The 2022–23 WHL season was the 57th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season started on September 23, 2022, and ended on March 26, 2023, with the 2023 WHL Playoffs beginning on March 31 and ending on May 19. Teams went back to inter-conference games for first time since the 2019–20 season.
The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the regular season-champion Winnipeg Ice 4 games to 1 in the finals to win their second Ed Chynoweth Cup and earn a spot in the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament, which was hosted by the Kamloops Blazers.
Standings Conference standings
Statistical leaders Scoring leaders
Players are listed by points, then goals.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Regina Pats 57 71 72 143 62 Prince George Cougars 68 47 60 107 46 Winnipeg Ice 60 36 62 98 49 Kamloops Blazers 48 34 63 97 17 Prince George Cougars 68 25 72 97 36 Kelowna Rockets 54 39 56 95 50 Winnipeg Ice 62 38 57 95 26 Winnipeg Ice 64 46 46 92 49 Prince George Cougars 68 41 48 89 43 Moose Jaw Warriors 66 40 48 88 24
Leading goaltenders These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that played at least 1,200 minutes.WHL Regular season: Goaltending leaders. Retrieved on October 22, 2022.
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% Seattle Thunderbirds 33 1,964 27 3 1 1 4 2.08 0.928 Seattle Thunderbirds 34 2,011 25 8 0 1 5 2.15 0.918 Saskatoon Blades 37 2,123 25 6 3 0 2 2.20 0.911 Winnipeg Ice 42 2,504 37 4 1 0 2 2.28 0.917 Red Deer Rebels 25 1,480 19 6 0 0 2 2.35 0.910
2023 WHL Playoffs
Conference Quarter-finals Eastern Conference
(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E8) Medicine Hat Tigers
(E2) Red Deer Rebels vs. (E7) Calgary Hitmen
(E3) Saskatoon Blades vs. (E6) Regina Pats
(E4) Moose Jaw Warriors vs. (E5) Lethbridge Hurricanes
Western Conference
(W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W8) Kelowna Rockets
(W2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (W7) Vancouver Giants
(W3) Portland Winterhawks vs. (W6) Everett Silvertips
(W4) Prince George Cougars vs. (W5) Tri-City Americans
Conference Semi-finals Eastern Conference
(E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E4) Moose Jaw Warriors
(E2) Red Deer Rebels vs. (E3) Saskatoon Blades
Western Conference
(W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W4) Prince George Cougars
(W2) Kamloops Blazers vs. (W3) Portland Winterhawks
Conference Finals Eastern Conference (E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (E3) Saskatoon Blades
Western Conference (W1) Seattle Thunderbirds vs. (W2) Kamloops Blazers
WHL Championship (E1) Winnipeg Ice vs. (W1) Seattle Thunderbirds
Playoff scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMLogan Stankoven Kamloops Blazers 141020304Olen Zellweger Kamloops Blazers 1411182910Matthew Savoie Winnipeg Ice 191118298Dylan Guenther Seattle Thunderbirds 1916122812Brad Lambert Seattle Thunderbirds 17620268Ben Zloty Winnipeg Ice 19123242Connor McClennon Winnipeg Ice 191492315Jared Davidson Seattle Thunderbirds 1911122317Jeremy Hanzel Seattle Thunderbirds 195172218Jagger Firkus Moose Jaw Warriors 1010112110
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 Thomas Milic Seattle Thunderbirds 19 1,141 16 3 37 1 0.933 1.95 Kyle Kelsey Red Deer Rebels 11 636 7 3 25 1 0.912 2.36 Dylan Ernst Kamloops Blazers 14 863 10 4 37 3 0.913 2.57 Daniel Hauser Winnipeg Ice 19 1,042 13 5 47 1 0.906 2.71 Connor Ungar Moose Jaw Warriors 10 635 6 4 29 0 0.915 2.74
WHL awards Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy Regular season champions Winnipeg Ice Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Player of the Year Connor Bedard, Regina Pats Bob Clarke Trophy Top Scorer Connor Bedard, Regina Pats Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy Top Defenceman Olen Zellweger, Kamloops Blazers Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy Rookie of the Year Ryder Ritchie, Prince Albert Raiders Del Wilson Trophy Top Goaltender Thomas Milic, Seattle Thunderbirds WHL Plus-Minus Award Top Plus-Minus Rating Jeremy Hanzel, Seattle Thunderbirds Brad Hornung Trophy Most Sportsmanlike Player Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw Warriors Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy Scholastic player of the Year Quinn Mantei, Brandon Wheat Kings Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy Scholastic team of the Year Portland Winterhawks Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy Coach of the Year Brennan Sonne, Saskatoon Blades Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Executive of the Year Bil La Forge, Seattle Thunderbirds Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy Top Official Chris Crich St. Clair Group Trophy Marketing/Public Relations Award Spokane Chiefs Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy Humanitarian of the Year Logan Stankoven, Kamloops Blazers WHL Playoff MVP WHL Finals Most Valuable Player Thomas Millic, Seattle Thunderbirds Professional Hockey AchievementAcademic Recipient Alumni Achievement Awards Mark Recchi
All-Star teams Eastern Conference Central Division First TeamWHL names 2022-23 Central Division First All-Star Team Pos. Second TeamWHL names 2022-23 Central Division Second All-Star Team Player Team Player Team Rhett Stoesser Red Deer Rebels G Harrison Meneghin Lethbridge Hurricanes Owen Pickering Swift Current Broncos D Dru Krebs Medicine Hat Tigers Christoffer Sedoff Red Deer Rebels D Carter Yakemchuk Calgary Hitmen Riley Fiddler-Schultz Calgary Hitmen F Jayden Grubbe Red Deer Rebels Josh Filmon Swift Current Broncos F Mathew Ward Swift Current Broncos Kai Uchacz Red Deer Rebels F Oazis Wiesblatt Medicine Hat Tigers
East Division First TeamWHL Names 2022-23 East Division First All-Star Team Pos. Second TeamWHL Names 2022-23 East Division Second All-Star Team Player Team Player Team Daniel Hauser Winnipeg Ice G Austin Elliott Saskatoon Blades Stanislav Svozil Regina Pats D Aidan De La Gorgendiere Saskatoon Blades Ben Zloty Winnipeg Ice D Landon Kosior Prince Albert Raiders Connor Bedard Regina Pats F Nate Danielson Brandon Wheat Kings Zach Benson Winnipeg Ice F Matthew Savoie Winnipeg Ice Connor McClennon Winnipeg Ice F Trevor Wong Saskatoon Blades
Western Conference B.C. Division First TeamWHL names 2022-23 B.C. Division First All-Star Team Pos. Second TeamWHL names 2022-23 B.C. Division Second All-Star Team Player Team Player Team Jesper Vikman Vancouver Giants G Dylan Ernst Kamloops Blazers Ethan Samson Prince George Cougars D Kyle Masters Kamloops Blazers Olen Zellweger Kamloops Blazers D Hudson Thornton Prince George Cougars Andrew Cristall Kelowna Rockets F Caedan Bankier Kamloops Blazers Logan Stankoven Kamloops Blazers F Riley Heidt Prince George Cougars Chase Wheatcroft Prince George Cougars F Matthew Seminoff Kamloops Blazers
U.S. Division First TeamWHL names 2022-23 U.S. Division First All-Star Team Pos. Second TeamWHL names 2022-23 U.S. Division Second All-Star Team Player Team Player Team Thomas Milic Seattle Thunderbirds G Tomas Suchanek Tri-City Americans Lukas Dragicevic Tri-City Americans D Nolan Allan Seattle Thunderbirds Kevin Korchinski Seattle Thunderbirds D Luca Cagnoni Portland Winterhawks Jackson Berezowski Everett Silvertips F Chase Bertholet Spokane Chiefs Jared Davidson Seattle Thunderbirds F Lucas Ciona Seattle Thunderbirds Gabe Klassen Portland Winterhawks F Austin Roest Everett Silvertips
Attendance
TeamHome averageEdmonton 6,500 Spokane 5,842Everett 5,839Kamloops 4,902Calgary 4,874Portland 4,508Saskatoon 4,506Regina 4,500Seattle 4,342Kelowna 4,304Red Deer 4,163Victoria 3,559Lethbridge 3,525Tri-City 3,510Vancouver 3,462Brandon 3,178Moose Jaw 2,883Prince George 2,755Medicine Hat 2,651Prince Albert 2,392Swift Current 1,837Winnipeg 1,649Total Average 3,895Total 2,913,612total games 748
Playoffs + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendance Saskatoon Blades 10 8,780 87,801Regina Pats 3 6,499 19,497Kamloops Blazers 7 5,173 36,216Red Deer Rebels 6 5,062 30,375Seattle Thunderbirds 10 4,867 48,677Prince George Cougars 5 4,609 23,046Everett Silvertips 2 3,946 7,892Portland Winterhawks 5 3,891 19,455Kelowna Rockets 2 3,456 6,912Medicine Hat Tigers 2 3,239 6,479Calgary Hitmen 2 3,217 6,434Moose Jaw Warriors 5 3,210 16,051Lethbridge Hurricanes 2 2,953 5,906Vancouver Giants 2 2,909 5,818Tri-City Americans 3 2,750 8,251Winnipeg Ice 9 2,536 22,827League754,701352,637
See also List of WHL seasons 2022–23 OHL season 2022–23 QMJHL season
References
External links Official website of the Western Hockey League Official website of the Canadian Hockey League