press release
2004 Bantam Draft
The 2004 WHL Bantam Draft was held at the WHL's head office in Calgary on April 29, 2004.
- List of first round picks in the bantam draft.
References
- 2005–06 WHL Guide
- Wade, Susan (November 22, 2002). "It's official: Everett's hockey team will be called Silvertips". The Seattle Times. p. D3. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.