# 1976–77 WCHL season

The 1976–77 WCHL season was the 11th season of the Western Canada Hockey League. It featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The Brandon Wheat Kings won their first regular season title, posting 54 wins on the season. However, in the playoffs the New Westminster Bruins continued their run of dominance and won their third consecutive President's Cup, defeating the Wheat Kings in the championship series. The Bruins advanced to the 1977 Memorial Cup tournament, and there they secured their first Memorial Cup title.
The season was the first for the Portland Winter Hawks, who became the league's first American-based club when the charter Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Portland, Oregon prior to the season. The Winnipeg Clubs also changed their name to the Monarchs.

## League notes

* The league adopted a new divisional format, dividing into three divisions of four teams each.

## Team changes

* The Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Portland, Oregon, becoming the Portland Winterhawks.
* The Winnipeg Clubs are renamed the Winnipeg Monarchs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 43 | 19 | 10 | 96 | 390 | 269 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 34 | 30 | 8 | 76 | 341 | 303 |
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 28 | 35 | 9 | 65 | 293 | 352 |
| x Winnipeg Clubs | 72 | 27 | 39 | 6 | 60 | 302 | 378 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 22 | 42 | 8 | 52 | 278 | 347 |
| Flin Flon Bombers | 72 | 18 | 44 | 10 | 46 | 279 | 441 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 54 | 14 | 4 | 112 | 463 | 247 |
| x Kamloops Chiefs | 72 | 40 | 26 | 6 | 86 | 365 | 285 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 38 | 24 | 10 | 86 | 379 | 306 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 37 | 28 | 7 | 81 | 343 | 320 |
| x Edmonton Oil Kings | 72 | 25 | 42 | 5 | 55 | 312 | 400 |
| Calgary Centennials | 72 | 22 | 45 | 5 | 49 | 284 | 381 |

### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Bernie Federko | Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 72 | 115 | 187 | 108 |
| Greg Carroll | Medicine Hat Tigers | 71 | 60 | 109 | 169 | 118 |
| Don Murdoch | Medicine Hat Tigers | 70 | 88 | 77 | 165 | 202 |
| Blair Chapman | Saskatoon Blades | 69 | 71 | 86 | 157 | 67 |
| Fred Berry | New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 59 | 87 | 146 | 164 |
| Rick Shinske | New Westminster Bruins | 70 | 52 | 91 | 143 | 86 |
| Jim Gustafson | Victoria Cougars | 69 | 46 | 95 | 141 | 72 |
| Morris Lukowich | Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 65 | 75 | 140 | 195 |
| Rich Gosselin | Flin Flon Bombers | 69 | 67 | 66 | 133 | 192 |
| Dale McMullin | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 56 | 74 | 130 | 28 |

## Regular season
### Final standings

| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 54 | 10 | 8 | 116 | 447 | 242 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 30 | 30 | 12 | 72 | 317 | 290 |
| Flin Flon Bombers | 72 | 16 | 42 | 14 | 46 | 294 | 411 |
| Regina Pats | 72 | 8 | 53 | 11 | 27 | 218 | 464 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 32 | 28 | 12 | 76 | 330 | 304 |
| x Winnipeg Monarchs | 72 | 31 | 34 | 7 | 69 | 341 | 384 |
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 28 | 32 | 12 | 68 | 324 | 335 |
| x Calgary Centennials | 72 | 22 | 34 | 15 | 59 | 329 | 397 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| x New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 47 | 14 | 11 | 105 | 363 | 216 |
| x Kamloops Chiefs | 72 | 34 | 26 | 12 | 80 | 308 | 291 |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 79 | 359 | 294 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 27 | 32 | 13 | 67 | 299 | 301 |

### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Bill Derlago | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 96 | 82 | 178 | 63 |
| Ray Allison | Brandon Wheat Kings | 71 | 45 | 92 | 137 | 198 |
| Brian Propp | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 55 | 80 | 135 | 47 |
| Kevin McCarthy | Winnipeg Monarchs | 72 | 22 | 105 | 127 | 110 |
| Dan Bonar | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 75 | 50 | 125 | 70 |
| Tony Currie | Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 73 | 52 | 125 | 50 |
| Mark Lofthouse | New Westminster Bruins | 70 | 54 | 58 | 112 | 59 |
| Wayne Babych | Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 50 | 62 | 112 | 76 |
| Brent Peterson | Portland Winter Hawks | 69 | 34 | 78 | 112 | 98 |
| Kim Davis | Flin Flon Bombers | 69 | 56 | 55 | 111 | 250 |

## 1977 WCHL Playoffs
### Preliminary round

* Calgary defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 0
* Lethbridge defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 2

### League quarter-finals

* Brandon defeated Winnipeg 5 games to 2
* Lethbridge defeated Calgary 3 games to 2
* New Westminster defeated Victoria 4 games to 0
* Portland defeated Kamloops 4 games to 1

### League semi-finals

* Brandon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
* New Westminster defeated Portland 4 games to 1

### WHL Championship

* New Westminster defeated Brandon 4 games to 1

## All-Star game

On January 19, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 3–2 at Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,120.

## WHL awards

* Most Valuable Player: Barry Beck, New Westminster Bruins
* Top Scorer: Bill Derlago, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Most Sportsmanlike Player: Steve Tambellini, Lethbridge Broncos
* Top Defenseman: Barry Beck, New Westminster Bruins
* Rookie of the Year: Brian Propp, Brandon Wheat Kings
* Top Goaltender: Glen Hanlon, 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 | Glen Hanlon | Brandon Wheat Kings | Dave Parro | Saskatoon Blades |
| Defense | Barry Beck | New Westminster Bruins | Brad Maxwell | New Westminster Bruins |
| Defense | Kevin McCarthy | Winnipeg Monarchs | Brad McCrimmon | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Center | Bill Derlago | Brandon Wheat Kings | Ron Areshenkoff | Medicine Hat Tigers |
| Left Wing | Reg Kerr | Kamloops Chiefs | Brian Propp | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Right Wing | Wayne Babych | Portland Winter Hawks | Mark Lofthouse | New Westminster Bruins |