1995–96 WHL season

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The 1995–96 WHL season was the 30th season for the Western Hockey League (WHL). Seventeen teams completed a 72-game season. The Brandon Wheat Kings won the President's Cup.

League notes[]

  • The Calgary Hitmen joined the WHL as its 17th franchise, playing in the Central division.
  • The Tacoma Rockets relocated to Kelowna, British Columbia to become the Kelowna Rockets.
  • The WHL divided into three divisions: The East and Central divisions formed the Eastern Conference, and consisted 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 were best of seven.

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[]

Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Jarome Iginla, Kamloops Blazers
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Bryce Salvador, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Mark Deyell, Saskatoon Blades
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Hnat Domenichelli, Kamloops Blazers
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Nolan Baumgartner, Kamloops Blazers
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Chris Phillips, Prince Albert Raiders
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: , Spokane Chiefs
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Bob Lowes, Brandon Wheat Kings
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: , Spokane Chiefs
Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Brandon Wheat Kings
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Lonnie Cameron
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Dave Pier, Spokane Chiefs
Humanitarian of the Year - Darryl Laplante, Moose Jaw Warriors
WHL Plus-Minus Award: , Spokane Chiefs
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: , Brandon Wheat Kings

All-Star Teams[]

Eastern Conference
First Team Second Team
Goal Regina Pats Swift Current Broncos
Defense Wade Redden Brandon Wheat Kings 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 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

See also[]

References[]

Preceded by WHL seasons Succeeded by
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