The 1952–53 WHL season was the first season of the Western Hockey League. The Edmonton Flyers were the President's Cup champions as they beat the Saskatoon Quakers four games to two in the final series.
| 1952–53 WHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Saskatoon Quakers |
| President's Cup | |
| Champions | Edmonton Flyers |
| Runners-up | Saskatoon Quakers |
Teams
edit| 1952–53 Western Hockey League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Stampeders | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Corral | 6,475 | ||
| Edmonton Flyers | Edmonton, Alberta | Edmonton Stock Pavilion | 6,000 | ||
| New Westminster Royals | New Westminster, British Columbia | Queen's Park Arena | 3,500 | ||
| Saskatoon Quakers | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Saskatoon Arena | 3,304 | ||
| Seattle Bombers | Seattle, Washington | Civic Ice Arena | 5,000 | ||
| Tacoma Rockets | Tacoma, Washington | Tacoma Ice Palace | 3,816 | ||
| Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver, British Columbia | PNE Forum | 5,050 | ||
| Victoria Cougars | Victoria, British Columbia | Victoria Memorial Arena | 5,000 | ||
Map of teams
edit
Final Standings
edit| R | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saskatoon Quakers | 70 | 35 | 26 | 9 | 268 | 240 | 79 |
| 2 | Vancouver Canucks | 70 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 222 | 216 | 74 |
| 3 | Calgary Stampeders | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 254 | 252 | 74 |
| 4 | Edmonton Flyers | 70 | 31 | 28 | 11 | 263 | 227 | 73 |
| 5 | Seattle Bombers | 70 | 30 | 32 | 8 | 222 | 225 | 68 |
| 6 | New Westminster Royals | 70 | 29 | 33 | 8 | 217 | 254 | 66 |
| 7 | Tacoma Rockets | 70 | 27 | 31 | 12 | 246 | 249 | 66 |
| 8 | Victoria Cougars | 70 | 26 | 36 | 8 | 244 | 273 | 60 |
bold - qualified for playoffs
Playoffs
edit| Round 1 | Round 2 | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Saskatoon Quakers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | New Westminster Royals | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Saskatoon Quakers | - | ||||||||||||
| bye | - | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Saskatoon Quakers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Edmonton Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vancouver Canucks | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle Bombers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vancouver Canucks | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Edmonton Flyers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Calgary Stampeders | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Edmonton Flyers | 3 | ||||||||||||
The Edmonton Flyers win the President's Cup 4 games to 2.[2]
Awards
edit| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| President's Cup | Edmonton Flyers |
| Outstanding Goalkeeper Award | Emile Francis[3] |
| Leading Scorer Award | Dutch Reibel[4] |
| George Leader Cup | Emile Francis[5] |
| Rookie Award | Gerry Foley[6] |