page_title: Western Hockey League
section_title: The 1990s to today
hierarchical_section_title: Western Hockey League / History / The 1990s to today
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo I took at the en:Calgary Hitmen game on en:December 3, en:2006.
context_page_description: The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League.
  The league was founded in 1966, as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, with seven western Canadian teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta. From 1968, the league was renamed the Western Canada Hockey League, before the admission of American-based teams in the league and then renaming as the Western Hockey League commencing in 1978, up to present day.
  The league was the brainchild of Bill Hunter, who intended to build a western league capable of competing with the top leagues in Ontario and Quebec.
context_section_description: Since the early 1990s, the WHL has seen another period of expansion and the return of the league to Western Canada's major cities. The Kamloops Blazers became the WHL's second dynasty in the early 1990s when they won both the WHL Championship and Memorial Cup three times in four years between 1992 and 1995. The Kelowna Rockets became the third dynasty, winning three WHL titles in 2003, 2005, and 2009; and winning the Memorial Cup as host city in 2004. The Portland Winter Hawks won their second Memorial Cup in 1998.
  In 1995, the Calgary Hitmen, founded by a group of investors including Bret "the Hitman" Hart from whom the team got its name, were granted an expansion franchise. Despite early fears that the WHL could not succeed in an NHL city, the Hitmen were a success, averaging as many as 10,000 fans per game in 2004–05. The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice, but failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers. The team became the Kootenay Ice and had better success in Cranbrook, British Columbia, despite being one of the smallest markets in the league including winning the 2002 Memorial Cup.
  In the 2000s, the league expanded with four more teams — the Vancouver Giants in 2001, the Everett Silvertips in 2003, the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005 (who relocated in 2011 to become the Victoria Royals), and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007, as the Oilers have taken an interest in cultivating a junior team within their home market in the Alberta capital.
  Since 2006 Shaw TV has become the television partner with the league in Canada airing a game every Friday Night and other select games throughout the season as well as one round of every playoff series. From 2008 to 2015, FSN Northwest (now Root Sports Northwest) aired some games throughout the northwest United States.
  On February 21, 2011, the Calgary Hitmen hosted the Regina Pats, Canada's oldest major junior hockey team, at McMahon Stadium for an outdoor game in conjunction with the 2011 Heritage Classic. The WHL teams wore retro inspired jerseys. The Spokane Chiefs also hosted the Kootenay Ice outdoors on January 15, 2011. The 2010–11 season was the first for the league to be featured in video game, EA Sports' NHL 11, and included all the teams and rosters.
  On January 29, 2019, the Kootenay Ice announced the team would be relocated to Winnipeg for the 2019–20 season as the Winnipeg Ice.
caption: Calgary Hitmen in action against the Saskatoon Blades
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