2001–02 WHL season

The 2001–02 WHL season was the 36th season of the Western Hockey League. Nineteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Kootenay Ice won the President's Cup before going on to win the Memorial Cup.
==League notes==
*The Vancouver Giants joined the WHL as its 19th franchise.
*The Swift Current Broncos moved from the East division to the Central division.
*The Kootenay Ice moved from the Central division to the B.C. division.
*With the addition of the Giants, the WHL abandoned the three division format and moved to two conferences of two divisions each. Ten teams in the East and nine in the West. 
*The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, though the 5th place team in the B.C. division could qualify in place of the 4th place team in the U.S. division if they had a better record.
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
===Eastern Conference===
East Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	43	23	4	2 	92 	261	210
x Regina Pats 	72	40	20	4	8 	92 	252	192
x Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	30	34	6	2 	68 	226	239
x Saskatoon Blades 	72	27	37	5	3 	62 	216	257
Prince Albert Raiders	72	26	41	2	3 	57 	234	324
Central Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
x Red Deer Rebels 	72	46	18	7	1 	100	264	184
x Swift Current Broncos	72	42	17	6	7 	97 	274	218
x Calgary Hitmen 	72	33	33	5	1 	72 	271	281
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	33	33	6	0 	72 	266	247
Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	30	36	4	2 	66 	277	316
===Western Conference===
B.C. Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
x Kamloops Blazers 	72	38	25	5 	4 	85 	263	230
x Kootenay Ice 	72	38	27	7 	0 	83 	276	223
x Prince George Cougars	72	34	27	9 	2 	79 	244	215
x Kelowna Rockets 	72	31	26	10	5 	77 	257	232
Vancouver Giants 	72	13	49	6 	4 	36 	198	365
U.S. Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	36	25	5 	6 	83 	269	243
x Spokane Chiefs 	72	33	25	11	3 	80 	223	206
x Tri-City Americans 	72	31	31	10	0 	72 	260	271
x Seattle Thunderbirds 	72	21	40	6 	5 	53 	235	313
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Nathan Barrett 	Lethbridge Hurricanes 	72	45	62	107	100
Joffrey Lupul 	Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	56	50	106	95
Eric Johansson 	Tri-City Americans 	69	44	59	103	73
Tyler Beechey 	Kootenay/Calgary 	70	44	55	99 	104
Josef Balej 	Portland Winter Hawks 	65	51	41	92 	52
Jeremy Jackson 	Vancouver/Lethbridge 	71	38	53	91 	91
Mikhail Yakubov	Red Deer Rebels 	71	32	57	89 	54
Josh Olson 	Portland Winter Hawks 	72	40	48	88 	85
Duncan Milroy 	Swift Current/Kootenay	64	45	42	87 	44
Justin Kelly 	Saskatoon Blades 	72	39	47	86 	47
===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
Cam Ward 	Red Deer Rebels 	46	2695	30	11	4 	102	1 	.911	2.27
Josh Harding 	Regina Pats 	42	3289	27	13	1 	95 	4 	.906	2.39
Shane Bendera 	Red Deer/Kelowna 	50	3030	24	15	11	125	1 	.912	2.47
Barry Brust 	Spokane Chiefs 	60	3542	28	21	10	152	1 	.912	2.57
Billy Thompson	Prince George Cougars	42	2378	20	17	2 	108	2 	.913	2.72
==WHL Playoffs==
===Conference quarterfinals===
====Eastern Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Brandon vs. Saskatoon 	Brandon vs. Saskatoon 	Brandon vs. Saskatoon 	Brandon vs. Saskatoon
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 23 	Brandon 1 	2 Saskatoon 	OT 	
March 24 	Brandon 2 	0 Saskatoon 	 	
March 26 	Saskatoon 1 	3 Brandon 	 	
March 27 	Saskatoon 2 	1 Brandon 	2OT 	
March 31 	Brandon 2 	3 Saskatoon 	OT 	
April 2 	Saskatoon 1 	4 Brandon 	 	
April 3 	Saskatoon 1 	2 Brandon 	 	
Brandon wins series 4–3	Brandon wins series 4–3	Brandon wins series 4–3	Brandon wins series 4–3	
====Western Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 22 	Kelowna 4 	1 Kamloops 	 	
March 23 	Kelowna 3 	0 Kamloops 	 	
March 27 	Kamloops 2 	4 Kelowna 	 	
March 28 	Kamloops 1 	3 Kelowna 	 	
Kelowna wins series 4–0	Kelowna wins series 4–0	Kelowna wins series 4–0	Kelowna wins series 4–0	
===Conference semifinals===
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Red Deer vs. Moose Jaw 	Red Deer vs. Moose Jaw 	Red Deer vs. Moose Jaw 	Red Deer vs. Moose Jaw
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 5 	Moose Jaw 4 	0 Red Deer 	 	
April 6 	Moose Jaw 3 	5 Red Deer 	 	
April 9 	Red Deer 2 	3 Moose Jaw 	OT 	
April 10 	Red Deer 2 	1 Moose Jaw 	OT 	
April 12 	Moose Jaw 0 	6 Red Deer 	 	
April 14 	Red Deer 4 	2 Moose Jaw 	 	
Red Deer wins series 4–2	Red Deer wins series 4–2	Red Deer wins series 4–2	Red Deer wins series 4–2	
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Kootenay vs Seattle 	Kootenay vs Seattle 	Kootenay vs Seattle 	Kootenay vs Seattle
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 5 	Seattle 1 	3 Kootenay 	 	
April 6 	Seattle 1 	7 Kootenay 	 	
April 9 	Kootenay 5 	2 Seattle 	 	
April 11 	Kootenay 5 	3 Seattle 	 	
Kootenay wins series 4–0	Kootenay wins series 4–0	Kootenay wins series 4–0	Kootenay wins series 4–0	
===Conference finals===
Eastern Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Red Deer vs. Brandon 	Red Deer vs. Brandon 	Red Deer vs. Brandon 	Red Deer vs. Brandon
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 19 	Brandon 2 	1 Red Deer 	OT 	
April 20 	Brandon 2 	4 Red Deer 	 	
April 23 	Red Deer 4 	5 Brandon 	2OT 	
April 24 	Red Deer 2 	5 Brandon 	 	
April 26 	Brandon 0 	4 Red Deer 	 	
April 28 	Red Deer 3 	2 Brandon 	2OT 	
April 30 	Brandon 2 	5 Red Deer 	 	
Red Deer wins series 4–3	Red Deer wins series 4–3	Red Deer wins series 4–3	Red Deer wins series 4–3	
===WHL Championship===
{| cellspacing="10"
|-
| valign="top" |
Red Deer vs. Kootenay 	Red Deer vs. Kootenay 	Red Deer vs. Kootenay 	Red Deer vs. Kootenay
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 3 	Kootenay 2 	1 Red Deer 	OT
May 4 	Kootenay 1 	2 Red Deer 	
May 7 	Red Deer 2 	3 Kootenay 	OT
May 8 	Red Deer 3 	2 Kootenay 	
May 11 	Kootenay 4 	3 Red Deer 	
May 13 	Red Deer 2 	3 Kootenay 	2OT
Kootenay wins series 4–2	Kootenay wins series 4–2	Kootenay wins series 4–2	Kootenay wins series 4–2
==All-Star Game==
On January 24, the WHL Eastern All-Stars were defeated by the OHL Western All-Stars 7–2 at Red Deer, Alberta with a crowd of 6,259.
On February 6, the WHL Western All-Stars defeated the QMJHL Dilio All-Stars 9–4 at Rimouski, Quebec with a crowd of 4,762.
==WHL awards==
Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Dan Hamhuis, Prince George Cougars
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Tyler Metcalfe, Seattle Thunderbirds
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Nathan Barrett, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Ian White, Swift Current Broncos
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dan Hamhuis, Prince George Cougars
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Braydon Coburn, Portland Winter Hawks
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cam Ward, Red Deer Rebels
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Bob Lowes, Regina Pats
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Brad McEwan, Swift Current Broncos
Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Red Deer Rebels
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Kevin Acheson
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Greg McConkey, Red Deer Rebels
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy - Brandin Cote, Spokane Chiefs
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Matt Hubbauer, Regina Pats
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Duncan Milroy, Kootenay Ice
==All-Star Teams==
{| BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="100%"
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE " align="center" 
01-02BraWK.jpg|Brandon Wheat Kings
==References==
*whl.ca
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
Category:Western Hockey League seasons
WHL