Western Hockey League ( junior ) " For other leagues with the same name , please see Western Hockey League . " < hr > Canadian Major Junior Outline < hr > The Western Hockey League ( WHL ) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States . The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) 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 . The WHL was founded in 1966 with seven teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta . It is the brainchild of Bill Hunter , who intended to build a western league capable of competing with the top leagues in Ontario and Quebec . Originally considered an " outlaw league " by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association , the WHL was sanctioned as the top junior league in Western Canada when junior hockey was reorganized in 1970 . WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 18 times since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy . Today , the WHL comprises 22 teams , divided into two conferences of two divisions . The Eastern Conference comprises 12 teams from Manitoba , Saskatchewan , Alberta and British Columbia , while the Western Conference comprises ten teams from British Columbia , Washington State and Oregon . The Calgary Hitmen are the defending WHL champions . History . Despite winning the 1966 Memorial Cup , the Edmonton Oil Kings ' owner , Bill Hunter , was growing concerned about the state of junior hockey in western Canada . Each of the West ' s four provinces had its own junior league , and Hunter felt that this put them at a disadvantage when competing nationally against the powerful leagues in Ontario and Quebec . Desiring stronger competition , Hunter ' s Oil Kings competed in the Alberta Senior Hockey League rather than the Alberta Junior Hockey League . The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association ( CAHA ) informed the Oil Kings that they were required to play in a junior hockey league for the 1966 – 67 season or would be held ineligible to compete for the Memorial Cup . This led Hunter to form a new league with five former members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League ( SJHL ) , the Estevan Bruins , Regina Pats , Saskatoon Blades , Moose Jaw Canucks , and Weyburn Red Wings , to leave the SJHL and join the Oil Kings and the Calgary Buffaloes in a new league known as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League . Despite concerns that this new league would see the demise of the Alberta and Saskatchewan leagues , the governing bodies in both provinces sanctioned the new league . The CAHA did not , however , declaring the CMJHL to be an " outlaw league " and suspending all teams and players from participation in CAHA sanctioned events . The new league accused the CAHA of overstepping its boundaries and with the support of the players and their families , chose to play the season regardless . The CMJHL renamed itself the Western Canada Hockey League in 1967 , adding four new teams to total 11 as the league stretched east into Manitoba . Concerns over the WCHL ' s relationship with the CAHA led the Pats , Canucks and Red Wings to withdraw before the 1968 – 69 season , returning to the SJHL . When the CAHA reorganized junior hockey in 1971 , it named the WCHL one of three Tier I Major - Junior leagues , along with the Ontario Hockey Association ' s Tier I division ( now the Ontario Hockey League ) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . Early years . The first decade of the WCHL saw constant expansion and franchise movement as the league spread throughout the West . The Flin Flon Bombers became the league ' s first powerhouse team , led by future NHL stars Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach . The Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos joined in 1967 , the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1970 . The WCHL truly became a western league in 1971 when Estevan moved to B . C . to become the New Westminster Bruins , joined by expansion franchises the Victoria Cougars and Vancouver Nats . In the mid 1970s , the New Westminster Bruins became the WCHL ' s first true dynasty , capturing four consecutive championships between 1975 and 1978 . The Bruins also won back - to - back Memorial Cups in 1977 and 1978 . In 1976 , the Oil Kings succumbed to the competing Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association and relocated to Portland to become the Winter Hawks , the WCHL ' s first American franchise . With the addition of American teams in Seattle and Billings a year later , the WCHL shortened its name to the " Western Hockey League " . Brawling ' 80s . The 1980s were marked by several brawls that involved police intervention , one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history , and the tragic deaths of four players in a bus crash . Early in the 1980 – 81 WHL season , Medicine Hat Tigers GM / Coach Pat Ginnell traded blows with a linesman during a bench clearing brawl against the Lethbridge Broncos . Ginnell was found guilty of assault , fined $ 360 , and suspended for 36 games by the WHL . In March 1982 a violent brawl between the Regina Pats and Calgary Wranglers saw the two teams collectively fined $ 2250 and players suspended for 73 games combined . Pats coach Bill LaForge would end up in a courtroom later that season when he got into an altercation with a fan . LaForge was acquitted when the judge noted that it was hard to convict a man for assault when faced with " an obnoxious person trying to get into the coach ' s area . " . LaForge resigned following the season after serving three separate suspensions . On January 19 , 1983 , the Seattle Breakers dealt the rights to Tom Martin to the Victoria Cougars in exchange for the Cougars ' team bus . The deal made perfect sense : the Breakers were unable to sign Martin , who wanted to play in his home town of Victoria , and the Cougars were unable to use the bus ( which they had purchased from the folded Spokane Flyers ) because they were unwilling to pay the taxes and duties required to register the vehicle in Canada . On December 30 , 1986 , tragedy struck the Swift Current Broncos when their bus slid off an icy highway and rolled on the way to Regina for a game . Scott Kruger , Trent Kresse , Brent Ruff , and Chris Mantyka were killed . The Broncos retired their numbers , and as of 2009 still wear a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players who died . The WHL later renamed its award for most valuable player as the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in their honour . Modern league . The last 15 years in the WHL have been marked by 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 have become the third dynasty , winning three WHL titles in 2003 , 2005 , and 2009 ; and winning the Memorial Cup as host city in 2004 . The Portland Winterhawks became the first American team to win the Memorial Cup , winning it in 1983 while hosting the tournament . The Hawks won the Memorial Cup again in 1998 in Spokane , Washington . In 1995 , the Calgary Hitmen were born when 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 have been a major success , averaging as many as 10 , 000 fans per game in 2004 – 05 . The Hitmen were followed one year later by the Edmonton Ice , who failed after only two seasons because of conflicts with the Edmonton Oilers . The team would become the Kootenay Ice , who have become a major success in Cranbrook , British Columbia despite being one of the smallest markets in the league . In the new millennium , the league has given birth to four new expansion teams — the Vancouver Giants in 2001 , the Everett Silvertips in 2003 , the Chilliwack Bruins in 2005 , and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2007 , as the Oilers have taken an interest in cultivating a junior team in the Alberta capital . The WHL is stereotypically known for producing large , hard - hitting defencemen and gritty power forwards , although recently a high percentage of quality goaltenders have come out of the Dub as well , as evidenced by the fact that the five of the last six winners of the CHL Goaltender of the Year award have come from the WHL . Since 2006 Shaw TV has become the television partner with the league in Canada airing a game every Friday Night and other select games through out the season as well as one round of every playoff series . Starting in 2009 FSN Northwest agreed to air some games throughout the northwest United States Of America . Member teams . For the season , the WHL comprises 22 teams divided into two conferences , making it the largest league in the CHL ; the Ontario Hockey League has 20 teams and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has 18 . The WHL has member teams across four Canadian provinces , and two American states . The Eastern Conference comprises teams from Manitoba , Saskatchewan , Alberta and eastern British Columbia . The Western Conference is made up of teams based in British Columbia , Washington and Oregon . The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs , with the division winners declared the top two seeds in the first round of the post - season . The four remaining teams in each conference are reseeded by regular season points in the second round of the playoffs . Education . The WHL has taken a much greater role in its players educational needs in recent years . The league operates a scholarship program that offers one full year of tuition , textbooks and compulsory fees for each season they play in the WHL . Since the program was introduced in 1993 , over 3 , 000 such scholarships have been handed out at a total value of $ 9 - million . Each team maintains an academic advisor , who monitors the academic progress of all players along with the league ' s Director of Education Services . Canadian universities and colleges recruit extensively from the WHL , affording graduating players the opportunity to continue playing hockey as they attend post - secondary institutions . The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) considers graduates of the WHL to be ineligible to participate in university hockey programs in the United States . Players hoping to receive scholarships to , and play for , American universities play Junior A hockey in one of the Canadian Junior Hockey League ' s member organizations so as to retain their NCAA eligibility . Player eligibility . The WHL Bantam Draft is an annual event which teams select players from bantam hockey league age groups , 14 or 15 years old . The order of selection depends on the final standings of the teams , the last place team selects first the 2nd to last will choose 2nd and so on . Players aged 15 – 20 are eligible to play in the WHL , though 15 - year olds are permitted to play only five games unless their midget team ' s season has ended . Also , each team is allowed to have only three 20 - year olds on their rosters . Each team is permitted to carry only two non - North American players . Each of the CHL ' s three member leagues are granted exclusive territorial rights to players from within North America . The WHL holds rights to players from the four western provinces , the western United States and the Yukon and Northwest Territories . Memorial Cup champions . The Memorial Cup has been captured by a WHL team 18 times since the league ' s founding Records . Individual Team