# 2011–12 WHL season

The 2011–12 WHL season was the 46th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began in September 2011 and ended in March 2012. The playoffs began on March 22 and ended in early May when the regular season-champion Edmonton Oil Kings won their first Ed Chynoweth Cup, defeating the Portland Winterhawks in the championship series and earning a berth in the 2012 Memorial Cup tournament. This was the inaugural season of the Victoria Royals—the team relocated to Victoria, British Columbia from Chilliwack, where they had played as the Chilliwack Bruins from 2006 until 2011.

## Regular season
### Standings
#### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
| Tri-City Americans $^{xz}$ | 72 | 50 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 281 | 190 | 104 |
| Kamloops Blazers $^{xz}$ | 72 | 47 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 290 | 211 | 99 |
| Portland Winterhawks $^x$ | 72 | 49 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 328 | 229 | 102 |
| Vancouver Giants $^x$ | 72 | 40 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 255 | 234 | 86 |
| Spokane Chiefs $^x$ | 72 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 257 | 225 | 85 |
| Kelowna Rockets $^x$ | 72 | 31 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 217 | 242 | 72 |
| Victoria Royals $^x$ | 72 | 24 | 41 | 3 | 4 | 233 | 325 | 55 |
| Everett Silvertips $^x$ | 72 | 22 | 40 | 2 | 8 | 185 | 268 | 54 |
| Seattle Thunderbirds $^e$ | 72 | 25 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 173 | 292 | 52 |
| Prince George Cougars $^e$ | 72 | 24 | 46 | 0 | 2 | 166 | 257 | 50 |
Eastern Conference :
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | GF | GA | Pts |
| Edmonton Oil Kings $^x$ $^z$ | 72 | 50 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 310 | 193 | 107 |
| Moose Jaw Warriors $^x$ $^z$ | 72 | 45 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 258 | 213 | 98 |
| Calgary Hitmen $^x$ | 72 | 44 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 273 | 221 | 91 |
| Medicine Hat Tigers $^x$ | 72 | 42 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 255 | 209 | 90 |
| Saskatoon Blades $^x$ | 72 | 40 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 268 | 250 | 83 |
| Brandon Wheat Kings $^x$ | 72 | 39 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 273 | 257 | 83 |
| Regina Pats $^x$ | 72 | 37 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 230 | 214 | 82 |
| Kootenay Ice $^x$ | 72 | 36 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 222 | 201 | 82 |
| Red Deer Rebels $^e$ | 72 | 32 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 204 | 231 | 70 |
| Swift Current Broncos $^e$ | 72 | 27 | 37 | 2 | 6 | 216 | 272 | 62 |
| Lethbridge Hurricanes $^e$ | 72 | 29 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 225 | 292 | 59 |
| Prince Albert Raiders $^e$ | 72 | 21 | 45 | 3 | 3 | 219 | 312 | 48 |
x – team has clinched playoff spot y – team is division leader z – team has clinched division
e - team is eliminated from playoff contention

### Statistical leaders
#### Scoring leaders

Players are listed by points, then goals.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts. | PIM |
| Brendan Shinnimin | Tri-City Americans | 69 | 58 | 76 | 134 | 82 |
| Mark Stone | Brandon Wheat Kings | 66 | 41 | 82 | 123 | 22 |
| Ty Rattie | Portland Winterhawks | 69 | 57 | 64 | 121 | 54 |
| Adam Hughesman | Tri-City Americans | 72 | 50 | 66 | 116 | 42 |
| Jordan Weal | Regina Pats | 70 | 41 | 75 | 116 | 36 |
| Patrick Holland | Tri-City Americans | 72 | 25 | 84 | 109 | 48 |
| Emerson Etem | Medicine Hat Tigers | 65 | 61 | 46 | 107 | 34 |
| Michael St. Croix | Edmonton Oil Kings | 72 | 45 | 60 | 105 | 49 |
| Micheal Ferland | Brandon Wheat Kings | 68 | 47 | 49 | 96 | 84 |
| Sven Bärtschi | Portland Winterhawks | 47 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 36 |

#### Leading goaltenders

These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that played at least 1440 minutes.
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | SO | GAA | Sv% |
| Ty Rimmer | Tri-City Americans | 46 | 2665 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2.43 | .922 |
| Laurent Brossoit | Edmonton Oil Kings | 61 | 3574 | 42 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2.47 | .914 |
| Nathan Lieuwen | Kootenay Ice | 57 | 3340 | 27 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2.50 | .914 |
| Luke Siemens | Everett/Moose Jaw | 56 | 3202 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2.55 | .908 |
| Tyler Bunz | Medicine Hat Tigers | 61 | 3616 | 39 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2.57 | .921 |

## Players
### 2011 NHL Entry Draft

In total, 33 WHL players were selected at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was selected first overall in the draft.
2011 NHL Entry Draft (WHL draftees) This box: viewtalkedit :
1st Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 1 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Red Deer Rebels | Edmonton Oilers |
| 11 | Duncan Siemens | Saskatoon Blades | Colorado Avalanche |
| 13 | Sven Bartschi | Portland Winterhawks | Calgary Flames |
| 18 | Mark McNeill | Prince Albert Raiders | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 23 | Joe Morrow | Portland Winterhawks | Pittsburgh Penguins |
2nd Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 31 | David Musil | Vancouver Giants | Edmonton Oilers |
| 32 | Ty Rattie | Portland Winterhawks | St. Louis Blues |
| 46 | Joel Edmundson | Moose Jaw Warriors | St. Louis Blues |
| 57 | Tyler Wotherspoon | Portland Winterhawks | Calgary Flames |
3rd Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 67 | Adam Lowry | Swift Current Broncos | Winnipeg Jets |
| 73 | Keegan Lowe | Edmonton Oil Kings | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 74 | Travis Ewanyk | Edmonton Oil Kings | Edmonton Oilers |
| 84 | Harrison Ruopp | Prince Albert Raiders | Phoenix Coyotes |
4th Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 106 | Michael St. Croix | Edmonton Oil Kings | New York Rangers |
| 107 | Colin Jacobs | Seattle Thunderbirds | Buffalo Sabres |
| 111 | Kale Kessy | Medicine Hat Tigers | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 115 | Marek Tvrdon | Vancouver Giants | Detroit Red Wings |
| 118 | Marcel Noebels | Seattle Thunderbirds | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 119 | Zachary Yuen | Tri-City Americans | Winnipeg Jets |
5th Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 125 | John Persson | Red Deer Rebels | New York Islanders |
| 127 | Brenden Kichton | Spokane Chiefs | New York Islanders |
| 134 | Shane McColgan | Kelowna Rockets | New York Rangers |
| 138 | Darren Dietz | Saskatoon Blades | Montreal Canadiens |
| 141 | Darian Dziurzynski | Saskatoon Blades | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 144 | Dominik Uher | Spokane Chiefs | Pittsburgh Penguins |
6th Round :
| # | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 156 | Darren Kramer | Spokane Chiefs | Ottawa Senators |
| 159 | Reece Scarlett | Swift Current Broncos | New Jersey Devils |
| 164 | Laurent Brossoit | Edmonton Oil Kings | Calgary Flames |
| 165 | Matej Stransky | Saskatoon Blades | Dallas Stars |
| 167 | Nathan Lieuwen | Kootenay Ice | Buffalo Sabres |
| 175 | Richard Nedomlel | Swift Current Broncos | Detroit Red Wings |
7th Round :
| # | Nat. | Player | WHL team | NHL team |
| 186 | | Jordan Fransoo | Brandon Wheat Kings | Ottawa Senators |
| 193 | | Brody Sutter | Lethbridge Hurricanes | Carolina Hurricanes |

## Subway Super Series

The Subway Super Series was a six-game series featuring four teams: three from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)—one team from each of the QMJHL, the OHL, and the WHL—versus Russia's national junior hockey team.

### Results

| Date | Location | Winner | Winner | Loser | Loser |
| November 7, 2011 | Victoriaville, QC | Russian Selects | 2 | 0 | QMJHL all-stars |
| November 9, 2011 | Quebec City, QC | Russian Selects | 5 | 4 | QMJHL all-stars |
| November 10, 2011 | Ottawa, ON | OHL all-stars | 10 | 7 | Russian Selects |
| November 14, 2011 | Sault Ste. Marie, ON | OHL all-stars | 6 | 3 | Russian Selects |
| November 16, 2011 | Regina, SK | WHL all-stars | 5 | 2 | Russian Selects |
| November 17, 2011 | Moose Jaw, SK | Russian Selects | 7 | 5 | WHL all-stars |
| CHL wins series 3–2–1 ||||||

## 2012 WHL Playoffs

| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | | | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | WHL Championship | WHL Championship | WHL Championship |
| 1 | Edmonton | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Kootenay | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Kootenay | 0 | | | 1 | Edmonton | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 6 | Brandon | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Moose Jaw | 4 | | | 6 | Brandon | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Regina | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Regina | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 | Edmonton | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | | | 1 | Edmonton | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | | | 2 | Moose Jaw | 1 | | | | |
| 3 | Calgary | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Moose Jaw | 1 | | | | |
| 6 | Brandon | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Brandon | 4 | | | 2 | Moose Jaw | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Medicine Hat | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Medicine Hat | 4 | | | 4 | Medicine Hat | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Saskatoon | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Saskatoon | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Edmonton | 4 |
| Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | | E1 | Edmonton | 4 |
| Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | Note: Pairings are re-seeded after the first round. | | W3 | Portland | 3 |
| 1 | Tri-City | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | Portland | 3 |
| 8 | Everett | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Everett | 0 | | | 1 | Tri-City | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Spokane | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Kamloops | 4 | | | 5 | Spokane | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Victoria | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Victoria | 0 | | | | | | | | 1 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | |
| Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | | | 1 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | |
| Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | Western | | | 3 | Portland | 4 | | | | |
| 3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Portland | 4 | | | | |
| 6 | Kelowna | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Kelowna | 0 | | | 2 | Kamloops | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Vancouver | 2 | | | 3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Spokane | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Conference Quarter-finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Edmonton Oil Kings vs. (8) Kootenay Ice

* Edmonton wins series 4 – 0

#### (2) Moose Jaw Warriors vs. (7) Regina Pats

* Moose Jaw wins series 4 – 1

#### (3) Calgary Hitmen vs. (6) Brandon Wheat Kings

* Brandon wins series 4 – 1

#### (4) Medicine Hat Tigers vs. (5) Saskatoon Blades

* Medicine Hat wins series 4 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (1) Tri-City Americans vs. (8) Everett Silvertips

* Tri-City wins series 4 – 0

#### (2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (7) Victoria Royals

* Kamloops wins series 4 – 0

#### (3) Portland Winterhawks vs. (6) Kelowna Rockets

* Portland wins series 4 – 0

#### (4) Vancouver Giants vs. (5) Spokane Chiefs

* Spokane wins series 4 – 2

## Conference Semi-finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Edmonton Oil Kings vs. (6) Brandon Wheat Kings

* Edmonton wins series 4 – 0

#### (2) Moose Jaw Warriors vs. (4) Medicine Hat Tigers

* Moose Jaw wins series 4 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (1) Tri-City Americans vs. (5) Spokane Chiefs

* Tri-City wins series 4 – 3

#### (2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (3) Portland Winterhawks

* Portland wins series 4 – 3
^ Game was played at Rose Garden.

## Conference Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Edmonton Oil Kings vs. (2) Moose Jaw Warriors

* Edmonton wins series 4 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (1) Tri-City Americans vs. (3) Portland Winterhawks

* Portland wins series 4 – 0

## WHL Championship
### (E1) Edmonton Oil Kings vs. (W3) Portland Winterhawks

* Edmonton wins series 4 – 3

## Playoff scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Sven Baertschi | Portland Winterhawks | 22 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 10 |
| Ty Rattie | Portland Winterhawks | 21 | 19 | 14 | 33 | 12 |
| Marcel Noebels | Portland Winterhawks | 22 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 6 |
| Brendan Shinnimin | Tri-City Americans | 15 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 28 |
| Brad Ross | Portland Winterhawks | 22 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 57 |
| Adam Hughesman | Tri-City Americans | 15 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 12 |
| Curtis Lazar | Edmonton Oil Kings | 20 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 4 |
| Michael St. Croix | Edmonton Oil Kings | 20 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 6 |
| Patrick Holland | Tri-City Americans | 14 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 22 |
| James Henry | Moose Jaw Warriors | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 16 |

## Playoff leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV& = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Brandon Glover | Calgary Hitmen | 4 | 224 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0.941 | 1.87 |
| Laurent Brossoit | Edmonton Oil Kings | 20 | 1204 | 16 | 4 | 41 | 2 | 0.933 | 2.04 |
| Eric Williams | Spokane Chiefs | 12 | 702 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0.926 | 2.22 |
| Ty Rimmer | Tri-City Americans | 15 | 951 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 1 | 0.919 | 2.46 |
| Justin Paulic | Moose Jaw Warriors | 2 | 117 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.906 | 2.57 |

## WHL awards

| Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy | Regular season champions | Edmonton Oil Kings | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Four Broncos Memorial Trophy | Player of the Year | Brendan Shinnimin | Tri-City Americans |
| Bob Clarke Trophy | Top Scorer | Brendan Shinnimin | Tri-City Americans |
| Bill Hunter Trophy | Top Defenseman | Alex Petrovic | Red Deer Rebels |
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy | Rookie of the Year | Sam Reinhart | Kootenay Ice |
| Del Wilson Trophy | Top Goaltender | Tyler Bunz | Medicine Hat Tigers |
| WHL Plus-Minus Award | Top Plus-Minus Rating | Mark Stone | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Brad Hornung Trophy | Most Sportsmanlike Player | Mark Stone | Brandon Wheat Kings |
| Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy | Scholastic Player of the Year | Reid Gow | Spokane Chiefs |
| Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy | Scholastic team of the Year | Edmonton Oil Kings | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy | Coach of the Year | Jim Hiller | Tri-City Americans |
| Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy | Executive of the Year | Bob Green | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy | Top Official | Pat Smith |
| St. Clair Group Trophy | Marketing/Public Relations Award | Corey Nyhagen | Moose Jaw Warriors |
| Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy | Humanitarian of the Year | Taylor Vause | Swift Current Broncos |
| WHL Playoff MVP | WHL Finals Most Valuable Player | Laurent Brossoit | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Professional Hockey Achievement Academic Recipient | Alumni Achievement Awards | | |

### All-Star Teams
#### Eastern Conference

| First Team | First Team | Pos. | Second Team | Second Team |
| Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team |
| Tyler Bunz | Medicine Hat Tigers | G | Nathan Lieuwen | Kootenay Ice |
| Alex Petrovic | Red Deer Rebels | D | Mark Pysyk | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Ryan Pulock | Brandon Wheat Kings | D | Brandon Davidson | Regina Pats |
| Emerson Etem | Medicine Hat Tigers | F | Michael St. Croix | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| Mark Stone | Brandon Wheat Kings | F | Max Reinhart | Kootenay Ice |
| Jordan Weal | Regina Pats | F | Micheal Ferland | Brandon Wheat Kings |

#### Western Conference

| First Team | First Team | Pos. | Second Team | Second Team |
| Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team |
| Ty Rimmer | Tri-City Americans | G | Cole Cheveldave | Kamloops Blazers |
| Brenden Kichton | Spokane Chiefs | D | Ryan Murray | Everett Silvertips |
| Joe Morrow | Portland Winterhawks | D | Austin Madaisky | Kamloops Blazers |
| Ty Rattie | Portland Winterhawks | F | Sven Bartschi | Portland Winterhawks |
| Brendan Shinnimin | Tri-City Americans | F | Adam Hughesman | Tri-City Americans |
| Brendan Gallagher | Vancouver Giants | F | Patrick Holland | Tri-City Americans |