# 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.
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 | First round | First round | Division Semi-Finals | Division Semi-Finals | Division Semi-Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | | WHL Championship | WHL Championship | WHL Championship |
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Saskatoon | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Saskatoon | 0 | E1 | Brandon | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | C4 | Red Deer | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C1 | Swift Current | 2 | C4 | Red Deer | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Red Deer | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Red Deer | 4 | | | | E1 | Brandon | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | E2 | Prince Albert | 2 | | | | |
| E2 | Prince Albert | 4 | | | | | | | E2 | Prince Albert | 2 | | | | |
| C3 | Medicine Hat | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Medicine Hat | 1 | E2 | Prince Albert | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | E3 | Regina | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Regina | 4 | E3 | Regina | 3 | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Lethbridge | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Lethbridge | 0 | | | | | | | | E1 | Brandon | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Spokane | 1 |
| W1 | Spokane | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Spokane | 1 |
| W6 | Portland | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Portland | 3 | W1 | Spokane | bye | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | W1 | Spokane | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | W2 | Kamloops | 2 | | | | |
| W2 | Kamloops | 4 | | | | | | | W2 | Kamloops | 2 | | | | |
| W5 | Seattle | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Seattle | 1 | W2 | Kamloops | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | W3 | Tri-City | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Tri-City | 4 | W3 | Tri-City | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 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: David Lemamowicz, Spokane Chiefs
* Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Bob Lowes, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Tim Speltz, 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
* WHL Humanitarian of the Year: Darryl Laplante, Moose Jaw Warriors
* WHL Plus-Minus Award: Hugh Hamilton, Spokane Chiefs
* WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Bobby Brown, Brandon Wheat Kings

## All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference :
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Chad Mercier | Regina Pats | Terry Friesen | Swift Current Broncos |
| Defense | Wade Redden | Brandon Wheat Kings | Chad Allan | Saskatoon Blades |
| Defense | Craig Millar | Swift Current Broncos | Justin Kurtz | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Forward | Frank Banham | Saskatoon Blades | Curtis Brown | Prince Albert Raiders |
| Forward | Mark Deyell | Saskatoon Blades | Mike Leclerc | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Forward | Peter Schaefer | Brandon Wheat Kings | Byron Ritchie | Lethbridge Hurricanes |
| Western Conference |||||
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | David Lemanowicz | Spokane Chiefs | Brian Boucher | Tri-City Americans |
| Defense | Nolan Baumgartner | Kamloops Blazers | Sean Gillam | Spokane Chiefs |
| Defense | Jason Holland | Kamloops Blazers | Sheldon Souray | Kelowna Rockets |
| Forward | Jarome Iginla | Kamloops Blazers | Daymond Langkow | Tri-City Americans |
| Forward | Hnat Domenichelli | Kamloops Blazers | Jaroslav Svejkovsky | Tri-City Americans |
| Forward | Robb Gordon | Kelowna Rockets | Jason Podollan (tied) | Spokane Chiefs |
| Forward | - | | Richard Zedník (tied) | Portland Winter Hawks |