2003–04 WHL season
The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season for the Western Hockey League. Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, while the host Kelowna Rockets won the Memorial Cup.
League notes
- The Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the western Conference.
- The playoff crossover if the 5th-place team in the B.C. Division finished ahead of the 4th-place team in the U.S. division was discontinued. The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs.
- The 2003–04 season became a historic one for the WHL. The Everett Silvertips, the league's newest franchise, broke 10 junior hockey expansion team records, including winning both a division title and conference title in the team's first season. The Silvertips also became the first expansion team in WHL history to win a playoff series against the league's top team in the regular season, defeating the regular-season champions and reigning WHL champions Kelowna Rockets in seven games after falling behind 3–1 in the Western Conference Finals before winning three straight games in overtime, becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference title.
Regular season
Eastern Conference
East Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x Moose Jaw Warriors | 72 | 41 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 91 | 209 | 172 |
x Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 38 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 87 | 215 | 186 |
x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 28 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 68 | 230 | 224 |
x Regina Pats | 72 | 24 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 59 | 155 | 232 |
Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 7 | 52 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 140 | 279 |
Central Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 92 | 277 | 216 |
x Red Deer Rebels | 72 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 85 | 167 | 169 |
x Calgary Hitmen | 72 | 34 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 82 | 220 | 187 |
x Swift Current Broncos | 72 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 79 | 234 | 209 |
Lethbridge Hurricanes | 72 | 27 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 71 | 196 | 203 |
Western Conference
B.C. Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x Kelowna Rockets | 72 | 47 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 98 | 185 | 125 |
x Vancouver Giants | 72 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 81 | 215 | 196 |
x Kamloops Blazers | 72 | 34 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 78 | 192 | 192 |
x Kootenay Ice | 72 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 74 | 183 | 200 |
Prince George Cougars | 72 | 30 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 68 | 214 | 236 |
U.S. Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x Everett Silvertips | 72 | 35 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 157 | 153 |
x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 34 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 77 | 199 | 206 |
x Tri-City Americans | 72 | 31 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 76 | 199 | 206 |
x Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 32 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 75 | 200 | 215 |
Seattle Thunderbirds | 72 | 24 | 31 | 8 | 9 | 65 | 192 | 198 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyler Redenbach | Swift Current Broncos | 71 | 31 | 74 | 105 | 52 |
Jeremy Williams | Swift Current Broncos | 68 | 52 | 49 | 101 | 82 |
Kyle Brodziak | Moose Jaw Warriors | 70 | 39 | 54 | 93 | 58 |
Brad Schell | Spokane Chiefs | 71 | 35 | 57 | 92 | 47 |
Chris St. Jaques | Medicine Hat Tigers | 64 | 33 | 59 | 92 | 80 |
Chad Klassen | Spokane Chiefs | 72 | 35 | 56 | 91 | 67 |
Seth Leonard | Prince Albert Raiders | 72 | 50 | 40 | 90 | 53 |
Eric Fehr | Brandon Wheat Kings | 71 | 40 | 34 | 84 | 129 |
Adam Courchaine | Vancouver Giants | 70 | 39 | 43 | 82 | 34 |
Darren Reid | Medicine Hat Tigers | 67 | 33 | 48 | 81 | 194 |
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
Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kelly Guard | Kelowna Rockets | 62 | 3651 | 44 | 14 | 4 | 95 | 13 | .925 | 1.56 |
Jeff Harvey | Everett Silvertips | 48 | 2684 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 89 | 3 | .925 | 1.99 |
Cam Ward | Red Deer Rebels | 56 | 3338 | 31 | 16 | 8 | 114 | 4 | .926 | 2.05 |
Mike Brodeur | Moose Jaw Warriors | 41 | 2385 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 84 | 4 | .929 | 2.11 |
Mike Wall | Prince George/Everett | 36 | 1716 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 65 | 2 | .920 | 2.27 |
2004 WHL Playoffs
Conference Quarter-finals | Conference Semi-finals | Conference Finals | WHL Championship | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Moose Jaw | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | Regina | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Brandon | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Prince Albert | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Brandon | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern | |||||||||||||||||||
C2 | Red Deer | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
C4 | Swift Current | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Moose Jaw | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
C2 | Red Deer | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
C2 | Red Deer | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
C3 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
C1 | Medicine Hat | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
U1 | Everett | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | Kelowna | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
B4 | Kootenay | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | Kelowna | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
U3 | Tri-City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
B2 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
B3 | Kamloops | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Western | |||||||||||||||||||
B1 | Kelowna | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
U4 | Spokane | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
U1 | Everett | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
B2 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
U2 | Portland | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
U3 | Tri-City | 4 |
Eastern Conference
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Western Conference
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Conference semifinals
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Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conference finals
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WHL Championship
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RE/Max Canada-Russia Challenge
On November 26, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 4–1 in Calgary, Alberta before a crowd of 7,844.
On November 27, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 7–1 in Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,908.
WHL awards
Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Cam Ward, Red Deer Rebels |
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Devan Dubnyk, Kamloops Blazers |
Scholastic team of the Year: Portland Winterhawks |
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Tyler Redenbach, Swift Current Broncos |
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Nigel Dawes, Kootenay Ice |
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dion Phaneuf, Red Deer Rebels |
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Gilbert Brule, Vancouver Giants |
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cam Ward, Red Deer Rebels |
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Kevin Constantine, Everett Silvertips |
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Kelly Kisio, Calgary Hitmen |
Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Kelowna Rockets |
Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Rob Matsuoka |
Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Mark Stiles, Calgary Hitmen |
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy - Braydon Coburn, Portland Winter Hawks |
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Andrew Ladd, Calgary Hitmen |
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Kevin Nastiuk, Medicine Hat Tigers |
All-Star Teams
Eastern Conference | ||||
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First Team | Second Team | |||
Goal | Cam Ward | Red Deer Rebels | Rejean Beauchemin | Prince Albert Raiders |
Defense | Dion Phaneuf | Red Deer Rebels | Derek Meech | Red Deer Rebels |
Mark Ardelan | Prince Albert Raiders | Aaron Rome | Moose Jaw Warriors | |
Forward | Kyle Brodziak | Moose Jaw Warriors | Tomas Fleischmann | Moose Jaw Warriors |
Ryan Getzlaf | Calgary Hitmen | Seth Leonard | Prince Albert Raiders | |
Jeremy Williams | Swift Current Broncos | Tyler Redenbach | Swift Current Broncos | |
Western Conference | ||||
First Team | Second Team | |||
Goal | Kelly Guard | Kelowna Rockets | Jeff Harvey | Everett Silvertips |
Defense | Josh Gorges | Kelowna Rockets | Richie Regehr | Portland Winter Hawks |
Braydon Coburn | Portland Winter Hawks | Shea Weber | Kelowna Rockets | |
Forward | Adam Courchaine | Vancouver Giants | Brandon Dubinsky | Portland Winter Hawks |
Nigel Dawes | Kootenay Ice | Chad Klassen | Spokane Chiefs | |
Ryan Kinasewich | Tri-City Americans | Brad Schell | Spokane Chiefs |
- source: Western Hockey League press release
2004 Bantam Draft
The 2004 WHL Bantam Draft was held at the WHL's head office in Calgary on April 29, 2004.
- List of first round picks in the bantam draft.
# | Player | Nationality | WHL Team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ryan Kerr (D) | ![]() |
Prince George Cougars |
2 | Colton Gillies (C) | ![]() |
Saskatoon Blades |
3 | Thomas Hickey (D) | ![]() |
Seattle Thunderbirds |
4 | Dwight King (C) | ![]() |
Lethbridge Hurricanes |
5 | Brett Leffler (RW) | ![]() |
Regina Pats |
6 | Brandon Sutter (RW) | ![]() |
Red Deer Rebels (via Brandon) |
7 | John Negrin (D) | ![]() |
Kootenay Ice |
8 | Drayson Bowman (C) | ![]() |
Spokane Chiefs |
9 | Joel Broda (C) | ![]() |
Tri-City Americans |
10 | Colton Sceviour (RW) | ![]() |
Portland Winter Hawks |
11 | Keith Aulie (D) | ![]() |
Brandon Wheat Kings (via Kamloops) |
12 | Paul Postma (D) | ![]() |
Swift Current Broncos |
13 | Brett Sonne (C) | ![]() |
Calgary Hitmen (via Everett) |
14 | Tyson Sexsmith (G) | ![]() |
Vancouver Giants |
15 | Eric Doyle (D) | ![]() |
Everett Silvertips (via Calgary) |
16 | Travis Dunstall (LW) | ![]() |
Kamloops Blazers (via Red Deer) |
17 | Justin Palazzo (D) | ![]() |
Prince Albert Raiders |
18 | Travis Ehrhardt (D) | ![]() |
Moose Jaw Warriors |
19 | Jordie Deagle (LW) | ![]() |
Medicine Hat Tigers |
20 | Luke Schenn (D) | ![]() |
Kelowna Rockets |
See also
- 2004 Memorial Cup
- 2004 NHL Entry Draft
- 2003 in sports
- 2004 in sports
References
- whl.ca
- 2005–06 WHL Guide