| 1981–82 WHL season | |
| League: | Western Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Finals Champ: | Portland Winter Hawks (1) |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Regina Pats |
| No Of Teams: | 12 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Lethbridge Broncos (1) |
| Mvp Link: | Four Broncos Memorial Trophy |
| Mvp: | Mike Vernon (Calgary Wranglers) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Bob Clarke Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Jock Callander (Regina Pats) |
| Seasonslistnames: | WHL |
| Prevseason Year: | 1980–81 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1982–83 |
| 1981–82 CHL season | |
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| League: | Canadian Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| No Of Teams: | 35 |
| Season: | OHL |
| Season2: | QMJHL |
| Season3: | WHL |
| Playoffs: | Memorial Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| Num Championships: | 1 |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
The 1981–82 WHL season was the 16th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring twelve teams completing a 72-game regular season. The Lethbridge Broncos won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best record during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Portland Winter Hawks became the first American-based club to win the President's Cup championship when they defeated the Regina Pats in the championship series. This also made the Winter Hawks the first American team to compete for the Memorial Cup at the 1982 tournament.[1]
The season was the first for the Kamloops Junior Oilers, after the New Westminster Bruins relocated to Kamloops prior to the season. The season also marked the end of the Spokane Flyers organization, as it ceased operations on December 2, 1981, after playing only 26 games. As such, although the season began with thirteen teams, only twelve completed the season.
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 50 | 22 | 0 | 100 | 421 | 280 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 48 | 24 | 0 | 96 | 465 | 368 |
| x Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 44 | 26 | 2 | 90 | 450 | 343 |
| x Calgary Wranglers | 72 | 41 | 29 | 2 | 84 | 334 | 266 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 34 | 38 | 0 | 68 | 372 | 413 |
| x Billings Bighorns | 72 | 27 | 44 | 1 | 55 | 369 | 432 |
| Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 25 | 46 | 1 | 51 | 308 | 446 |
| Winnipeg Warriors | 72 | 23 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 285 | 388 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 46 | 24 | 2 | 94 | 380 | 323 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 43 | 28 | 1 | 87 | 398 | 314 |
| x Seattle Breakers | 72 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 74 | 339 | 310 |
| x Kamloops Junior Oilers | 72 | 18 | 53 | 1 | 37 | 320 | 464 |
| Spokane Flyers1 | 26 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 102 | 196 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 79 | 111 | 190 | 59 | |||
| 72 | 62 | 111 | 173 | 128 | |||
| 66 | 42 | 125 | 167 | 120 | |||
| 71 | 93 | 66 | 159 | 142 | |||
| 72 | 58 | 99 | 157 | 181 | |||
| 55 | 64 | 87 | 151 | 74 | |||
| 71 | 62 | 80 | 142 | 92 | |||
| Kelly Glowa | 72 | 59 | 78 | 137 | 87 | ||
| 69 | 56 | 76 | 132 | 193 | |||
| 68 | 56 | 68 | 124 | 68 | |||
| Mike Moller | Lethbridge Broncos | 49 | 41 | 81 | 122 | 38 |
On January 19, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 4–2 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, before a crowd of 3,500.
| Most Valuable Player | |
| Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Jock Callander, Regina Pats | |
| Most Sportsmanlike Player | |
| Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Gary Nylund, Portland Winter Hawks | |
| Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Dale Derkatch, Regina Pats | |
| Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Mike Vernon, Calgary Wranglers | |
| Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Jack Sangster, Seattle Breakers | |
| Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Lethbridge Broncos |
| First Team | Second Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Dave Ross | Seattle Breakers | |||
| Defense | Billings Bighorns | ||||
| Lethbridge Broncos | |||||
| Center | Bruce Eakin (tied) | Saskatoon Blades | |||
| Ken Yaremchuk (tied) | - | - | |||
| Left Wing | Victoria Cougars | ||||
| Right Wing | Regina Pats | ||||