The Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League make up the Canadian Hockey League.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is comprised of 21 teams of major junior hockey players: Calgary Hitmen, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers, Red Deer Rebels, Swift Current Broncos, Saskatoon Blades, Brandon Wheat Kings, Regina Pats, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Alberta Raiders, Kootenay Ice, Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, Vancouver Giants, Prince George Cougars, Spokane Chiefs, Portland Winter Hawks, Seattle T-Birds, Everett Silvertips, Tri-City Americans, and the Chiliwack Bruins. In the 2007-2008 season an expansion team - the Edmonton Oil Kings - will be added to the roster of WHL teams.
The WHL (or Dub, as it has been nicknamed) is further divided into the Eastern Conference (Alberta, British Columbia/Kootenay Ice, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), and the Western Conference (British Columbia, Oregon and Washington).
Western Hockey League Roots
The current WHL is an offshoot of the 1966 Major Junior circuit (Canadian Major Junior Hockey League) which included teams from both Saskatchewan and Alberta. In the 1960s the league expanded to eventually include the four western provinces of Canada. The name change to the Western Hockey League occurred in 1978 when teams from the United States Pacific Northwest were added to the team mix.
Protected Lists
Each team can protect as many as 50 players between the ages of 14 - 20. Protected players are those who have come up for eligibility in the WHL Bantam Draft, following a player's final bantam season. Those players currently on a team are included in the 50 player tally. The protected list is fluid and changes throughout the year as players are added to and removed from the list. Players on the protected list may play for non-WHL teams, but may not play for another WHL team or attend its training or rookie camp.
Overage Players
Each WHL team may include as many as three 20 year-old players, called overagers, by the October 16 annual deadline.
European Players
Each team may have a maximum of two import players, defined as non-North American players, selected from those eligible through the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft held each summer.
Famous WHL Alumni
Mike Modano, Theoren Fleury, Joe Sakic, Ryan Getzlaff, Steve Reinprecht, Mike Comrie, Joffrey Lupul, Rob Neidermayer, Trevor Linden, Lanny Macdonald, Dion Phaneuf.
League Championship
The Ed Chynoweth Cup (formerly the President's Cup) is awarded annually to the WHL playoff champion. In 2007, the winner of the Ed Chynoweth Cup was the Medicine Hat Tigers, who then went on to the Memorial Cup to be defeated by the Vancouver Giants in the final round.
Held at the close of each hockey season, the Memorial Cup pulls league champions from the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to battle it out in a round robin format. The prize, the Memorial Cup, honours our fallen war heroes.
The Memorial Cup has been won 17 times by the WHL since its inception. Its most recent capture of the Cup was by the Vancouver Giants in 2007.
