2006–07 WHL season
The 2006–07 WHL season was the 41st season for the Western Hockey League. Twenty-one teams completed a 72-game season. The Everett Silvertips won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, after having the best record in the WHL during the regular season. The Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, defeating the Vancouver Giants in seven games. The Giants captured the 2007 Memorial Cup as tournament hosts, defeating the Tigers in the championship game.
League notes
- The Chilliwack Bruins joined the WHL as an expansion team, playing in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference.
- The Kootenay Ice returned to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
- The Swift Current Broncos moved to the East Division of the Eastern Conference.
- On October 23, three players with the Moose Jaw Warriors were struck by a suspected drunk driver while returning home following a road trip. Two players were treated and released from a Moose Jaw hospital, however Garrett Robinson was critically injured in the accident.
- The WHL announced that the championship trophy would be renamed the Ed Chynoweth Cup in honour of Ed Chynoweth, who served as WHL president from 1972 until 1995, and two terms as Chairman of the Board following.
Final standings
Eastern Conference
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 41 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 258 | 214 |
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 36 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 80 | 234 | 220 |
| x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 33 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 69 | 199 | 241 |
| x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 27 | 39 | 3 | 3 | 60 | 203 | 266 |
| Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 28 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 59 | 217 | 271 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 27 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 58 | 174 | 231 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 52 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 107 | 264 | 175 |
| x Kootenay Ice | 72 | 49 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 104 | 267 | 189 |
| x Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 39 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 85 | 251 | 205 |
| x Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 35 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 79 | 206 | 214 |
| Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 33 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 254 | 265 |
Western Conference
| B.C. Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y Vancouver Giants | 72 | 45 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 100 | 245 | 143 |
| x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 40 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 86 | 245 | 222 |
| x Prince George Cougars | 72 | 33 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 74 | 221 | 217 |
| x Chilliwack Bruins | 72 | 25 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 57 | 169 | 260 |
| Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 22 | 41 | 5 | 4 | 53 | 156 | 245 |
| U.S. Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y Everett Silvertips | 72 | 54 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 111 | 239 | 142 |
| x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 47 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 96 | 240 | 190 |
| x Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 37 | 21 | 3 | 11 | 88 | 209 | 186 |
| x Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 36 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 232 | 217 |
| Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 17 | 52 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 146 | 316 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Hamill | Everett Silvertips | 69 | 32 | 61 | 93 | 90 |
| Steve DaSilva | Kootenay Ice | 71 | 38 | 53 | 91 | 108 |
| Zach Boychuk | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 69 | 31 | 60 | 91 | 52 |
| Ryan White | Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 34 | 55 | 89 | 97 |
| Codey Burki | Brandon Wheat Kings | 70 | 36 | 49 | 85 | 83 |
| Martin Hanzal | Red Deer Rebels | 60 | 26 | 59 | 85 | 94 |
| Mitch Fadden | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 71 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 54 |
| Riley Holzapfel | Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 39 | 43 | 82 | 94 |
| Mark Santorelli | Chilliwack Bruins | 72 | 29 | 53 | 82 | 46 |
| Mark Derlago | Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 46 | 35 | 81 | 34 |
Goaltending leaders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | SOL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Sexsmith | Vancouver Giants | 51 | 3047 | 31 | 14 | 8 | 91 | 10 | .915 | 1.79 |
| Leland Irving | Everett Silvertips | 48 | 2802 | 34 | 10 | 2 | 87 | 11 | .929 | 1.86 |
| David Reekie | Regina/Everett | 31 | 1796 | 21 | 9 | 0 | 59 | 3 | .917 | 1.97 |
| Derek Yeomans | Seattle Thunderbirds | 55 | 3304 | 30 | 15 | 9 | 117 | 5 | .917 | 2.12 |
| Taylor Dakers | Kootenay Ice | 48 | 2831 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 102 | 5 | .919 | 2.16 |
2007 WHL Playoffs
Overview
| Conference Quarter-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Finals | WHL Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Red Deer | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Regina | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Swift Current | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Regina | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern | |||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Prince Albert | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Brandon | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Kootenay | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Vancouver | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B4 | Chilliwack | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U3 | Seattle | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| U3 | Seattle | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U2 | Tri-City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| B1 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western | |||||||||||||||||||
| B3 | Prince George | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| U4 | Spokane | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| U1 | Everett | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| B3 | Prince George | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B3 | Prince George | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Kamloops | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
- Note:For the first round, the first place team in each division plays the fourth place team; the second place team faces the third. After the first round, the four remaining teams in each conference are reseeded by regular season record.
Eastern Conference
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Western Conference
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Conference semifinals
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Conference finals
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WHL Championship
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Memorial Cup
The Vancouver Giants hosted the 2007 Memorial Cup tournament, which also featured the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers. The Plymouth Whalers represented the Ontario Hockey League, and the Lewiston Maineiacs represented the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The Tigers earned a spot in the Championship game with a 2–1 round robin record, falling 3–1 to the Maineiacs before defeating the Whalers 4–1, and the Giants 1–0.
The Giants also finished 2–1, defeating Plymouth 4–3 in Overtime and Lewiston 2–1. Their loss to Medicine Hat dropped them into a semi-final game.
The Giants prevailed in the semi-final to meet the Tigers in the Cup Final, and defeated Medicine Hat 3–1 to take the title.
2006 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge
On November 29, the WHL defeated the Russian Selects 5–3 before a crowd of 4,404 at Chilliwack, British Columbia.
On November 30, the WHL defeated the Russian Selects 8–1 before a crowd of 4,136 at Kamloops, British Columbia.
All time, the WHL has an 8–0 lead in the series which began in 2003.
WHL awards
2007 Bantam draft
The 2007 WHL Bantam Draft was the 18th Bantam Draft. It was hosted by the Stampede Park Round-Up Centre on Thursday May 3, 2007, via the internet.
- List of first round picks in the bantam draft.
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