# 2000–01 WHL season

The 2000–01 WHL season was the 35th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The season featured eighteen teams completing a 72-game season. The Red Deer Rebels won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, for best regular season record, and the President's Cup as playoff champions, both for the first time in team history. The latter earned the Rebels a berth in the 2001 Memorial Cup tournament, hosted by the Regina Pats, where the Rebels finished their season by winning the national title.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| East Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 43 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 95 | 275 | 215 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 40 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 85 | 285 | 242 |
| x Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 34 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 287 | 291 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 32 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 72 | 244 | 242 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 19 | 43 | 5 | 5 | 48 | 193 | 265 |
| Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 18 | 47 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 204 | 348 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 54 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 114 | 304 | 168 |
| x Kootenay Ice | 72 | 45 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 100 | 286 | 213 |
| x Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 37 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 82 | 284 | 250 |
| x Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 29 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 66 | 200 | 229 |
| Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 24 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 56 | 271 | 316 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| x Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 37 | 23 | 7 | 5 | 86 | 259 | 240 |
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 37 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 82 | 244 | 237 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 79 | 289 | 274 |
| x Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 79 | 242 | 219 |
| x Prince George Cougars | 72 | 31 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 70 | 242 | 266 |
| x Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 30 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 69 | 262 | 299 |
| Tri-City Americans | 72 | 21 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 57 | 217 | 284 |

### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Justin Mapletoft | Red Deer Rebels | 70 | 43 | 77 | 120 | 111 |
| Layne Ulmer | Swift Current Broncos | 68 | 63 | 56 | 119 | 75 |
| Jared Aulin | Kamloops Blazers | 70 | 31 | 77 | 108 | 62 |
| Jarret Stoll | Kootenay Ice | 62 | 40 | 66 | 106 | 105 |
| Blake Evans | Tri-City/Regina | 67 | 52 | 50 | 102 | 120 |
| Kyle Wanvig | Red Deer Rebels | 69 | 55 | 46 | 101 | 202 |
| Konstantin Panov | Kamloops Blazers | 69 | 44 | 56 | 100 | 52 |
| Jordan Krestanovich | Calgary Hitmen | 70 | 40 | 60 | 100 | 32 |
| Nathan Barrett | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 70 | 46 | 53 | 99 | 66 |
| Rory McDade | Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 28 | 70 | 98 | 50 |

### Goaltending Leaders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Shane Bendera | Red Deer Rebels | 45 | 2604 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 107 | 5 | .903 | 2.47 |
| B. J. Boxma | Kootenay/Swift Current | 48 | 2791 | 28 | 15 | 2 | 123 | 0 | .903 | 2.64 |
| Dan Blackburn | Kootenay Ice | 50 | 2924 | 33 | 14 | 2 | 135 | 1 | .907 | 2.77 |
| Michael Garnett | Red Deer/Saskatoon | 49 | 2640 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 122 | 4 | .902 | 2.77 |
| Joel Martin | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 44 | 2352 | 17 | 18 | 1 | 107 | 2 | .884 | 2.88 |

## 2001 WHL Playoffs
### Conference quarterfinals
#### Eastern Conference

Red Deer vs. Lethbridge :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 23 | Lethbridge 3 | 2 Red Deer | OT |
| March 24 | Lethbridge 0 | 5 Red Deer |
| March 27 | Red Deer 6 | 1 Lethbridge |
| March 28 | Red Deer 6 | 0 Lethbridge |
| March 30 | Lethbridge 2 | 7 Red Deer |
| Red Deer wins series 4–1 ||||
Swift Current vs. Brandon :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 23 | Brandon 3 | 0 Swift Current |
| March 24 | Brandon 2 | 4 Swift Current |
| March 26 | Swift Current 4 | 3 Brandon | 2OT |
| March 27 | Swift Current 3 | 2 Brandon |
| March 30 | Brandon 5 | 2 Swift Current |
| April 2 | Swift Current 3 | 2 Brandon |
| Swift Current wins series 4–2 ||||
Regina vs. Calgary :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 23 | Calgary 2 | 5 Regina |
| March 24 | Calgary 4 | 1 Regina |
| March 26 | Regina 3 | 4 Calgary | OT |
| March 28 | Regina 2 | 7 Calgary |
| March 29 | Calgary 1 | 4 Regina |
| April 1 | Regina 3 | 4 Calgary |
| Calgary wins series 4–2 ||||
Kootenay vs. Moose Jaw :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 23 | Moose Jaw 2 | 6 Kootenay |
| March 24 | Moose Jaw 0 | 4 Kootenay |
| March 27 | Kootenay 8 | 3 Moose Jaw |
| March 28 | Kootenay 5 | 1 Moose Jaw |
| Kootenay wins series 4–0 ||||

#### Western Conference

Kelowna vs. Seattle :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 30 | Seattle 5 | 4 Kelowna | OT |
| March 31 | Seattle 0 | 1 Kelowna |
| April 5 | Kelowna 1 | 5 Seattle |
| April 6 | Kelowna 2 | 3 Seattle | OT |
| April 8 | Seattle 1 | 2 Kelowna | OT |
| April 9 | Kelowna 2 | 4 Seattle |
| Seattle wins series 4–2 ||||
Portland vs. Prince George :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 30 | Prince George 2 | 5 Portland |
| March 31 | Prince George 2 | 3 Portland | OT |
| April 3 | Portland 3 | 6 Prince George |
| April 4 | Portland 4 | 5 Prince George | OT |
| April 7 | Prince George 0 | 6 Portland |
| April 9 | Portland 5 | 3 Prince George |
| Portland wins series 4–2 ||||
Kamloops vs. Spokane :
| Date | Away | Home |
| March 30 | Spokane 3 | 1 Kamloops |
| April 1 | Spokane 5 | 2 Kamloops |
| April 3 | Kamloops 2 | 9 Spokane |
| April 4 | Kamloops 0 | 3 Spokane |
| Spokane wins series 4–0 ||||

### Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference :
Red Deer vs. Calgary :
| Date | Away | Home |
| April 6 | Calgary 4 | 1 Red Deer |
| April 7 | Calgary 2 | 3 Red Deer | 2OT |
| April 11 | Red Deer 6 | 2 Calgary |
| April 12 | Red Deer 1 | 3 Calgary |
| April 13 | Calgary 3 | 4 Red Deer |
| April 14 | Red Deer 4 | 0 Calgary |
| Red Deer wins series 4–2 ||||
Kootenay vs. Swift Current :
| Date | Away | Home |
| April 6 | Swift Current 1 | 7 Kootenay |
| April 7 | Swift Current 3 | 1 Kootenay |
| April 10 | Kootenay 3 | 2 Swift Current | OT |
| April 11 | Kootenay 3 | 4 Swift Current | 3OT |
| April 13 | Swift Current 2 | 3 Kootenay |
| April 15 | Kootenay 2 | 3 Swift Current |
| April 17 | Swift Current 3 | 2 Kootenay |
| Swift Current wins series 4–3 ||||
Western Conference :
Spokane vs. Seattle :
| Date | Away | Home |
| April 13 | Seattle 3 | 5 Spokane |
| April 14 | Seattle 1 | 4 Spokane |
| April 16 | Spokane 3 | 2 Seattle |
| Spokane wins series 3–0 ||||

### Conference finals

| Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
| Red Deer vs. Swift Current DateAwayHome April 20Swift Current 43 Red DeerOT April 21Swift Current 23 Red Deer April 24Red Deer 23 Swift CurrentOT April 25Red Deer 21 Swift Current April 27Swift Current 13 Red Deer April 29 Red Deer 40 Swift Current Red Deer wins series 4–2 | Portland vs. Spokane DateAwayHome April 21Spokane 03 Portland April 22Spokane 12 PortlandOT April 24Portland 21 Spokane April 25Portland 03 Spokane April 27Spokane 14 Portland Portland wins series 4–1 |

### WHL Championship

Red Deer vs. Portland :
| Date | Away | Home |
| May 4 | Portland 2 | 3 Red Deer |
| May 5 | Portland 4 | 5 Red Deer |
| May 9 | Red Deer 2 | 3 Portland | OT |
| May 11 | Red Deer 4 | 1 Portland |
| May 12 | Red Deer 4 | 3 Portland | OT |
| Red Deer wins series 4–1 ||||

## All-Star games

On January 24, the WHL Eastern All-stars were defeated by the OHL Western All-stars 5–2 at Guelph, Ontario before a crowd of 5,074.
On January 31, the WHL Western All-stars were defeated by the QMJHL Dilio All-stars 7–5 at Kamloops, British Columbia before a crowd of 4,103.

## WHL awards

* Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year): Justin Mapletoft, Red Deer Rebels
* Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year): Dan Hulak, Portland Winter Hawks
* Scholastic Team of the Year: Prince Albert Raiders, Portland Winter Hawks
* Bob Clarke Trophy (Top scorer): Justin Mapletoft, Red Deer Rebels
* Brad Hornung Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player): Matt Kinch, Calgary Hitmen
* Bill Hunter Trophy (Top Defenseman): Christian Chartier, Prince George Cougars
* Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Scottie Upshall, Kamloops Blazers
* Del Wilson Trophy (Top Goaltender): Dan Blackburn, Kootenay Ice
* Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Brent Sutter, Red Deer Rebels
* Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy (Executive of the Year): Brent Sutter, Red Deer Rebels
* Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (Best regular season record): Red Deer Rebels
* Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (Top Official): Kevin Acheson
* St. Clair Group Trophy (Marketing/Public Relations Award): Mark Miles, Spokane Chiefs
* Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year): Jim Vandermeer, Red Deer Rebels
* WHL Plus-Minus Award: Jim Vandermeer, Red Deer Rebels
* WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Shane Bendera, Red Deer Rebels

## All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference :
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Dan Blackburn | Kootenay Ice | Shane Bendera | Red Deer Rebels |
| Defense | Matt Kinch | Calgary Hitmen | Ross Lupaschuk | Red Deer Rebels |
| Defense | Jim Vandermeer | Red Deer Rebels | Filip Novak | Regina Pats |
| Forward | Justin Mapletoft | Red Deer Rebels | Nathan Barrett | Lethbridge Hurricanes |
| Forward | Layne Ulmer | Swift Current Broncos | Blake Evans | Regina Pats |
| Forward | Jarret Stoll | Kootenay Ice | Kyle Wanvig | Red Deer Rebels |
| Western Conference |||||
| | First Team | First Team | Second Team | Second Team |
| Goal | Tyler MacKay | Spokane Chiefs | Kevin Swanson | Kelowna Rockets |
| Defense | Christian Chartier | Prince George Cougars | Dan Hulak | Portland Winterhawks |
| Defense | Dan Hamhuis | Prince George Cougars | Gerard Dicaire | Seattle Thunderbirds |
| Forward | Jared Aulin | Kamloops Blazers | Brandin Cote | Spokane Chiefs |
| Forward | Jamie Lundmark | Seattle Thunderbirds | Marcel Hossa | Portland Winterhawks |
| Forward | Konstantin Panov | Kamloops Blazers | Rory McDade | Kelowna Rockets |
* source: Western Hockey League press release