1998–99 WHL season

The 1998–99 WHL season was the 33rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The season featured eighteen teams and a 72-game season. The Calgary Hitmen won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best regular season record and the President's Cup as playoff champions, both for the first time in team history. They thus earned a berth in the 1999 Memorial Cup tournament, where they lost the final to the Ottawa 67's.

1998–99 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	18
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Calgary Hitmen (1)
Season MVP	Cody Rudkowsky (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Top scorer	Pavel Brendl (Calgary Hitmen)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Brad Moran (Hitmen)
Finals champions	Calgary Hitmen (1)
Runners-up	Kamloops Blazers

1998–99 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	53
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Ottawa 67's (OHL) (2nd title)
Runners-up	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

Prior to the season, the Edmonton Ice relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia and became the Kootenay Ice.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	45	22	5	95	288	213
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	39	29	4	82	293	267
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	39	31	2	80	292	262
x Swift Current Broncos	72	34	32	6	74	232	211
Regina Pats	72	24	43	5	53	238	312
Saskatoon Blades	72	16	49	7	39	184	291

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Calgary Hitmen	72	51	13	8	110	319	187
x Red Deer Rebels	72	34	33	5	73	274	250
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	31	32	9	71	224	215
x Kootenay Ice	72	30	35	7	67	245	276
Medicine Hat Tigers	72	15	56	1	31	185	323

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Kamloops Blazers	72	48	11	13	109	298	195
x Tri-City Americans	72	43	23	6	92	311	219
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	37	24	11	85	279	236
x Prince George Cougars	72	34	32	6	74	255	264
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	23	36	13	59	215	278
x Kelowna Rockets	72	25	42	5	55	241	282
Spokane Chiefs	72	19	44	9	47	193	268

Map of WHL, 1998–97 to 2000–01

200km
125miles

Wheat Kings

Pats

Warriors

Raiders

Blades

Broncos

Tigers

Hurricanes

Rebels

Hitmen

Ice

Chiefs

Americans

Rockets

Blazers

Thunderbirds

Winterhawks

Cougars

  

   East Division

   Central Division

   West Division

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Pavel Brendl	Calgary Hitmen	68	73	61	134	40
Brad Moran	Calgary Hitmen	71	60	58	118	96
Dylan Gyori	Tri-City Americans	69	53	65	118	112
Chad Hinz	Moose Jaw Warriors	71	42	75	117	40
Scott Gomez	Tri-City Americans	58	30	78	108	55
Shawn McNeil	Red Deer Rebels	72	44	59	103	87
Brett McLean	Kelowna/Brandon	65	47	54	101	66
Bret DeCecco	Seattle Thunderbirds	72	57	43	100	81
Ryan Robson	Brandon Wheat Kings	72	33	61	94	35
Oleg Saprykin	Seattle Thunderbirds	66	47	46	93	107

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
Kenric Exner	Kamloops Blazers	51	2967	34	6	8	114	5	.912	2.31
Bryce Wandler	Swift Current Broncos	51	2885	23	20	4	123	3	.905	2.56
Alexander Fomichev	Calgary Hitmen	57	3321	39	10	7	142	4	.901	2.57
Evan Lindsay	Prince Albert Raiders	56	3336	34	16	5	158	1	.905	2.84
Cody Rudkowsky	Seattle Thunderbirds	64	3670	34	17	10	177	7	.920	2.89

1999 WHL Playoffs

• Top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (East and Central divisions) qualified for playoffs
• Top six teams in the Western Conference (division) qualified for the playoffs

First round

Division Semi-Finals

Division Finals

WHL Championship

C1

Calgary

4

C4

Kootenay

3

C1

Calgary

4

C2

Red Deer

0

E2

Brandon

1

C2

Red Deer

4

C1

Calgary

4

E1

Prince Albert

1

E1

Prince Albert

4

C3

Lethbridge

0

E1

Prince Albert

4

E3

Moose Jaw

1

E3

Moose Jaw

4

E4

Swift Current

2

C1

Calgary

4

W1

Kamloops

1

W1

Kamloops

4

W6

Kelowna

2

W1

Kamloops

bye

W1

Kamloops

4

W2

Tri-City

0

W2

Tri-City

4

W5

Portland

0

W2

Tri-City

3

W3

Seattle

1

W3

Seattle

4

W4

Prince George

3

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Calgary vs. Kootenay Date Away Home March 24 Kootenay 5 7 Calgary March 26 Calgary 3 6 Kootenay March 27 Calgary 4 5 Kootenay OT March 29 Kootenay 2 5 Calgary March 31 Kootenay 2 3 Calgary April 1 Calgary 3 4 Kootenay April 2 Kootenay 3 8 Calgary Calgary wins series 4–3	Prince Albert vs. Lethbridge Date Away Home March 24 Lethbridge 1 7 Prince Albert March 26 Lethbridge 2 3 Prince Albert March 27 Prince Albert 11 2 Lethbridge March 29 Prince Albert 4 1 Lethbridge Prince Albert wins series 4–0
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current Date Away Home March 25 Swift Current 2 3 Moose Jaw March 26 Swift Current 2 4 Moose Jaw March 28 Moose Jaw 3 4 Swift Current OT March 30 Moose Jaw 5 3 Swift Current March 31 Swift Current 2 0 Moose Jaw April 2 Moose Jaw 3 2 Swift Current Moose Jaw wins series 4–2	Red Deer vs. Brandon Date Away Home March 24 Red Deer 5 2 Brandon March 25 Red Deer 5 1 Brandon March 27 Brandon 5 9 Red Deer March 28 Brandon 4 3 Red Deer March 30 Red Deer 7 3 Brandon Red Deer wins series 4–1

Western Conference

Kamloops vs. Kelowna Date Away Home March 25 Kelowna 0 2 Kamloops March 36 Kelowna 1 3 Kamloops March 30 Kamloops 1 3 Kelowna April 1 Kamloops 3 1 Kelowna April 3 Kelowna 4 3 Kamloops April 4 Kamloops 3 2 Kelowna Kamloops wins series 4–2	Tri-City vs. Portland Date Away Home March 26 Portland 3 4 Tri-City OT March 27 Portland 2 6 Tri-City March 31 Tri-City 3 2 Portland OT April 2 Tri-City 6 2 Portland Tri-City wins series 4–0
Seattle vs. Prince George Date Away Home March 27 Prince George 2 5 Seattle March 28 Prince George 1 3 Seattle March 30 Seattle 4 5 Prince George March 31 Seattle 3 2 Prince George April 3 Prince George 3 1 Seattle April 5 Seattle 1 4 Prince George April 7 Prince George 0 6 Seattle Seattle wins series 4–3

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Calgary vs. Red Deer Date Away Home April 5 Red Deer 3 6 Calgary April 6 Calgary 4 3 Red Deer OT April 8 Red Deer 2 4 Calgary April 9 Calgary 3 1 Red Deer Calgary wins series 4–0	Prince Albert vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home April 5 Moose Jaw 1 5 Prince Albert April 6 Moose Jaw 2 5 Prince Albert April 8 Prince Albert 6 0 Moose Jaw April 9 Prince Albert 3 4 Moose Jaw April 11 Moose Jaw 3 8 Prince Albert Prince Albert wins series 4–1

Western Conference
Tri-City vs. Seattle Date Away Home April 9 Seattle 4 3 Tri-City April 10 Seattle 0 6 Tri-City April 12 Tri-City 4 0 Seattle April 13 Tri-City 4 2 Seattle Tri-City wins series 3–1	Kamloops earns bye

Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Calgary vs. Prince Albert Date Away Home April 16 Prince Albert 3 7 Calgary April 18 Prince Albert 4 5 Calgary OT April 20 Calgary 5 6 Prince Albert April 22 Calgary 7 1 Prince Albert April 24 Prince Albert 2 6 Calgary Calgary wins series 4–1	Kamloops vs. Tri-City Date Away Home April 17 Tri-City 3 4 Kamloops April 18 Tri-City 0 6 Kamloops April 21 Kamloops 3 2 Tri-City OT April 22 Kamloops 4 3 Tri-City Kamloops wins series 4–0

WHL Championship

Calgary vs. Kamloops
Date	Away	Home
April 30	Kamloops 4	2 Calgary
May 2	Kamloops 0	4 Calgary
May 4	Calgary 4	2 Kamloops
May 5	Calgary 4	3 Kamloops	2OT
May 7	Kamloops 2	5 Calgary
Calgary wins series 4–1

All-Star game

On January 20, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 11–9 at Lethbridge, Alberta before a crowd of 5,071.

WHL awards

Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds

Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Chris Nielson, Calgary Hitmen

Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen

Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Matt Kinch, Calgary Hitmen

Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Brad Stuart, Calgary Hitmen

Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen

Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Cody Rudkowsky, Seattle Thunderbirds

Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans

Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Don Hay, Tri-City Americans

Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Calgary Hitmen

Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Kelly Sutherland

Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Scott Clark, Regina Pats

WHL Humanitarian of the Year: Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Pavel Brendl, Calgary Hitmen

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Brad Moran, Calgary Hitmen

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Alexander Fomichev	Calgary Hitmen	Evan Lindsay	Prince Albert Raiders
Defense	Brad Stuart	Calgary Hitmen	Kurt Drummond	Swift Current Broncos
	Matt Kinch	Calgary Hitmen	Burke Henry	Brandon Wheat Kings
Forward	Pavel Brendl	Calgary Hitmen	Brad Leeb	Red Deer Rebels
	Brad Moran	Calgary Hitmen	Jamie Lundmark	Moose Jaw Warriors
	Chad Hinz	Moose Jaw Warriors	Brett Lysak	Regina Pats
Western Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Cody Rudkowsky	Seattle Thunderbirds	Kenric Exner	Kamloops Blazers
Defense	Robyn Regehr	Kamloops Blazers	Andrew Ference	Portland Winter Hawks
	Scott Hannan	Kelowna Rockets	Garry Toor	Prince George Cougars
Forward	Scott Gomez	Tri-City Americans	Ajay Baines	Kamloops Blazers
	Dylan Gyori	Tri-City Americans	Bret DeCecco	Seattle Thunderbirds
	Brenden Morrow	Portland Winter Hawks	Oleg Saprykin	Seattle Thunderbirds

See also

• 1999 NHL Entry Draft
• 1998 in sports
• 1999 in sports

References

• 2005–06 WHL Guide