2001–02 WHL season

2001–02 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	19
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Red Deer Rebels (2)
Season MVP	Dan Hamhuis (Prince George Cougars)
Top scorer	Nathan Barrett (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Duncan Milroy (Ice)
Finals champions	Kootenay Ice (2)
Runners-up	Red Deer Rebels

2001–02 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	55
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Kootenay Ice (WHL) (1st title)
Runners-up	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)

The 2001–02 WHL season was the 36th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The league expanded to nineteen teams with the addition of the Vancouver Giants. The Red Deer Rebels won their second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for posting the best regular season record; the Rebels also returned to the championship series for a second straight here. However, the Kootenay Ice defeated the Rebels to win their second President's Cup and a berth in the 2002 Memorial Cup, where the Ice would win their first Memorial Cup title.

League notes

• The Vancouver Giants joined the WHL as its 19th franchise. This precipitated a new standings format, with the league moving from three divisions to four, divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. The Swift Current Broncos moved from the East to the Central division, and the Kootenay Ice movied from the Central to the new B.C. Division—the old West Division was divided into the B.C. and U.S. Divisions.
• The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, with the caveat that the 5th place team in the B.C. Division could qualify in place of the 4th place team in the U.S. Division if they had a better record.

Regular season

Eastern Conference

East Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	43	23	4	2	92	261	210
x Regina Pats	72	40	20	4	8	92	252	192
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	30	34	6	2	68	226	239
x Saskatoon Blades	72	27	37	5	3	62	216	257
Prince Albert Raiders	72	26	41	2	3	57	234	324

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Red Deer Rebels	72	46	18	7	1	100	264	184
x Swift Current Broncos	72	42	17	6	7	97	274	218
x Calgary Hitmen	72	33	33	5	1	72	271	281
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	33	33	6	0	72	266	247
Medicine Hat Tigers	72	30	36	4	2	66	277	316

Western Conference

B.C. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Kamloops Blazers	72	38	25	5	4	85	263	230
x Kootenay Ice	72	38	27	7	0	83	276	223
x Prince George Cougars	72	34	27	9	2	79	244	215
x Kelowna Rockets	72	31	26	10	5	77	257	232
Vancouver Giants	72	13	49	6	4	36	198	365

U.S. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	36	25	5	6	83	269	243
x Spokane Chiefs	72	33	25	11	3	80	223	206
x Tri-City Americans	72	31	31	10	0	72	260	271
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	21	40	6	5	53	235	313

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Nathan Barrett	Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	45	62	107	100
Joffrey Lupul	Medicine Hat Tigers	72	56	50	106	95
Eric Johansson	Tri-City Americans	69	44	59	103	73
Tyler Beechey	Kootenay/Calgary	70	44	55	99	104
Josef Balej	Portland Winter Hawks	65	51	41	92	52
Jeremy Jackson	Vancouver/Lethbridge	71	38	53	91	91
Mikhail Yakubov	Red Deer Rebels	71	32	57	89	54
Josh Olson	Portland Winter Hawks	72	40	48	88	85
Duncan Milroy	Swift Current/Kootenay	64	45	42	87	44
Justin Kelly	Saskatoon Blades	72	39	47	86	47

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
Cam Ward	Red Deer Rebels	46	2695	30	11	4	102	1	.911	2.27
Josh Harding	Regina Pats	42	3289	27	13	1	95	4	.906	2.39
Shane Bendera	Red Deer/Kelowna	50	3030	24	15	11	125	1	.912	2.47
Barry Brust	Spokane Chiefs	60	3542	28	21	10	152	1	.912	2.57
Billy Thompson	Prince George Cougars	42	2378	20	17	2	108	2	.913	2.72

2002 WHL Playoffs

Conference Quarter-finals

Conference Semi-finals

Conference Finals

WHL Championship

E1

Brandon

4

E4

Saskatoon

3

C1

Red Deer

4

E3

Moose Jaw

2

E2

Regina

2

E3

Moose Jaw

4

E1

Brandon

3

Eastern

C1

Red Deer

4

C1

Red Deer

4

C4

Lethbridge

0

E1

Brandon

4

C2

Swift Current

1

C2

Swift Current

4

C3

Calgary

3

C1

Red Deer

2

B2

Kootenay Ice

4

B1

Kamloops

0

B4

Kelowna

4

B2

Kootenay

4

U4

Seattle

0

B2

Kootenay

4

B3

Prince George

3

B2

Kootenay

4

Western

B4

Kelowna

1

U1

Portland

3

U4

Seattle

4

U2

Spokane

2

B4

Kelowna

4

U2

Spokane

4

U3

Tri-City

1

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Brandon vs. Saskatoon Date Away Home March 23 Brandon 1 2 Saskatoon OT March 24 Brandon 2 0 Saskatoon March 26 Saskatoon 1 3 Brandon March 27 Saskatoon 2 1 Brandon 2OT March 31 Brandon 2 3 Saskatoon OT April 2 Saskatoon 1 4 Brandon April 3 Saskatoon 1 2 Brandon Brandon wins series 4–3	Regina vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home March 22 Moose Jaw 3 2 Regina OT March 23 Moose Jaw 3 5 Regina March 26 Regina 2 1 Moose Jaw March 27 Regina 1 3 Moose Jaw March 29 Moose Jaw 2 1 Regina March 31 Regina 2 5 Moose Jaw Moose Jaw wins series 4–2
Red Deer vs. Lethbridge Date Away Home March 22 Lethbridge 2 4 Red Deer March 23 Lethbridge 3 5 Red Deer March 26 Red Deer 5 2 Lethbridge March 27 Red Deer 3 2 Lethbridge Red Deer wins series 4–0	Swift Current vs. Calgary Date Away Home March 22 Calgary 4 2 Swift Current March 23 Calgary 2 4 Swift Current March 26 Swift Current 5 1 Calgary March 27 Swift Current 1 3 Calgary March 29 Calgary 4 5 Swift Current March 31 Swift Current 2 5 Calgary April 2 Calgary 1 3 Swift Current Swift Current wins series 4–3

Western Conference

Kamloops vs. Kelowna Date Away Home March 22 Kelowna 4 1 Kamloops March 23 Kelowna 3 0 Kamloops March 27 Kamloops 2 4 Kelowna March 28 Kamloops 1 3 Kelowna Kelowna wins series 4–0	Kootenay vs. Prince George Date Away Home March 22 Prince George 4 1 Kootenay March 23 Prince George 3 1 Kootenay March 26 Kootenay 6 0 Prince George March 27 Kootenay 4 2 Prince George March 29 Kootenay 5 3 Prince George April 1 Prince George 6 3 Kootenay April 2 Prince George 1 5 Kootenay Kootenay wins series 4–3
Portland vs. Seattle Date Away Home March 22 Seattle 3 4 Portland March 23 Seattle 6 2 Portland March 26 Portland 2 3 Seattle March 28 Portland 3 2 Seattle March 29 Seattle 1 0 Portland March 30 Portland 4 0 Seattle April 2 Seattle 3 2 Portland Seattle wins series 4–3	Spokane vs. Tri-City Date Away Home March 22 Tri-City 1 4 Spokane March 23 Tri-City 3 7 Spokane March 27 Spokane 2 1 Tri-City March 29 Spokane 2 3 Tri-City OT March 30 Tri-City 1 Spokane 2 OT Spokane wins series 4–1

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Red Deer vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home April 5 Moose Jaw 4 0 Red Deer April 6 Moose Jaw 3 5 Red Deer April 9 Red Deer 2 3 Moose Jaw OT April 10 Red Deer 2 1 Moose Jaw OT April 12 Moose Jaw 0 6 Red Deer April 14 Red Deer 4 2 Moose Jaw Red Deer wins series 4–2	Swift Current vs. Brandon Date Away Home April 5 Brandon 2 3 Swift Current April 6 Brandon 3 2 Swift Current OT April 9 Swift Current 1 4 Brandon April 10 Swift Current 3 4 Brandon OT April 12 Brandon 4 3 Swift Current Brandon wins series 4–1

Western Conference
Kootenay vs Seattle Date Away Home April 5 Seattle 1 3 Kootenay April 6 Seattle 1 7 Kootenay April 9 Kootenay 5 2 Seattle April 11 Kootenay 5 3 Seattle Kootenay wins series 4–0	Spokane vs. Kelowna Date Away Home April 5 Kelowna 2 3 Spokane April 7 Spokane 3 2 Kelowna OT April 8 Spokane 1 2 Kelowna April 10 Kelowna 8 2 Spokane April 11 Kelowna 2 1 Spokane 2OT April 13 Spokane 0 2 Kelowna Kelowna wins series 4–2

Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Red Deer vs. Brandon Date Away Home April 19 Brandon 2 1 Red Deer OT April 20 Brandon 2 4 Red Deer April 23 Red Deer 4 5 Brandon 2OT April 24 Red Deer 2 5 Brandon April 26 Brandon 0 4 Red Deer April 28 Red Deer 3 2 Brandon 2OT April 30 Brandon 2 5 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–3	Kootenay vs. Kelowna Date Away Home April 19 Kelowna 2 3 Kootenay April 20 Kelowna 4 5 Kootenay April 23 Kootenay 1 5 Kelowna April 24 Kootenay 4 2 Kelowna April 26 Kelowna 0 3 Kootenay Kootenay wins series 4–1

WHL Championship

Red Deer vs. Kootenay
Date	Away	Home
May 3	Kootenay 2	1 Red Deer	OT
May 4	Kootenay 1	2 Red Deer
May 7	Red Deer 2	3 Kootenay	OT
May 8	Red Deer 3	2 Kootenay
May 11	Kootenay 4	3 Red Deer
May 13	Red Deer 2	3 Kootenay	2OT
Kootenay wins series 4–2

All-Star games

On January 24, the WHL Eastern All-Stars were defeated by the OHL Western All-Stars 7–2 at Red Deer, Alberta before a crowd of 6,259.

On February 6, the WHL Western All-Stars defeated the QMJHL Dilio All-Stars 9–4 at Rimouski, Quebec before a crowd of 4,762.

WHL awards

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year): Dan Hamhuis, Prince George Cougars

Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year): Tyler Metcalfe, Seattle Thunderbirds

Scholastic Team of the Year: Portland Winterhawks

Bob Clarke Trophy (Top scorer): Nathan Barrett, Lethbridge Hurricanes

Brad Hornung Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player): Ian White, Swift Current Broncos

Bill Hunter Trophy (Top Defenseman): Dan Hamhuis, Prince George Cougars

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Braydon Coburn, Portland Winter Hawks

Del Wilson Trophy (Top Goaltender): Cam Ward, Red Deer Rebels

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Bob Lowes, Regina Pats

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy (Executive of the Year): Brad McEwan, Swift Current Broncos

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (Best regular season record): Red Deer Rebels

Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (Top Official): Kevin Acheson

St. Clair Group Trophy (Marketing/Public Relations Award): Greg McConkey, Red Deer Rebels

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year): Brandin Cote, Spokane Chiefs

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Matt Hubbauer, Regina Pats

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Duncan Milroy, Kootenay Ice

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Cam Ward	Red Deer Rebels	Josh Harding	Regina Pats
Defense	Filip Novak	Regina Pats	Ian White	Swift Current Broncos
	Jay Bouwmeester	Medicine Hat Tigers	Jeff Woywitka	Red Deer Rebels
Forward	Joffrey Lupul	Medicine Hat Tigers	Matt Hubbauer	Regina Pats
	Nathan Barrett	Lethbridge Hurricanes	Mikhail Yakubov	Red Deer Rebels
	Tyler Beechey	Calgary Hitmen	Justin Kelly	Saskatoon Blades
Western Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Barry Brust	Spokane Chiefs	Shane Bendera	Kelowna Rockets
Defense	Dan Hamhuis	Prince George Cougars	Craig Weller	Kootenay Ice
	Kurt Sauer	Spokane Chiefs	Jesse Ferguson	Kelowna Rockets
Forward	Jarret Stoll	Kootenay Ice	Eric Johansson	Tri-City Americans
	Jozef Balej	Portland Winter Hawks	Scottie Upshall	Kamloops Blazers
	Jared Aulin	Kamloops Blazers	Marek Svatos	Kootenay Ice

• source: Western Hockey League press release

See also

• 2002 NHL Entry Draft
• 2001 in sports
• 2002 in sports

References

• 2005–06 WHL Guide