2007–08 WHL season

The 2007–08 WHL season was the 42nd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 20, 2008, and ended on March 16, 2008. The WHL Playoffs began on March 21, 2008, and ended on May 7, 2008.
A new expansion team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, joined the league bringing the WHL to 22 teams that played a 72 game season. The Spokane Chiefs won the Ed Chynoweth Cup, defeating the Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games. Spokane would go on to capture the Memorial Cup.
== League notes ==
* The Oil Kings joined the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, bringing the Eastern Conference to twelve teams, while the Western Conference remained at ten. The new team in Alberta's capital is the fourth WHL team to represent the city of Edmonton, preceded by the original Oil Kings franchises that played in the 1960s and 1970s, and later the Edmonton Ice, who played two seasons from 1996–98 before relocating to the Kootenays.
* The playoff format was revised so that the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the playoffs, as opposed to the top four in each division. Division winners are guaranteed a top two seed in each conference. 
== Final standings ==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; x = Clinched playoff berth; y = Clinched conference title 
=== Eastern Conference ===
East Division 	GP	W 	L 	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Rank
x Regina Pats 	72	44	22	4 	2 	94 	217	206	2
x Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	42	24	3 	3 	90 	253	209	6
x Swift Current Broncos	72	41	24	1 	6 	89 	244	205	7
x Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	37	21	6 	8 	88 	229	214	8
Saskatoon Blades 	72	29	34	3 	6 	67 	182	229	9
Prince Albert Raiders 	72	26	41	3 	2 	57 	196	248	10
Central Division 	GP	W 	L 	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Rank
y Calgary Hitmen 	72	47	20	1 	4 	99 	259	166	1
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	45	21	2 	4 	96 	245	175	3
x Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	43	22	5 	2 	93 	234	198	4
x Kootenay Ice 	72	42	22	5 	3 	92 	229	214	5
Edmonton Oil Kings 	72	22	39	4 	7 	55 	162	241	11
Red Deer Rebels 	72	18	47	4 	3 	43 	145	255	12
=== Western Conference ===
B.C. Division 	GP	W 	L 	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Rank
x Vancouver Giants 	72	49	15	2 	6 	106	250	155	2
x Kelowna Rockets 	72	38	26	2 	6 	84 	248	215	5
x Chilliwack Bruins 	72	28	35	4 	5 	65 	206	241	7
x Kamloops Blazers 	72	27	41	2 	2 	58 	197	253	8
Prince George Cougars	72	20	48	1 	3 	44 	172	304	9
U.S. Division 	GP	W 	L 	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Rank
y Tri-City Americans 	72	52	16	2 	2 	108	262	176	1
x Spokane Chiefs 	72	50	15	1 	6 	107	251	160	3
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	42	23	5 	2 	91 	241	179	4
x Everett Silvertips 	72	39	30	0 	3 	81 	205	198	6
Portland Winter Hawks 	72	11	58	2 	1 	25 	132	318	10
== Scoring leaders ==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Mark Santorelli 	Chilliwack Bruins 	72	27	74	101	40
Colin Long 	Kelowna Rockets 	72	31	69	100	41
Colton Yellow Horn	Tri-City Americans 	67	48	49	97 	63
Tyler Ennis 	Medicine Hat Tigers 	70	43	48	91 	42
Steve DaSilva 	Kootenay Ice 	68	40	49	89 	47
Mitch Fadden 	Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	34	55	89 	72
Jordan Knackstedt 	Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	31	54	85 	116
Dan Gendur 	Everett Silvertips 	60	29	55	84 	68
Bud Holloway 	Seattle Thunderbirds 	70	43	40	83 	55
Oscar Moller 	Chilliwack Bruins 	63	39	44	83 	42
== Leading goaltenders ==
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	Team 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	OTL	SL	GA 	SO	SV% 	GAA
Tyson Sexsmith 	Vancouver Giants 	62	3678	43	11	2 	6 	116	9 	.911	1.89
Juha Metsola 	Lethbridge Hurricanes	30	1693	20	7 	0 	1 	56 	3 	.916	1.98
Dustin Tokarski	Spokane Chiefs 	45	2543	30	10	0 	3 	87 	6 	.922	2.05
Martin Jones 	Calgary Hitmen 	27	1529	18	8 	0 	1 	54 	1 	.911	2.12
Kevin Armstrong	Spokane Chiefs 	33	1840	20	5 	1 	3 	66 	2 	.915	2.15
== WHL Playoffs ==
=== Overview ===
=== Conference quarter-finals ===
==== Eastern Conference ====
{| class="wikitable"	Moose Jaw vs. Calgary	Moose Jaw vs. Calgary	Moose Jaw vs. Calgary	Moose Jaw vs. Calgary
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 21 	Moose Jaw 1 	5 Calgary 	 	
March 23 	Moose Jaw 4 	2 Calgary 	 	
March 25 	Calgary 8 	3 Moose Jaw 	 	
March 26 	Calgary 3 	1 Moose Jaw 	 	
March 28 	Moose Jaw 4 	2 Calgary 	 	
March 30 	Calgary 4 	2 Moose Jaw 	 	
Calgary wins 4–2	Calgary wins 4–2 	Calgary wins 4–2 	Calgary wins 4–2 	
==== Western Conference ====
{| class="wikitable"	Kamloops vs. Tri-City	Kamloops vs. Tri-City	Kamloops vs. Tri-City	Kamloops vs. Tri-City
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
March 21 	Kamloops 1 	6 Tri-City 	 	
March 22 	Kamloops 1 	4 Tri-City 	 	
March 25 	Tri-City 4 	3 Kamloops 	 	
March 26 	Tri-City 6 	2 Kamloops 	 	
Tri-City wins 4–0	Tri-City wins 4–0 	Tri-City wins 4–0 	Tri-City wins 4–0 	
=== Conference semi-finals ===
Eastern Conference	Eastern Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable"	Swift Current vs. Calgary	Swift Current vs. Calgary	Swift Current vs. Calgary	Swift Current vs. Calgary
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 4 	Calgary 2 	3 Swift Current 	 	
April 5 	Calgary 5 	2 Swift Current 	 	
April 8 	Swift Current 5 	6 Calgary (2OT) 	 	
April 9 	Swift Current 2 	3 Calgary 	 	
April 11 	Swift Current 5 	2 Calgary 	 	
April 12 	Calgary 8 	4 Swift Current 	 	
Calgary wins 4–2 	Calgary wins 4–2 	Calgary wins 4–2 	Calgary wins 4–2 	
Western Conference	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable"	Vancouver vs. Spokane	Vancouver vs. Spokane	Vancouver vs. Spokane	Vancouver vs. Spokane
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 4 	Vancouver 4 	1 Spokane 	 	
April 6 	Vancouver 1 	4 Spokane 	 	
April 9 	Spokane 3 	2 Vancouver 	 	
April 11 	Spokane 1 	3 Vancouver 	 	
April 12 	Spokane 4 	0 Vancouver 	 	
April 14 	Vancouver 1 	3 Spokane 	 	
Spokane wins 4–2 	Spokane wins 4–2 	Spokane wins 4–2 	Spokane wins 4–2 	
=== Conference finals ===
Eastern Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable"	Lethbridge vs. Calgary	Lethbridge vs. Calgary	Lethbridge vs. Calgary	Lethbridge vs. Calgary
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 17 	Lethbridge 5 	2 Calgary 	 	
April 18 	(OT) Lethbridge 4 	3 Calgary 	 	
April 22 	Calgary 0 	6 Lethbridge 	 	
April 23 	Calgary 2 	4 Lethbridge 	 	
Lethbridge wins 4–0	Lethbridge wins 4–0 	Lethbridge wins 4–0 	Lethbridge wins 4–0 	
=== WHL Championship ===
Lethbridge vs. Spokane	Lethbridge vs. Spokane	Lethbridge vs. Spokane	Lethbridge vs. Spokane
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 2 	Lethbridge 1 	4 Spokane 	
May 3 	Lethbridge 2 	5 Spokane 	
May 6 	(OT) Spokane 2 	1 Lethbridge 	
May 7 	Spokane 4 	1 Lethbridge 	
Spokane wins 4-0 	Spokane wins 4-0 	Spokane wins 4-0 	Spokane wins 4-0
== Memorial Cup ==
See also2008 Memorial Cup
The 90th MasterCard Memorial Cup was held in Kitchener, Ontario. It began on May 16, and concluded on May 25, 2008.
== WHL awards ==
Player of the Year 	Four Broncos Memorial Trophy 	Karl Alzner 	Calgary Hitmen
Scholastic Player of the Year 	Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy 	Jordan Eberle 	Regina Pats
Top Scorer 	Bob Clarke Trophy 	Mark Santorelli 	Chilliwack Bruins
Most Sportsmanlike Player 	Brad Hornung Trophy 	Tyler Ennis 	Medicine Hat Tigers
Top Defenseman 	Bill Hunter Trophy 	Karl Alzner 	Calgary Hitmen
Rookie of the Year 	Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy 	Brayden Schenn 	Brandon Wheat Kings
Top Goaltender 	Del Wilson Trophy 	Chet Pickard 	Tri-City Americans
Coach of the Year 	Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy 	Don Nachbaur 	Tri-City Americans
Executive of the Year 	Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy 	Bob Tory 	Tri-City Americans
Regular season Champions 	Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy 	Tri-City Americans	Tri-City Americans
Top Official 	Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy 	Andy Thiessen 	
Marketing/Public Relations Award	St. Clair Group Trophy 	Kip Reghenas 	Calgary Hitmen
Humanitarian of the Year 	Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy	Ashton Hewson 	Prince Albert Raiders
 	WHL Plus-Minus Award 	Greg Scott 	Seattle Thunderbirds
WHL Finals Most Valuable Player 	AirBC Trophy 	Tyler Johnson 	Spokane Chiefs
==All-Star Teams==
{| BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="100%"
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE " align="center" 
# 	Player 	Nationality	WHL Team
1 	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C)	Canadian 	Red Deer Rebels
2 	Ty Rattie (LW) 	Canadian 	Portland Winter Hawks
3 	Duncan Siemens (D) 	Canadian 	Saskatoon Blades (from Prince George)
4 	Michael St. Croix (C) 	Canadian 	Edmonton Oil Kings
5 	Mark McNeill (C) 	Canadian 	Prince Albert Raiders
6 	Brent Benson (C) 	Canadian 	Saskatoon Blades
7 	Colin Smith (C) 	Canadian 	Kamloops Blazers
8 	Mitch Topping (D) 	Canadian 	Chilliwack Bruins
9 	Ryan Murray (D) 	Canadian 	Everett Silvertips
10	Klarc Wilson (RW) 	Canadian 	Kelowna Rockets (from Brandon)
11	Jesse Forsberg (D) 	Canadian 	Moose Jaw Warriors (from Prince George)
12	Reece Scarlett (D) 	Canadian 	Swift Current Broncos
13	Shayne McColgan (C) 	Canadian 	Brandon Wheat Kings (from Kelowna)
14	Connor Sanvido (C) 	Canadian 	Seattle Thunderbirds
15	Brendan Hurley (LW) 	Canadian 	Kootenay Ice
16	Dylan Busenius (D) 	Canadian 	Medicine Hat Tigers
17	Myles Bell (D) 	Canadian 	Regina Pats
18	Phil Tot (C) 	Canadian 	Lethbridge Hurricanes
19	Peter Kosterman (D) 	Canadian 	Calgary Hitmen
20	Zach Hodder (D) 	Canadian 	Vancouver Giants
21	Mitch Holmberg (RW) 	Canadian 	Spokane Chiefs
22	Zac Yuen (D) 	Canadian 	Tri-City Americans
==Team Photos==
07-08EveSil.jpg|Everett Silvertips
== References ==
* 2006–07 WHL Guide (2007). Western Hockey League. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
== External links ==
* Official website of the Western Hockey League
* Official website of the Canadian Hockey League
* Official website of the MasterCard Memorial Cup
* Official website of the Home Hardware Top Prospects Game
* Official website of the ADT Canada Russia Challenge
Category:Western Hockey League seasons
WHL