# 1988–89 WHL season

The 1988–89 WHL season was the 23rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring fourteen teams and a 72-game regular season. Less than three years after the 1986 team bus crash that killed four players, the Swift Current Broncos put together the best season in the club's history. The Broncos won their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record, and in the playoffs defeated the Portland Winter Hawks to win their first President's Cup as league champions—the Broncos went undefeated throughout the playoffs. This earned the Broncos a berth in the 1989 Memorial Cup tournament, which was hosted in Saskatoon. At the tournament, the Broncos defeated the host Saskatoon Blades to win the Memorial Cup title.
This was the first season for the Tri-City Americans after the New Westminster Bruins relocated to Kennewick, Washington prior to the season. The Americans became the fourth WHL club based in the United States.

## Team changes

* The New Westminster Bruins relocate to Kennewick, Washington, becoming the Tri-City Americans.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 55 | 16 | 1 | 111 | 447 | 319 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 42 | 28 | 2 | 86 | 366 | 335 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 41 | 27 | 4 | 86 | 359 | 326 |
| x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 76 | 302 | 286 |
| x Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 27 | 39 | 6 | 60 | 356 | 380 |
| x Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 27 | 42 | 3 | 57 | 318 | 372 |
| Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 25 | 43 | 4 | 54 | 286 | 331 |
| Regina Pats | 72 | 23 | 43 | 6 | 52 | 306 | 358 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 40 | 28 | 4 | 84 | 408 | 395 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 36 | 32 | 4 | 76 | 341 | 351 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 34 | 33 | 5 | 73 | 326 | 309 |
| x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 33 | 34 | 5 | 71 | 300 | 299 |
| Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 33 | 35 | 4 | 70 | 315 | 276 |
| Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 25 | 45 | 2 | 52 | 326 | 419 |

### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Dennis Holland | Portland Winter Hawks | 69 | 82 | 85 | 167 | 120 |
| Stu Barnes | Tri-City Americans | 70 | 59 | 82 | 141 | 117 |
| Tim Tisdale | Swift Current Broncos | 68 | 51 | 82 | 139 | 89 |
| Blair Atecheynum | Moose Jaw Warriors | 71 | 70 | 68 | 138 | 70 |
| Troy Mick | Portland Winter Hawks | 66 | 49 | 87 | 136 | 70 |
| Wayne Hynes | Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 54 | 81 | 135 | 66 |
| Peter Kasowski | Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 58 | 73 | 131 | 46 |
| Mike Sillinger | Regina Pats | 72 | 53 | 78 | 131 | 52 |
| Sean Lebrun | Tri-City Americans | 71 | 52 | 73 | 125 | 92 |
| Kirby Lindal | Medicine Hat Tigers | 71 | 67 | 55 | 122 | 83 |

## 1989 WHL Playoffs
### First round

* Swift Current earned a bye
* Saskatoon earned a bye
* Lethbridge defeated Prince Albert 3 games to 1
* Moose Jaw defeated Medicine Hat 3 games to 0

### Division semi-finals

* Swift Current defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 0
* Saskatoon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
* Portland defeated Tri-City 5 games to 2
* Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 3

### Division finals

* Swift Current defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
* Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3

### WHL Championship

* Swift Current defeated Portland 4 games to 0

## All-Star game

On January 24, the West Division defeated the East Division 5–1 at Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 2,933.

## WHL awards

* Most Valuable Player - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Stu Barnes, Tri-City Americans
* Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Jeff Nelson, Prince Albert Raiders
* Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Dennis Holland, Portland Winter Hawks
* Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Blair Atcheynum, Moose Jaw Warriors
* Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dan Lambert, Swift Current Broncos
* Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Wes Walz, Lethbridge Hurricanes
* Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Danny Lorenz, Seattle Thunderbirds
* Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Ron Kennedy, Medicine Hat Tigers
* Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Dennis Beyak, Saskatoon Blades
* Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Swift Current Broncos
* WHL Plus-Minus Award: Darren Stolk, Medicine Hat Tigers

## All-Star Teams

East Division :
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Frederic Chabot | Prince Albert Raiders | Stan Reddick | Moose Jaw Warriors |
| Defense | Dan Lambert | Swift Current Broncos | Gord Kruppke (tied) | Prince Albert Raiders |
| Defense | Collin Bauer | Saskatoon Blades | Todd Nelson (tied) | Prince Albert Raiders |
| Defense | - | - | Bob Woods (tied) | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Center | Mike Modano | Prince Albert Raiders | Tim Tisdale | Swift Current Broncos |
| Left Wing | Kirby Lindal | Medicine Hat Tigers | Gary Dickie | Regina Pats |
| Right Wing | Blair Atcheynum | Moose Jaw Warriors | Sheldon Kennedy | Swift Current Broncos |
| West Division |||||
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Danny Lorenz | Seattle Thunderbirds | Olaf Kolzig | Tri-City Americans |
| Defense | Steve Jaques | Tri-City Americans | Pat MacLeod | Kamloops Blazers |
| Defense | Chad Biafore | Portland Winter Hawks | Geoff Smith | Kamloops Blazers |
| Center | Dennis Holland | Portland Winter Hawks | Stu Barnes | Tri-City Americans |
| Left Wing | Dave Chyzowski | Kamloops Blazers | Troy Mick | Portland Winter Hawks |
| Right Wing | Jackson Penney | Victoria Cougars | Pat Falloon | Spokane Chiefs |