Timeline of WHL history

This is a timeline of events throughout the history of the Western Hockey League (WHL), which dates back to its founding in 1966.

The league was founded by a group of team owners and managers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including Bill Hunter, Scotty Munro, Del Wilson, and Jim Piggott, who thought a larger western league would help western teams compete for the Memorial Cup against teams from the larger associations in Ontario and Quebec.

[1] Since the league's founding, it has expanded to include 22 teams across the four Western Canadian provinces along with the Northwest United States, and it has produced 19 Memorial Cup championship teams.

Ironically, the earliest years of the league were marked by disputes with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the national governing body for junior hockey, which led to teams in the fledgling league being barred from competing for the Memorial Cup for most years prior to 1971.

At the outset of the 1970s, those disputes were resolved and junior hockey was reorganized, with the western league recognized as a top tier major junior league.

The Spokane Chiefs hosted the Kootenay Ice in the WHL's first outdoor game in January 2011.
Bobby Clarke 's Flin Flon Bombers jersey, c. 1967, on display.
The Vancouver Giants celebrate their 2007 Memorial Cup victory on home ice.
The Everett Silvertips hosting the Portland Winterhawks in 2023.