# 1978–79 WHL season

The 1978–79 WHL season was the 13th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and the first under that shortened name after previously operating as the Western Canada Hockey League. The season featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The Brandon Wheat Kings secured their third consecutive regular season title, posting the league's best record—accumulating a league record 125 points in the standings—and followed the title up with the team's first playoff championship, defeating the Portland Winter Hawks in the final series to capture the President's Cup.
The season was the first—and only—season for the second incarnation of the Edmonton Oil Kings after the Flin Flon Bombers relocated to Edmonton prior to the season.

## Team changes

* The Flin Flon Bombers relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, becoming the Edmonton Oil Kings.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 58 | 5 | 9 | 125 | 491 | 230 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 26 | 32 | 14 | 66 | 385 | 398 |
| x Edmonton Oil Kings | 72 | 17 | 43 | 12 | 46 | 288 | 403 |
| Regina Pats | 72 | 18 | 47 | 7 | 43 | 297 | 481 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Billings Bighorns | 72 | 38 | 23 | 11 | 87 | 378 | 302 |
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 37 | 28 | 7 | 81 | 389 | 326 |
| x Calgary Wranglers | 72 | 28 | 38 | 6 | 62 | 349 | 392 |
| Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 15 | 50 | 7 | 37 | 270 | 479 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 49 | 10 | 13 | 111 | 432 | 265 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 34 | 27 | 11 | 79 | 318 | 295 |
| x New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 34 | 32 | 6 | 74 | 310 | 301 |
| Seattle Breakers | 72 | 21 | 40 | 11 | 53 | 299 | 334 |

### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Brian Propp | Brandon Wheat Kings | 71 | 94 | 100 | 194 | 127 |
| Ray Allison | Brandon Wheat Kings | 62 | 60 | 93 | 153 | 191 |
| Laurie Boschman | Brandon Wheat Kings | 65 | 66 | 83 | 149 | 215 |
| Duane Sutter | Lethbridge Broncos | 71 | 50 | 75 | 125 | 212 |
| Doug Morrison | Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 56 | 67 | 123 | 159 |
| Kelly Kisio | Calgary Wranglers | 70 | 60 | 61 | 121 | 73 |
| Mike Toal | Portland Winter Hawks | 71 | 38 | 83 | 121 | 32 |
| Brent Ashton | Saskatoon Blades | 62 | 64 | 65 | 119 | 180 |
| Perry Turnbull | Portland Winter Hawks | 70 | 75 | 43 | 118 | 191 |
| Gord Williams | Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 58 | 59 | 117 | 60 |

## 1979 WHL Playoffs
### Division semi-finals

Round robin format
* Brandon (7–1) advanced
* Saskatoon (3–5) advanced
* Edmonton (2–6) eliminated
* Lethbridge (5–3) advanced
* Calgary (4–4) advanced
* Billings (3–5) eliminated
* Portland (7–1) advanced
* Victoria (3–5) advanced
* New Westminster (2–6) eliminated

### Division finals

* Brandon defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
* Lethbridge defeated Calgary 4 games to 3
* Portland defeated Victoria 4 games to 3

### League semi-finals

Round Robin format
* Brandon (3–1) advanced
* Portland (3–1) advanced
* Lethbridge (0–4) eliminated

### WHL Championship

* Brandon defeated Portland 4 games to 2

## WHL awards

* Most Valuable Player: Perry Turnbull, Portland Winter Hawks
* Top Scorer: Brian Propp, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Most Sportsmanlike Player: Errol Rausse, Seattle Breakers
* Top Defenseman: Keith Brown, Portland Winter Hawks
* Rookie of the Year: Kelly Kisio, Calgary Wranglers
* Top Goaltender: Rick Knickle, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Coach of the Year: Dunc McCallum, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Regular season champions: Brandon Wheat Kings

## All-Star Teams

| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Rick Knickle | Brandon Wheat Kings | Warren Skorodenski | Calgary Wranglers |
| Defense | Keith Brown | Portland Winter Hawks | Craig Levie | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Defense | Brad McCrimmon | Brandon Wheat Kings | Blake Wesley | Portland Winter Hawks |
| Center | Laurie Boschman | Brandon Wheat Kings | Mike Toal | Portland Winter Hawks |
| Left Wing | Brian Propp | Brandon Wheat Kings | Perry Turnbull | Portland Winter Hawks |
| Right Wing | Ray Allison | Brandon Wheat Kings | Dirk Graham | Regina Pats |