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2003–04 WHL Season
The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament. League notes * The Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. The WHL is composed of 23 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions, each. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises 12 teams from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The league will expand to 24 teams by 2026 with the addition of a team in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The league was founded in 1966 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL), with seven teams in Sas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Chynoweth Cup
The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honour Ed Chynoweth's long service to junior ice hockey in Canada. The WHL champion earns a berth into the Memorial Cup tournament, Canada's major junior hockey championship. The Kamloops Blazers and Medicine Hat Tigers have won the most WHL championships, with six each. The Spokane Chiefs were the first team to win the renamed trophy in the 2007–08 WHL season. The current ( 2024–25) holders of the Ed Chynoweth Cup are the Medicine Hat Tigers. History The Western Hockey League was founded in 1966 by seven teams from Saskatchewan and Alberta who were hoping to improve the quality of junior hockey in western Canada. Despite gaining approval from the governing bodies of both provinces, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) objec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tri-City Americans
The Tri-City Americans are an American major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League and based in Kennewick, Washington. Founded in 1966 as the Calgary Buffaloes, the team settled in Kennewick in 1988 after a number of relocations. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center, which was purpose-built for the team. The team has won one Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and have played in one league playoff final; however, the Americans have not won a playoff championship. History Foundations The Americans franchise began as a founding franchise of the league, beginning as the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966. The original team was renamed the "Centennials" after one season. In 1977, the franchise relocated to Montana and was known as the Billings Bighorns—part of an initial wave of American teams in the league. In 1982, the team moved again, this time to Nanaimo, British Columbia, where the team played for one season as the Nana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portland Winter Hawks
The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three constituent leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Winterhawks have made a record thirteen appearances in the WHL championship series—including a record-tying four straight from 2011 to 2014—winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup three times and capturing two Memorial Cup titles. They were the first American-based team to participate in and win either championship. The team plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. History The franchise was founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings. Under Bill Hunter's leadership, the Oil Kings were a founding franchise of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966. Despite winning two league titles in the early 1970s, the arrival of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince George Cougars
The Prince George Cougars are a Canada, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Prince George, British Columbia. Founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars (WHL), Victoria Cougars, the team was relocated to Prince George in 1994, where it became the northernmost team in the Canadian Hockey League. The Cougars are members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and hosts games at the CN Centre. History The Cougars were a long-running junior club based in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria when the team joined the Western Canada Hockey League in 1971, one of three teams based in British Columbia added to the WCHL that year to give the league a presence in all four Western Canadian provinces. The Cougars won one league title, in 1981, but in 1994, struggling with attendance and travel costs, were abruptly sold and moved to Prince George. The move made the Cougars the most remote team in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL), requiri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kootenay Ice
The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and playing its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise, which began as the Edmonton Ice before moving to Cranbrook in 1998, was owned by Ed Chynoweth from 1995 until it was sold to Winnipeg-based company 50 Below Sports and Entertainment in 2017. The team won three WHL championships and one Memorial Cup title as Canadian junior champions. Despite the club's on-ice success, the Ice moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2019, where they were known as the Winnipeg Ice. History The Ice franchise began play in 1996 as the Edmonton Ice. The club was founded by Ed Chynoweth after he left his position as the Western Hockey League's president. Chynoweth moved the Ice to Cranbrook in 1998 after two dismal seasons in Edmonton. The move to Cranbrook resulted in the folding of the successful local Junior A Cran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamloops Blazers
The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blazers originated as the Estevan Bruins in 1966, became the New Westminster Bruins in 1971, and relocated to Kamloops in 1981 as the Kamloops Junior Oilers. After moving to Kamloops, the Blazers became the WHL's most successful club, winning a record six President's Cups, a record seven Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies, and three Memorial Cup titles, all between 1983 and 1995. History The Blazers franchise originated as one of the league's founding clubs, the Estevan Bruins, when the league launched in 1966. After winning a league title in 1968, owner and manager Scotty Munro sold his stake in the club in 1969 and moved on to the Calgary Centennials; two years later, the team moved to New Westminster, British Columbia, as part of the Weste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vancouver Giants
The Vancouver Giants are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team playing based in Langley, British Columbia, and playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Founded in 2001, the Giants won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2006 and the Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions in 2007. The team was based in the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, the former arena of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, until moving to the Langley Events Centre in 2016. History British Columbia-based businessman Ron Toigo was granted a WHL expansion franchise for the city of Vancouver ahead of the 2001–02 season. In the following years, the club's ownership group would grow to include Sultan Thiara, former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn, the estate of Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe, and singer Michael Bublé. The team was first based out of Pacific Coliseum, the former Canucks arena in downtown Vancouver; in 2016, after 15 seasons, the team moved to the Langl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lethbridge Hurricanes
The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Lethbridge, Alberta. The Hurricanes play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and play their home games at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The team replaced Lethbridge's first major junior team, the Broncos, who played in the city from 1974 to 1986. When that team relocated to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the city acquired the Calgary Wranglers franchise and the Hurricanes began play in 1987. History The Lethbridge Broncos played at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena from 1974 until 1986. Originally the Swift Current Broncos, the team returned to Swift Current in 1986 when local investors gathered enough resources to make the team a community-owned club. However, neither the league nor the city wanted Lethbridge to be left without a team, and just one year later, the Calgary Wranglers were relocated to Lethbridge to become the Hurricanes, which was a community-owned team. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calgary Hitmen
The Calgary Hitmen are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), hosting their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "Hitman" Hart, a professional wrestler and Calgary native, was a founding owner and the inspiration for the team's name. Established in 1994, the team has been owned by the Calgary Flames hockey club since 1997. They are the third WHL team based in Calgary, after the Centennials and Wranglers. The Hitmen have won four regular season titles, and the team qualified for the playoffs for thirteen consecutive seasons between 1998 and 2010. In 1999, they became the first Calgary team to win the President's Cup as league champions, and the first to represent the city in the Memorial Cup since the Calgary Canadians won the national junior title in 1926. The team won a second league championship in 2010. The Hitmen hold numerous WHL attendance records, and in 2004� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saskatoon Blades
The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played every season in the league in its original location. Today, the team plays in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and hosts games at the SaskTel Centre. Despite five regular season titles and five appearances in the championship series, the Blades have never won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league playoff champions. The team has twice hosted the Memorial Cup tournament, in 1989 and in 2013. History WHL founding member The Blades were established in 1964 as members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (1948–1966), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, evolving from the Saskatoon Junior Quakers, who had played in the league since 1956. Owner Jim Piggott saw the team as a junior affiliate for his minor professi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regina Pats
The Regina Pats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1917, the Pats are the world's oldest continuously operating major junior hockey franchise in its original location and using its original name. The team was originally named the Regina Patricia Hockey Club, after Princess Patricia of Connaught, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the Governor General, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the Duke of Connaught. The team name also associates Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry–Pats sweaters bear the regimental badge and "PPCLI" flash as a shoulder patch. Today, the team plays in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference. The Pats host games at the Brandt Centre and games are broadcast on CKRM, 620 CKRM radio. The Pats are one of the most successful junior hockey franchises. They have made a record sixteen appearances at the Memorial Cup tournament, and a record fourteen a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
