2019-20 WHL season

This is the 2019-20 Western Hockey League season. This is the league's 54th 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.
==Pausing of Season==
The Canadian Hockey League and its' three member leagues announced the following on March 12th:
"The Canadian Hockey League and its three regional leagues, the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and Western Hockey League, take the health and safety of our players, fans, volunteers, staff, and general public very seriously. CHL President Dan MacKenzie with Commissioners David Branch, Gilles Courteau, and Ron Robison have been monitoring the situation in regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) including what local, provincial, and federal health agencies have recommended. Following consultation with medical professionals and meetings today among the CHL Executive Council, and regional league Board of Governors, the CHL announces that the balance of the 2019-20 season and all hockey activity shall be paused immediately until further notice."https://chl.ca/article/statement-from-the-canadian-hockey-league-0312
On March 18th the league would cancel the rest of the 2019-20 regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.https://whl.ca/article/western-hockey-league-announces-conclusion-of-regular-season
==Cancelling of Ed Chynoweth playoffs and the Memorial Cup==
The balance of play at the major junior level would be cancelled on March 23rd.https://chl.ca/article/statement-chl-cancels-2020-playoffs-and-memorial-cup This would include the three CHL leagues playoffs and the 2020 Memorial Cup.
==Membership changes==
*It was announced on January 29, 2018 that the Kootenay Ice would be relocating to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the 2019-20 WHL season as the Winnipeg Ice.https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/owners-confirm-kootenay-ice-move-to-winnipeg-505042732.html The team will be based out of the Wayne Fleming Arena on the campus of the University of Manitoba while construction on a new arena near Oak Bluff, Manitoba is completed.
==Teams==
=== Eastern Conference ===
Division	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
Central 	Calgary Hitmen 	Calgary, Alberta, Canada 	Scotiabank Saddledome
Stampede Corral (some playoff games)	19,289
6,450
Central 	Edmonton Oil Kings 	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 	Rogers Place 	18,641
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
Central 	Swift Current Broncos	Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada	Credit Union iPlex 	3,239
East 	Brandon Wheat Kings 	Brandon, Manitoba, Canada 	Keystone Centre 	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 	Winnipeg Ice 	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 	Wayne Fleming Arena	1,400
=== 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 	Angel of the Winds Arena 	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
Prince Albert Raiders	64	36	18	6 	4 	210	160	82
Winnipeg Ice 	63	38	24	1 	0 	231	207	77
Brandon Wheat Kings 	63	35	22	4 	2 	227	173	76
====Central Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Edmonton Oil Kings 	64	42	12	6 	4 	239	167	94
Medicine Hat Tigers 	63	41	19	2 	1 	265	182	85
Lethbridge Hurricanes	63	37	19	2 	5 	249	193	81
====Eastern Conference Wild Card====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Calgary Hitmen 	64	35	24	4 	1 	219	201	75
Saskatoon Blades 	63	34	24	2 	3 	211	197	73
Red Deer Rebels 	63	24	33	3 	3 	181	250	54
Regina Pats 	63	21	34	6 	2 	183	258	50
Moose Jaw Warriors 	62	14	44	4 	0 	146	291	32
Swift Current Broncos	63	10	48	2 	3 	129	298	25
===Western Conference===
====BC Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Kamloops Blazers	63	41	18	3 	1 	271	166	86
Victoria Royals 	64	32	24	6 	2 	176	190	72
Vancouver Giants	62	32	24	4 	2 	189	166	70
====US Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Portland Winterhawks	63	45	11	3 	4 	270	164	97
Everett Silvertips 	63	46	13	3 	1 	228	142	96
Spokane Chiefs 	64	41	18	4 	1 	258	179	87
====Western Conference Wild Card====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Kelowna Rockets 	63	29	28	3 	3 	181	208	64
Seattle Thunderbirds 	63	24	32	4 	3 	175	240	55
Prince George Cougars	62	20	34	4 	4 	144	205	48
Tri-City Americans 	63	17	40	4 	2 	157	302	40
==2020 Ed Chynoweth Cup Playoffs==
===Format===
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 (or runner up if the Kelowna Rockets win the championship) advances to the 2020 Memorial Cup being held at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia from May 22 to 31, 2020 hosted by the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.
==References==
Category:2020 in hockey
Category:Western Hockey League seasons