2015–16 WHL season explained

2015–16 WHL season
Color:	E03A3E
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	Western Hockey League
Sport:	Ice hockey
Duration:	Regular season September 24, 2015 – March 22, 2016 Playoffs March 24, 2016 – May 13, 2016
Playoffs:	Playoffs
Playoffs Mvp Link:	WHL Playoff MVP
Playoffs Mvp:	Nolan Patrick (Wheat Kings)
Finals Champ:	Brandon Wheat Kings (3)
Finals Runner-Up:	Seattle Thunderbirds
No Of Teams:	22
Tv:	Shaw TV, Rogers Sportsnet, Root Sports Northwest
Season:	Regular season
Season Champ Name:	Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy
Season Champs:	Victoria Royals (1)
Mvp Link:	Four Broncos Memorial Trophy
Mvp:	Dryden Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Top Scorer Link:	Bob Clarke Trophy
Top Scorer:	Adam Brooks (Regina Pats)
Seasonslistnames:	WHL
Prevseason Year:	2014–15
Nextseason Year:	2016–17

2015–16 CHL season
Color:	4B489D
Color Text:	FFF
League:	Canadian Hockey League
Sport:	Ice hockey
Duration:	OHL September 2015 – March 2016 QMJHL September 2015 – March 2016 WHL September 2015 – March 2016
No Of Teams:	60
Tv:	RDS, Rogers Sportsnet, Rogers TV, Shaw TV
Playoffs:	Memorial Cup
Finals Champ:	London Knights (OHL)
Num Championships:	2
Finals Runner-Up:	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)

The 2015–16 WHL season was the 50th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 24, 2015, and ended with the Eastern Conference tiebreaker game on March 22, 2016. The Victoria Royals won their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for best regular season record, becoming the first team based in Victoria to win the title since the 1980–81 Victoria Cougars.^[1] The playoffs began on March 24, 2016, and ended on May 13, 2016. The Brandon Wheat Kings won their third Ed Chynoweth Cup—their first since 1995–96—and a berth in the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, which was held at the ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta from May 19 to 29, 2016. The Red Deer Rebels qualified for the tournament as hosts.

Standings

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1	Brandon Wheat Kings xy	72	48	18	4	2	319	197	102
2	Prince Albert Raiders x	72	38	26	7	1	222	223	84
3	Moose Jaw Warriors x	72	36	27	7	2	249	239	81

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1	Lethbridge Hurricanes xy	72	46	24	1	1	304	218	94
2	Red Deer Rebels x	72	45	24	1	2	260	205	93
3	Calgary Hitmen x	72	42	26	2	2	246	219	88

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(Top 2 qualify for playoffs)
	Regina Pats x	EA	72	36	28	3	5	243	253	80
	Edmonton Oil Kings x	CE	72	29	36	6	1	197	238	65
		CE	72	30	37	3	2	223	287	65
		EA	72	24	38	7	3	189	249	58
		EA	72	26	42	4	0	219	318	56
		CE	72	12	53	6	1	155	320	31

Divisions: EA – East, CE – Central

x – Clinched Playoff spot, y – Clinched Division, z - Clinched regular season title

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1	Victoria Royals xyz	72	50	16	3	3	281	166	106
2	Kelowna Rockets x	72	48	20	4	0	269	218	100
3	Kamloops Blazers x	72	38	25	5	4	237	218	85

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1	Seattle Thunderbirds xy	72	45	23	4	0	228	186	94
2	Everett Silvertips x	72	38	26	5	3	182	172	84
3	Portland Winterhawks x	72	34	31	6	1	228	227	75

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(Top 2 qualify for playoffs)
1	Prince George Cougars x	B.C.	72	36	31	3	2	240	225	77
2	Spokane Chiefs x	U.S.	72	33	30	5	4	223	245	75
3		U.S.	72	35	34	2	1	236	253	73
4		B.C.	72	23	40	5	4	199	273	55

bold – Clinched Playoff spot, y – Clinched Division, z - Clinched regular season title

Divisions: B.C. – B.C., US – U.S.

Eastern Conference Tiebreaker

Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Edmonton Oil Kings

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

Players are listed by points, then goals.^[2]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
align=left	Adam Brooks	align=left	Regina Pats	72	38	82	120	30
align=left	Dryden Hunt	align=left	Moose Jaw Warriors	72	58	58	116	48
align=left	Brayden Burke	align=left	Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	27	82	109	44
align=left	Jayce Hawryluk	align=left	Brandon Wheat Kings	58	47	59	106	101
align=left	Nolan Patrick	align=left	Brandon Wheat Kings	72	41	61	102	41
align=left	Parker Bowles	align=left	Tri-City Americans	72	39	57	96	63
align=left	Tyson Baillie	align=left	Kelowna Rockets	70	43	52	95	66
align=left	Reid Gardiner	align=left	Prince Albert Raiders	71	43	49	92	46
align=left	Alex Forsberg	align=left	Victoria Royals	71	31	60	91	64
align=left	Tyler Wong	align=left	Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	43	46	89	42

Goaltenders

These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that have played at least 1380 minutes.^[3]

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	OTL	SOL	SO	GAA	Sv%
align=left	Griffen Outhouse	align=left	Victoria Royals	27	1487	18	3	3	1	4	1.82	.937
align=left	Carter Hart	align=left	Everett Silvertips	63	3693	35	23	1	3	6	2.14	.918
align=left	Coleman Vollrath	align=left	Victoria Royals	51	2854	32	13	0	2	1	2.40	.912
align=left	Landon Bow	align=left	Swift Current/Seattle	53	2886	25	20	4	0	7	2.49	.923
align=left	Jackson Whistle	align=left	Kelowna Rockets	27	1559	19	6	2	0	2	2.54	.920

Conference Quarter-finals

Eastern Conference

(C2) Red Deer Rebels vs (C3) Calgary Hitmen

Western Conference

(U2) Everett Silvertips vs. (U3) Portland Winterhawks

Conference Semi-finals

Eastern Conference

(C2) Red Deer Rebels vs (W1) Regina Pats

Western Conference

(U1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs (U2) Everett Silvertips

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

(E1) Brandon Wheat Kings vs. (C2) Red Deer Rebels

Western Conference

(B2) Kelowna Rockets vs. (U1) Seattle Thunderbirds

WHL Championship

(E1) Brandon Wheat Kings vs. (U1) Seattle Thunderbirds

Playoff scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Nolan Patrick		21	13	17	30	16
Jayce Hawryluk		21	7	22	29	39
John Quenneville		21	16	11	27	8
Tim McGauley		21	8	18	26	8
Mathew Barzal		18	5	21	26	16
Reid Duke		21	8	16	24	24
Adam Brooks		12	7	16	23	6
Ethan Bear		18	8	14	22	8
Adam Helewka		17	9	9	18	18
Jake DeBrusk		17	8	9	17	20

Playoff leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
		4	185	3	0	4	1	.953	1.30
		2	102	0	1	3	0	.940	1.76
		18	1131	13	5	37	2	.927	1.96
		7	424	3	4	15	1	.938	2.12
		6	352	2	4	14	1	.929	2.39

WHL awards

Ed Chynoweth Cup	WHL Champions	Brandon Wheat Kings
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Regular season champions	Victoria Royals
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy	Player of the Year	Dryden Hunt	Moose Jaw Warriors
Bob Clarke Trophy	Top Scorer	Adam Brooks	Regina Pats
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy	Top Defenceman	Ivan Provorov	Brandon Wheat Kings
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy	Rookie of the year	Matthew Phillips	Victoria Royals
Del Wilson Trophy	Top Goaltender	Carter Hart	Everett Silvertips
WHL Plus-Minus Award	Top Plus-Minus Rating	Ivan Provorov	Brandon Wheat Kings
Brad Hornung Trophy	Most Sportsmanlike Player	Tyler Soy	Victoria Royals
Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy	Scholastic Player of the Year	Tanner Kaspick	Brandon Wheat Kings
Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy	Scholastic team of the Year	Spokane Chiefs
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy	Coach of the Year	Dave Lowry	Victoria Royals
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy	Executive of the Year	Peter Anholt	Lethbridge Hurricanes
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy	Top Official	Chris Schlenker
St. Clair Group Trophy	Marketing/Public Relations Award	Victoria Royals
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy	Humanitarian of the Year	Tyler Wong	Lethbridge Hurricanes
WHL Playoff MVP	WHL Finals Most Valuable Player	Nolan Patrick	Brandon Wheat Kings
Professional Hockey Achievement Academic Recipient	Alumni Achievement Awards		TBD

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference

First Team^[4]		Pos.	Second Team
Player	Team		Player	Team
Zach Sawchenko	Moose Jaw Warriors	G	Rylan Parenteau	Prince Albert Raiders
Ivan Provorov	Brandon Wheat Kings	D	Jake Bean	Calgary Hitmen
Andrew Nielsen	Lethbridge Hurricanes	D	Travis Sanheim	Calgary Hitmen
Dryden Hunt	Moose Jaw Warriors	F	Brayden Burke	Lethbridge Hurricanes
Brayden Point	Moose Jaw Warriors	F	Nolan Patrick	Brandon Wheat Kings
Adam Brooks	Regina Pats	F	Jayce Hawryluk	Brandon Wheat Kings

• - unanimous selection

Western Conference

First Team		Pos.	Second Team
Player	Team		Player	Team
Carter Hart	Everett Silvertips	G	Connor Ingram	Kamloops Blazers
Joe Hicketts	Victoria Royals	D	Noah Juulsen	Everett Silvertips
Ethan Bear	Seattle Thunderbirds	D	Jason Fram	Spokane Chiefs
Tyson Baillie	Kelowna Rockets	F	Tyler Soy	Victoria Royals
Mathew Barzal	Seattle Thunderbirds	F	Chase Witala	Prince George Cougars
Parker Bowles	Tri-City Americans	F	Collin Shirley	Kamloops Blazers

• - unanimous selection

See also

• 2016 Memorial Cup
• List of WHL seasons
• 2015–16 OHL season
• 2015–16 QMJHL season
• 2015 in ice hockey
• 2016 in ice hockey

Notes and References

1. News: Dheensaw . Cleve . 2016-03-17 . One goal down, few more to go for Victoria Royals . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240515023411/https://www.timescolonist.com/sports/one-goal-down-few-more-to-go-for-victoria-royals-4634332 . 2024-05-15 . 2024-05-15 . The Times-Colonist.
2. Web site: WHL Regular season: Scoring leaders . October 18, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141011075443/http://www.whl.ca/stats/show/type/top_scorers/ls_season/last . October 11, 2014 . dead .
3. http://www.whl.ca/stats/show/top_goalies/last/0 WHL Regular season: Goaltending leaders
4. http://new.whl.ca/article/whl-announces-2015-16-all-star-teams WHL Announces 2015-16 All-Star Teams