1985–86 WHL season explained

The 1985–86 WHL season was the 20th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). It featured fourteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Medicine Hat Tigers captured their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record, while the Kamloops Blazers won their second President's Cup as playoff champions.

The season was the first for the Spokane Chiefs, with the Kelowna Wings relocating to Spokane, Washington prior to the season. The Chiefs became the third American-based WHL team. In addition, the Seattle Breakers were renamed the Thunderbirds.

Team changes

• The Kelowna Wings relocated to Spokane, Washington, becoming the Spokane Chiefs.
• The Seattle Breakers are renamed the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	54	17	1	109	384	245
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	52	17	3	107	424	257
x Regina Pats	72	45	26	1	91	384	295
x Saskatoon Blades	72	38	28	6	82	381	360
x Lethbridge Broncos	72	27	42	3	57	314	379
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	25	44	3	53	294	375
Brandon Wheat Kings	72	24	46	2	50	324	438
Calgary Wranglers	72	23	47	2	48	288	378

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Kamloops Blazers	72	49	19	4	102	449	299
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	47	24	1	95	438	348
x Spokane Chiefs	72	30	41	1	61	373	413
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	27	43	2	56	330	406
New Westminster Bruins	72	25	45	2	52	276	373
Victoria Cougars	72	22	49	1	45	346	439

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
		69	58	115	173	171
		70	61	96	157	85
Ken Morrison		72	83	67	150	65
		70	60	86	146	44
		72	73	72	145	45
Rod Matechuk		72	57	78	135	93
		66	59	75	134	69
Mike Nottingham		70	61	70	131	101
		70	58	70	128	34
Dave Waldie		72	68	58	126	63

1986 WHL Playoffs

First round

The East division played a round robin format amongst the top six teams:

• Prince Albert (9–1) advanced
• Medicine Hat (8–2) advanced
• Saskatoon (7–3) advanced
• Moose Jaw (4–6) advanced
• Lethbridge (1–9) eliminated
• Regina (1–9) eliminated

Division semi-finals

• Medicine Hat defeated Moose Jaw 3 games to 0
• Prince Albert defeated Saskatoon 3 games to 0
• Kamloops defeated Seattle 5 games to 0
• Portland defeated Spokane 5 games to 4

Division finals

• Medicine Hat defeated Prince Albert 4 games to 3
• Kamloops defeated Portland 5 games to 1

WHL Championship

• Kamloops defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1

All-Star games

On January 20, the Portland Winter Hawks defeated the West All-Stars 4–3 in Portland, Oregon before a crowd of 3,106. On January 21, the East All-Stars defeated the Prince Albert Raiders 6–3 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan before a crowd of 1,475.

WHL awards

• Note: In some cases, the WHL handed out separate awards for the East and West divisions.

Most Valuable Player East: Emanuel Viveiros, Prince Albert Raiders; West: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Mark Janssens, Regina Pats
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers
Most Sportsmanlike Player East: Randy Smith, Saskatoon Blades; Ken Morrison, Kamloops Blazers
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: East: Emanuel Viveiros, Prince Albert Raiders; West: Glen Wesley, Portland Winter Hawks
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: East: Neil Brady, Medicine Hat Tigers; West: (tie) Ron Shudra, Kamloops Blazers and Dave Waldie, Portland Winter Hawks
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Mark Fitzpatrick, Medicine Hat Tigers
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Terry Simpson, Prince Albert Raiders
Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Medicine Hat Tigers

All-Star Teams

East Division
	First Team		Second Team
Goal				Medicine Hat Tigers
Defense				Regina Pats
	Ken Spangler			Prince Albert Raiders
Center				Saskatoon Blades
Left Wing	Tim Iannone			Saskatoon Blades
Right Wing				Prince Albert Raiders
West Division
	First Team		Second Team
Goal				New Westminster Bruins
Defense				Spokane Chiefs
	Jim Agnew (tied)			Kamloops Blazers
	Greg Hawgood (tied)		-	-
Center				Victoria Cougars
Left Wing	Dave Waldie			Victoria Cougars
Right Wing	Ken Morrison		Terry Perkins	Spokane Chiefs

See also

• 1986 Memorial Cup
• 1986 NHL Entry Draft
• 1985 in sports
• 1986 in sports

References

• 2005–06 WHL Guide