1996–97 WHL season

The 1996–97 WHL season was the 31st season of the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes won the President's Cup.
==League notes==
*The Edmonton Ice joined the WHL as it's 18th franchise, playing out of the Central division.
*The Swift Current Broncos moved to the East division.
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
East Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	47	24	1	95 	339	208
x Swift Current Broncos	72	44	23	5	93 	336	243
x Regina Pats 	72	42	27	3	87 	326	259
x Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	36	29	7	79 	278	240
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	29	34	9	67 	235	262
Saskatoon Blades 	72	18	48	6	42 	227	344
Central Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	47	22	3	97 	342	248
x Red Deer Rebels 	72	43	26	3	89 	317	297
x Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	39	32	1	79 	270	278
Calgary Hitmen 	72	15	53	4	34 	199	360
Edmonton Ice 	72	14	56	2	30 	231	395
West Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	46	21	5	97 	300	196
x Seattle Thunderbirds 	72	41	27	4	86 	311	249
x Spokane Chiefs 	72	35	33	4	74 	260	235
x Kelowna Rockets 	72	35	35	2	72 	298	314
x Kamloops Blazers 	72	28	37	7	63 	256	285
x Prince George Cougars	72	28	39	5	61 	238	287
Tri-City Americans 	72	22	43	7	51 	225	288
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Todd Robinson 	Portland Winter Hawks	71	38	96	134	53
Byron Ritchie 	Lethbridge Hurricanes	63	50	76	126	86
Patrick Marleau	Seattle Thunderbirds 	71	51	74	125	22
Peter Schaefer 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	61	49	74	123	66
B.J. Young 	Red Deer Rebels 	63	58	56	114	72
Josh St. Louis 	Swift Current Broncos	65	57	51	108	20
Brett McLean 	Kelowna Rockets 	72	44	60	104	89
Kelly Smart 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	69	39	60	99 	8
Josh Holden 	Regina Pats 	58	49	49	98 	111
Greg Schmidt 	Red Deer Rebels 	66	45	53	98 	97
===Goaltending leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	Team 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	T	GA 	SO	SV% 	GAA
Brian Elder 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	52	2930	32	15	0	132	2 	.906	2.70
Brent Belecki 	Portland Winter Hawks	27	1568	17	7 	1	71 	1 	.909	2.72
Chris Wickenheiser	Red Deer/Portland 	41	2428	24	14	3	110	3 	.913	2.72
David Haun 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	27	1442	15	9 	1	72 	1 	.898	3.00
Donavon Nunweiler 	Moose Jaw Warriors 	56	3278	27	21	5	166	6 	.907	3.04
==WHL Playoffs==
===Conference Quarterfinals===
*Top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (East and Central divisions) qualified for playoffs
*Top six teams in the Western Conference (division) qualified for the playoffs
====Eastern Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Lethbridge vs. Prince Albert	Lethbridge vs. Prince Albert	Lethbridge vs. Prince Albert	Lethbridge vs. Prince Albert
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 19 	Prince Albert 2 	4 Lethbridge 	 	
March 21 	Prince Albert 1 	2 Lethbridge 	 	
March 23 	Lethbridge 5 	4 Prince Albert 	 	
March 24 	Lethbridge 5 	4 Prince Albert 	 	
Lethbridge wins series 4–0	Lethbridge wins series 4–0 	Lethbridge wins series 4–0 	Lethbridge wins series 4–0 	
====Western Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Portland vs. Prince George 	Portland vs. Prince George 	Portland vs. Prince George 	Portland vs. Prince George
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 21 	Prince George 2 	5 Portland 	 	
March 22 	Prince George 5 	3 Portland 	 	
March 25 	Portland 0 	4 Prince George 	 	
March 26 	Portland 2 	4 Prince George 	 	
March 29 	Prince George 1 	2 Portland 	 	
March 31 	Portland 2 	3 Prince George 	 	
Prince George wins series 4–2	Prince George wins series 4–2	Prince George wins series 4–2	Prince George wins series 4–2	
===Conference semifinals===
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Lethbridge vs. Moose Jaw 	Lethbridge vs. Moose Jaw 	Lethbridge vs. Moose Jaw 	Lethbridge vs. Moose Jaw
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 31 	Moose Jaw 2 	3 Lethbridge 	OT 	
April 1 	Moose Jaw 5 	4 Lethbridge 	OT 	
April 3 	Lethbridge 5 	3 Moose Jaw 	 	
April 4 	Lethbridge 4 	5 Moose Jaw 	 	
April 6 	Moose Jaw 1 	5 Lethbridge 	 	
April 8 	Lethbridge 5 	4 Moose Jaw 	 	
Lethbridge wins series 4–2	Lethbridge wins series 4–2	Lethbridge wins series 4–2	Lethbridge wins series 4–2	
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Spokane vs. Prince George 	Spokane vs. Prince George 	Spokane vs. Prince George 	Spokane vs. Prince George
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 4 	Prince George 5 	4 Spokane 	OT 	
April 5 	Prince George 4 	2 Spokane 	 	
April 7 	Spokane 1 	2 Prince George 	 	
Prince George wins series 3–0	Prince George wins series 3–0	Prince George wins series 3–0	Prince George wins series 3–0	
===Conference Finals===
Eastern Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Lethbridge vs. Red Deer 	Lethbridge vs. Red Deer 	Lethbridge vs. Red Deer 	Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 12 	Red Deer 2 	3 Lethbridge 	OT 	
April 13 	Red Deer 7 	4 Lethbridge 	 	
April 15 	Lethbridge 5 	3 Red Deer 	 	
April 16 	Lethbridge 6 	4 Red Deer 	 	
April 18 	Red Deer 2 	5 Lethbridge 	 	
Lethbridge wins series 4–1	Lethbridge wins series 4–1	Lethbridge wins series 4–1	Lethbridge wins series 4–1	
===WHL Championship===
{| cellspacing="10"
|-
| valign="top" |
Lethbridge vs. Seattle 	Lethbridge vs. Seattle 	Lethbridge vs. Seattle 	Lethbridge vs. Seattle
Date 	Away 	Home 	
April 25 	Seattle 2 	7 Lethbridge 	
April 26 	Seattle 1 	4 Lethbridge 	
April 29 	Lethbridge 3 	1 Seattle 	
April 30 	Lethbridge 5 	1 Seattle 	
Lethbridge wins series 4–0	Lethbridge wins series 4–0	Lethbridge wins series 4–0	Lethbridge wins series 4–0
==All-Star Game==
On January 22, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 7–5 at Spokane, Washington before a WHL record crowd of 10,455.
==WHL awards==
Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Peter Schaefer, Brandon Wheat Kings
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Stefan Cherneski, Brandon Wheat Kings
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Todd Robinson, Portland Winter Hawks
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Kelly Smart, Brandon Wheat Kings
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Chris Phillips, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Donavon Nunweiler, Moose Jaw Warriors
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Brian Boucher, Tri-City Americans
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Brent Peterson, Portland Winter Hawks
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Todd McLellan, Swift Current Broncos
Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Lethbridge Hurricanes
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Tom Kowal
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Pat Garrity, Red Deer Rebels
Humanitarian of the Year - Jesse Wallin, Red Deer Rebels
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Peter Schaefer, Brandon Wheat Kings
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Blaine Russell, Lethbridge Hurricanes
==All-Star Teams==
{| BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="100%"
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE " align="center" 
96-97BraWK.jpg|Brandon Wheat Kings
96-97RegPat.jpg|Regina Pats
==References==
*whl.ca
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
Category:Western Hockey League seasons
WHL