1998–99 WHL season explained

1998–99 WHL season
League:Western Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Playoffs:Playoffs
Playoffs Mvp Link:WHL Playoff MVP
Playoffs Mvp:Brad Moran (Hitmen)
Finals Champ:Calgary Hitmen (1)
Finals Runner-Up:Kamloops Blazers
No Of Teams:18
Season:Regular season
Season Champ Name:Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy
Season Champs:Calgary Hitmen (1)
Mvp Link:Four Broncos Memorial Trophy
Mvp:Cody Rudkowsky (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Top Scorer Link:Bob Clarke Trophy
Top Scorer:Pavel Brendl (Calgary Hitmen)
Seasonslistnames:WHL
Prevseason Year:1997–98
Nextseason Year:1999–2000
1998–99 CHL season
Color:
  1. 4B489D
Color Text:
  1. FFFFFF
League:Canadian Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
No Of Teams:53
Season:OHL
Season2:QMJHL
Season3:WHL
Playoffs:Memorial Cup
Finals Champ:Ottawa 67's (OHL)
Num Championships:2
Finals Runner-Up:Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

The 1998–99 WHL season was the 33rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The season featured eighteen teams and a 72-game season. The Calgary Hitmen won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best regular season record and the President's Cup as playoff champions, both for the first time in team history. They thus earned a berth in the 1999 Memorial Cup tournament, where they lost the final to the Ottawa 67's.

Prior to the season, the Edmonton Ice relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia and became the Kootenay Ice.

Regular season

Final standings

East DivisionGPWLTPtsGFGA
x Prince Albert Raiders72 45 22 5 95 288 213
x Brandon Wheat Kings 72 39 29 4 82 293 267
x Moose Jaw Warriors 72 39 31 2 80 292 262
x Swift Current Broncos 72 34 32 6 74 232 211
Regina Pats 72 24 43 5 53 238 312
Saskatoon Blades 72 16 49 7 39 184 291
Central DivisionGPWLTPtsGFGA
x Calgary Hitmen72 51 13 8 110 319 187
x Red Deer Rebels72 34 33 5 73 274 250
x Lethbridge Hurricanes 72 31 32 9 71 224 215
x Kootenay Ice72 30 35 7 67 245 276
Medicine Hat Tigers72 15 56 1 31 185 323
West DivisionGPWLTPtsGFGA
x Kamloops Blazers 72 48 11 13 109 298 195
x Tri-City Americans 72 43 23 6 92 311 219
x Seattle Thunderbirds 72 37 24 11 85 279 236
x Prince George Cougars 72 34 32 6 74 255 264
x Portland Winter Hawks 72 23 36 13 59 215 278
x Kelowna Rockets 72 25 42 5 55 241 282
Spokane Chiefs 72 19 44 9 47 193 268

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIM
68 73 61 134 40
71 60 58 118 96
69 53 65 118 112
71 42 75 117 40
58 30 78 108 55
Shawn McNeil 72 44 59 103 87
65 47 54 101 66
72 57 43 100 81
72 33 61 94 35
66 47 46 93 107

Goaltending leaders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

PlayerTeamGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
Kenric ExnerKamloops Blazers51 2967 34 6 8 114 5 .912 2.31
Bryce WandlerSwift Current Broncos51 2885 23 20 4 123 3 .905 2.56
Alexander FomichevCalgary Hitmen57 3321 39 10 7 142 4 .901 2.57
Evan LindsayPrince Albert Raiders56 3336 34 16 5 158 1 .905 2.84
Cody RudkowskySeattle Thunderbirds64 3670 34 17 10 177 7 .920 2.89

1999 WHL Playoffs

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Calgary vs. Kootenay
Date Away Home
March 24 Kootenay 5 7 Calgary
March 26 Calgary 3 6 Kootenay
March 27 Calgary 4 5 Kootenay OT
March 29 Kootenay 2 5 Calgary
March 31 Kootenay 2 3 Calgary
April 1 Calgary 3 4 Kootenay
April 2 Kootenay 3 8 Calgary
Calgary wins series 4–3
Prince Albert vs. Lethbridge
Date Away Home
March 24 Lethbridge 1 7 Prince Albert
March 26 Lethbridge 2 3 Prince Albert
March 27 Prince Albert 11 2 Lethbridge
March 29 Prince Albert 4 1 Lethbridge
Prince Albert wins series 4–0
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Date Away Home
March 25 Swift Current 2 3 Moose Jaw
March 26 Swift Current 2 4 Moose Jaw
March 28 Moose Jaw 3 4 Swift Current OT
March 30 Moose Jaw 5 3 Swift Current
March 31 Swift Current 2 0 Moose Jaw
April 2 Moose Jaw 3 2 Swift Current
Moose Jaw wins series 4–2
Red Deer vs. Brandon
Date Away Home
March 24 Red Deer 5 2 Brandon
March 25 Red Deer 5 1 Brandon
March 27 Brandon 5 9 Red Deer
March 28 Brandon 4 3 Red Deer
March 30 Red Deer 7 3 Brandon
Red Deer wins series 4–1

Western Conference

Kamloops vs. Kelowna
Date Away Home
March 25 Kelowna 0 2 Kamloops
March 36 Kelowna 1 3 Kamloops
March 30 Kamloops 1 3 Kelowna
April 1 Kamloops 3 1 Kelowna
April 3 Kelowna 4 3 Kamloops
April 4 Kamloops 3 2 Kelowna
Kamloops wins series 4–2
Tri-City vs. Portland
Date Away Home
March 26 Portland 3 4 Tri-City OT
March 27 Portland 2 6 Tri-City
March 31 Tri-City 3 2 Portland OT
April 2 Tri-City 6 2 Portland
Tri-City wins series 4–0
Seattle vs. Prince George
Date Away Home
March 27 Prince George 2 5 Seattle
March 28 Prince George 1 3 Seattle
March 30 Seattle 4 5 Prince George
March 31 Seattle 3 2 Prince George
April 3 Prince George 3 1 Seattle
April 5 Seattle 1 4 Prince George
April 7 Prince George 0 6 Seattle
Seattle wins series 4–3

WHL Championship

Calgary vs. Kamloops
Date Away Home
April 30 Kamloops 4 2 Calgary
May 2 Kamloops 0 4 Calgary
May 4 Calgary 4 2 Kamloops
May 5 Calgary 4 3 Kamloops 2OT
May 7 Kamloops 2 5 Calgary
Calgary wins series 4–1

All-Star game

On January 20, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 11–9 at Lethbridge, Alberta before a crowd of 5,071.

WHL awards

Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Chris Nielson, Calgary Hitmen
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Matt Kinch, Calgary Hitmen
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Brad Stuart, Calgary Hitmen
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans
Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Calgary Hitmen
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Kelly Sutherland
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Scott Clark, Regina Pats
WHL Humanitarian of the Year

Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks

WHL Plus-Minus Award

Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player

Brad Moran, Calgary Hitmen

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference
First Team Second Team
Goal Prince Albert Raiders
Defense Swift Current Broncos
Brandon Wheat Kings
Forward Red Deer Rebels
Moose Jaw Warriors
Regina Pats
Western Conference
First Team Second Team
Goal Kamloops Blazers
Defense Portland Winter Hawks
Prince George Cougars
Forward Kamloops Blazers
Seattle Thunderbirds
Seattle Thunderbirds

See also

References