1998–99 WHL season

The 1998–99 WHL season was the 33rd season of the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Calgary Hitmen won the President's Cup.
==League notes==
*The Edmonton Ice relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia to become the Kootenay Ice.
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
East Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	45	22	5	95 	288	213
x Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	39	29	4	82 	293	267
x Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	39	31	2	80 	292	262
x Swift Current Broncos	72	34	32	6	74 	232	211
Regina Pats 	72	24	43	5	53 	238	312
Saskatoon Blades 	72	16	49	7	39 	184	291
Central Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Calgary Hitmen 	72	51	13	8	110	319	187
x Red Deer Rebels 	72	34	33	5	73 	274	250
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	31	32	9	71 	224	215
x Kootenay Ice 	72	30	35	7	67 	245	276
Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	15	56	1	31 	185	323
West Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
x Kamloops Blazers 	72	48	11	13	109	298	195
x Tri-City Americans 	72	43	23	6 	92 	311	219
x Seattle Thunderbirds 	72	37	24	11	85 	279	236
x Prince George Cougars	72	34	32	6 	74 	255	264
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	23	36	13	59 	215	278
x Kelowna Rockets 	72	25	42	5 	55 	241	282
Spokane Chiefs 	72	19	44	9 	47 	193	268
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Pavel Brendl 	Calgary Hitmen 	68	73	61	134	40
Brad Moran 	Calgary Hitmen 	71	60	58	118	96
Dylan Gyori 	Tri-City Americans 	69	53	65	118	112
Chad Hinz 	Moose Jaw Warriors 	71	42	75	117	40
Scott Gomez 	Tri-City Americans 	58	30	78	108	55
Shawn McNeil 	Red Deer Rebels 	72	44	59	103	87
Brett McLean 	Kelowna/Brandon 	65	47	54	101	66
Bret DeCecco 	Seattle Thunderbirds	72	57	43	100	81
Ryan Robson 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	33	61	94 	35
Oleg Saprykin	Seattle Thunderbirds	66	47	46	93 	107
===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
Kenric Exner 	Kamloops Blazers 	51	2967	34	6 	8 	114	5 	.912	2.31
Bryce Wandler 	Swift Current Broncos	51	2885	23	20	4 	123	3 	.905	2.56
Alexandre Fomitchev	Calgary Hitmen 	57	3321	39	10	7 	142	4 	.901	2.57
Evan Lindsay 	Prince Albert Raiders	56	3336	34	16	5 	158	1 	.905	2.84
Cody Rudkowsky 	Seattle Thunderbirds 	64	3670	34	17	10	177	7 	.920	2.89
==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" 	Calgary vs. Kootenay 	Calgary vs. Kootenay 	Calgary vs. Kootenay 	Calgary vs. Kootenay
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 24 	Kootenay 5 	7 Calgary 	 	
March 26 	Calgary 3 	6 Kootenay 	 	
March 27 	Calgary 4 	5 Kootenay 	OT 	
March 29 	Kootenay 2 	5 Calgary 	 	
March 31 	Kootenay 2 	3 Calgary 	 	
April 1 	Calgary 3 	4 Kootenay 	 	
April 2 	Kootenay 3 	8 Calgary 	 	
Calgary wins series 4–3	Calgary wins series 4–3	Calgary wins series 4–3	Calgary wins series 4–3	
====Western Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna 	Kamloops vs. Kelowna
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 25 	Kelowna 1 	2 Kamloops 	 	
March 36 	Kelowna 1 	3 Kamloops 	 	
March 30 	Kamloops 1 	3 Kelowna 	 	
April 1 	Kamloops 3 	1 Kelowna 	 	
April 3 	Kelowna 4 	3 Kamloops 	 	
April 4 	Kamloops 3 	2 Kelowna 	 	
Kamloops wins series 4–2	Kamloops wins series 4–2	Kamloops wins series 4–2	Kamloops wins series 4–2	
===Conference semifinals===
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Calgary vs. Red Deer 	Calgary vs. Red Deer 	Calgary vs. Red Deer 	Calgary vs. Red Deer
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 5 	Red Deer 3 	6 Calgary 	 	
April 6 	Calgary 4 	3 Red Deer 	OT 	
April 8 	Red Deer 2 	4 Calgary 	 	
April 9 	Calgary 3 	1 Red Deer 	 	
Calgary wins series 4–0	Calgary wins series 4–0	Calgary wins series 4–0	Calgary wins series 4–0	
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Tri-City vs. Seattle 	Tri-City vs. Seattle 	Tri-City vs. Seattle 	Tri-City vs. Seattle
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 9 	Seattle 4 	3 Tri-City 	 	
April 10 	Seattle 0 	6 Tri-City 	 	
April 12 	Tri-City 4 	0 Seattle 	 	
April 13 	Tri-City 4 	2 Seattle 	 	
Tri-City wins series 3–1	Tri-City wins series 3–1	Tri-City wins series 3–1	Tri-City wins series 3–1	
===Conference finals===
Eastern Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Calgary vs. Prince Albert	Calgary vs. Prince Albert	Calgary vs. Prince Albert	Calgary vs. Prince Albert
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 16 	Prince Albert 3 	7 Calgary 	 	
April 18 	Prince Albert 4 	5 Calgary 	OT 	
April 20 	Calgary 5 	6 Prince Albert 	 	
April 22 	Calgary 7 	1 Prince Albert 	 	
April 24 	Prince Albert 2 	6 Calgary 	 	
Calgary wins series 4–1	Calgary wins series 4–1 	Calgary wins series 4–1 	Calgary wins series 4–1 	
===WHL Championship===
{| cellspacing="10"
|-
| valign="top" |
Calgary vs. Kamloops 	Calgary vs. Kamloops 	Calgary vs. Kamloops 	Calgary vs. Kamloops
Date 	Away 	Home 	
April 30 	Kamloops 4 	2 Calgary 	
May 2 	Kamloops 0 	5 Calgary 	
May 4 	Calgary 4 	2 Kamloops 	
May 5 	Calgary 4 	3 Kamloops 	2OT
May 7 	Kamloops 2 	5 Calgary 	
Calgary wins series 4–1	Calgary wins series 4–1	Calgary wins series 4–1	Calgary wins series 4–1
==All-Star Game==
On January 20, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 11–9 at Lethbridge, Alberta before a crowd of 5,071.
==WHL awards==
Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Chris Nielson, Calgary Hitmen
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Matt Kinch, Calgary Hitmen
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Brad Stuart, Calgary Hitmen
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Calgary Hitmen
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Kelly Sutherland
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Scott Clark, Regina Pats
Humanitarian of the Year - Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Brad Moran, Calgary Hitmen
==All-Star Teams==
{| BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="100%"
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE " align="center" 
98-99BraWK.jpg|Brandon Wheat Kings
==References==
*whl.ca
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
Category:Western Hockey League seasons
WHL