2016-17 WHL season

This is the 2016-17 Western Hockey League season.  This is the league's 51st season dating back to its' founding as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League in 1966 and subsequent renaming to the Western Canada Hockey League in 1968 and to the present name in 1978.
Game 6 of the Everett Silvertips-Victoria Royals first round series on April 2nd became the longest game in Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League history with Cal Babych scoring at 11:36 of the fifth overtime to give Everett a 3-2 win and to win the series.  The previous CHL record was 146:31 for a Victoriaville/Hull game in 1999 and the WHL record was 136:56 between Kamloops and Kootenay on March 25, 2003.
==Membership changes==
*none
==Teams==
=== Eastern Conference ===
Division	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
East 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	Brandon, Manitoba, Canada 	Westman Communications Group Place	5,102
East 	Moose Jaw Warriors 	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada 	Mosaic Place 	4,714
East 	Prince Albert Raiders	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada	Art Hauser Centre 	3,366
East 	Regina Pats 	Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 	Brandt Centre 	6,200
East 	Saskatoon Blades 	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 	SaskTel Centre 	15,195
East 	Swift Current Broncos	Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada	Credit Union iPlex 	3,239
Central 	Calgary Hitmen 	Calgary, Alberta, Canada 	
Scotiabank Saddledome
Stampede Corral (some playoff games)	
19,289
6,450
Central 	Edmonton Oil Kings 	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 	Rexall Place 	16,839
Central 	Kootenay Ice 	Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada	Western Financial Place 	4,654
Central 	Lethbridge Hurricanes	Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada 	ENMAX Centre 	5,479
Central 	Medicine Hat Tigers 	Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada 	
Canalta Centre 	
5,500 (expandable to 6,500)
Central 	Red Deer Rebels 	Red Deer, Alberta, Canada 	ENMAX Centrium 	6,000
=== Western Conference ===
Division	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
B.C. 	Kamloops Blazers 	Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada 	Sandman Centre 	5,464
B.C. 	Kelowna Rockets 	Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada 	Prospera Place 	6,286
B.C. 	Prince George Cougars	Prince George, British Columbia, Canada	CN Centre 	5,971
B.C. 	Vancouver Giants 	Langley, British Columbia,  Canada 	Langley Event Center 	5,276
B.C. 	Victoria Royals 	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 	Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre 	7,006
U.S. 	Everett Silvertips 	Everett, Washington, United States 	Xfinity Arena at Everett 	8,149
U.S. 	Portland Winterhawks 	Portland, Oregon, United States 	Memorial ColiseumModa Center 	10,40718,280
U.S. 	Seattle Thunderbirds 	Kent, Washington, United States 	ShoWare Center 	6,500
U.S. 	Spokane Chiefs 	Spokane, Washington, United States 	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena	10,759
U.S. 	Tri-City Americans 	Kennewick, Washington, United States 	Toyota Center 	6,000
==Standings==
===Eastern Conference===
====Eastern Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Regina Pats 	72	52	12	7 	1 	353	211	112
Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	42	21	8 	1 	255	219	93
Swift Current Broncos	72	39	23	4 	6 	247	239	88
====Central Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	51	20	1 	0 	350	248	103
Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	44	21	4 	3 	280	253	95
Red Deer Rebels 	72	30	29	9 	4 	239	258	73
====Eastern Conference Wild Card====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	31	31	7 	3 	225	247	72
Calgary Hitmen 	72	30	32	8 	2 	215	282	70
Saskatoon Blades 	72	28	35	7 	2 	190	248	65
Edmonton Oil Kings 	72	23	43	5 	1 	193	292	52
Prince Albert Raiders	72	21	44	5 	2 	198	283	49
Kootenay Ice 	72	14	46	10	2 	177	335	40
===Western Conference===
====BC Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Prince George Cougars	72	45	21	3 	3 	253	201	96
Kelowna Rockets 	72	45	22	5 	0 	283	206	95
Kamloops Blazers 	72	42	24	2 	4 	243	198	90
====US Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Everett Silvertips 	72	44	16	9 	3 	229	169	100
Seattle Thunderbirds	72	46	20	4 	2 	253	206	98
Tri-City Americans 	72	41	28	3 	0 	272	252	85
====Western Conference Wild Card====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Portland Winterhawks	72	40	28	1 	3 	278	256	84
Victoria Royals 	72	37	29	5 	1 	239	219	80
Spokane Chiefs 	72	27	33	8 	4 	235	272	66
Vancouver Giants 	72	20	46	3 	3 	183	296	46
Link to League website standings page
==2017 Ed Chynoweth Cup Playoffs==
The league is divided up into 2 conferences with 2 divisions each.  The Eastern Conference is made up of the 6-team East Division and the 6-team Central Division while the Western Conference is made up of the 5-team BC and 5-team US Divisions. The league presently uses the same format as the NHL does with the top 3 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs and the next two best records in the conference qualifying as the 7 and 8 seeds and joining the playoffs for the division they start the playoffs in.
The winner of the Chynoweth Cup advances to the 2017 Memorial Cup, which is being held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario and hosted by the Windsor Spitfires.
===Eastern Conference Quarterfinals===
*Regina Pats defeated Calgary Hitmen 4 games to none
*Swift Current Broncos defeated Moose Jaw Warriors 4 games to 3
*Medicine Hat Tigers defeated Brandon Wheat Kings 4 games to none
*Lethbridge Hurricanes defeated Red Deer Rebels 4 games to 3
===Western Conference Quarterfinals===
*Portland Winterhawks defeated Prince George Cougars 4 games to 2
*Kelowna Rockets defeated Kamloops Blazers 4 games to 2
*Everett Silvertips defeated Victoria Royals 4 games to 2
*Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Tri-City Americans 4 games to none
===Eastern Conference Semifinals===
*Regina Pats defeated Swift Current Broncos 4 games to 3
*Lethbridge Hurricanes defeated Medicine Hat Tigers 4 games to 3
===Western Conference Semifinals===
*Kelowna Rockets defeated Portland Winterhawks 4 games to 1
*Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Everett Silvertips 4 games to none
===Eastern Conference Final===
*Regina Pats defeated Lethbridge Hurricanes 4 games to 2
===Western Conference Final===
*Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Kelowna Rockets 4 games to 2
===Chynoweth Cup Final===
*Seattle Thunderbirds defeated Regina Pats 4 games to 2
===Playoff Bracket===
Category:2017 in hockey
Category:Western Hockey League seasons