2003–04 WHL season

2003–04 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	20
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Kelowna Rockets (2)
Season MVP	Cam Ward (Red Deer Rebels)
Top scorer	Tyler Redenbach (Swift Current Broncos)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Kevin Nastiuk (Tigers)
Finals champions	Medicine Hat Tigers (4)
Runners-up	Everett Silvertips

2003–04 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	56
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Kelowna Rockets (WHL) (1st title)
Runners-up	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)

The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament.

League notes

• The Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top regular season team, and becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference championship.
• The playoff format was simplified so that the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of cross-overs between divisions.

Regular season

Eastern Conference

East Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	41	22	8	1	91	209	172
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	38	23	6	5	87	215	186
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	28	32	9	3	68	230	224
x Regina Pats	72	24	37	7	4	59	155	232
Saskatoon Blades	72	7	52	11	2	27	140	279

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	40	20	9	3	92	277	216
x Red Deer Rebels	72	35	22	10	5	85	167	169
x Calgary Hitmen	72	34	24	8	6	82	220	187
x Swift Current Broncos	72	36	29	7	0	79	234	209
Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	27	28	10	7	71	196	203

Western Conference

B.C. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Kelowna Rockets	72	47	21	4	0	98	185	125
x Vancouver Giants	72	33	24	9	6	81	215	196
x Kamloops Blazers	72	34	28	8	2	78	192	192
x Kootenay Ice	72	32	30	7	3	74	183	200
Prince George Cougars	72	30	34	7	1	68	214	236

U.S. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Everett Silvertips	72	35	27	8	2	80	157	153
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	34	29	6	3	77	199	206
x Tri-City Americans	72	31	27	10	4	76	199	206
x Spokane Chiefs	72	32	29	4	7	75	200	215
Seattle Thunderbirds	72	24	31	8	9	65	192	198

Map of WHL, 2003–04 to 2005–06

200km
125miles

Wheat Kings

Pats

Warriors

Raiders

Blades

Broncos

Tigers

Hurricanes

Rebels

Hitmen

Ice

Chiefs

Americans

Rockets

Blazers

Silvertips

Thunderbirds

Winterhawks

Cougars

Giants

  

   East Division

   Central Division

   BC Division

   US Division

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tyler Redenbach	Swift Current Broncos	71	31	74	105	52
Jeremy Williams	Swift Current Broncos	68	52	49	101	82
Kyle Brodziak	Moose Jaw Warriors	70	39	54	93	58
Brad Schell	Spokane Chiefs	71	35	57	92	47
Chris St. Jaques	Medicine Hat Tigers	64	33	59	92	80
Chad Klassen	Spokane Chiefs	72	35	56	91	67
Seth Leonard	Prince Albert Raiders	72	50	40	90	53
Eric Fehr	Brandon Wheat Kings	71	40	34	84	129
Adam Courchaine	Vancouver Giants	70	39	43	82	34
Darren Reid	Medicine Hat Tigers	67	33	48	81	194

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
Kelly Guard	Kelowna Rockets	62	3651	44	14	4	95	13	.925	1.56
Jeff Harvey	Everett Silvertips	48	2684	24	15	5	89	3	.925	1.99
Cam Ward	Red Deer Rebels	56	3338	31	16	8	114	4	.926	2.05
Mike Brodeur	Moose Jaw Warriors	41	2385	23	12	5	84	4	.929	2.11
Mike Wall	Prince George/Everett	36	1716	12	13	3	65	2	.920	2.27

2004 WHL Playoffs

Conference Quarter-finals

Conference Semi-finals

Conference Finals

WHL Championship

E1

Moose Jaw

4

E4

Regina

0

C1

Medicine Hat

4

E3

Brandon

1

E2

Prince Albert

2

E3

Brandon

4

C1

Medicine Hat

4

Eastern

C2

Red Deer

2

C1

Medicine Hat

4

C4

Swift Current

1

E1

Moose Jaw

2

C2

Red Deer

4

C2

Red Deer

4

C3

Calgary

3

C1

Medicine Hat

4

U1

Everett

0

B1

Kelowna

4

B4

Kootenay

0

B1

Kelowna

4

U3

Tri-City

2

B2

Vancouver

4

B3

Kamloops

1

U1

Everett

4

Western

B1

Kelowna

3

U1

Everett

4

U4

Spokane

0

U1

Everett

4

B2

Vancouver

2

U2

Portland

1

U3

Tri-City

4

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Moose Jaw vs. Regina Date Away Home March 19 Regina 0 3 Moose Jaw March 20 Regina 2 4 Moose Jaw March 23 Moose Jaw 5 1 Regina March 25 Moose Jaw 4 1 Regina Moose Jaw wins series 4–0	Prince Albert vs. Brandon Date Away Home March 18 Brandon 3 2 Prince Albert OT March 19 Brandon 1 5 Prince Albert March 23 Prince Albert 1 3 Brandon March 24 Prince Albert 2 3 Brandon March 26 Brandon 2 6 Prince Albert March 29 Prince Albert 1 4 Brandon Brandon wins series 4–2
Medicine Hat vs. Swift Current Date Away Home March 19 Swift Current 0 3 Medicine Hat March 20 Swift Current 2 4 Medicine Hat March 23 Medicine Hat 2 4 Swift Current March 24 Medicine Hat 4 2 Swift Current March 26 Swift Current 0 8 Medicine Hat Medicine Hat wins series 4–1	Red Deer vs. Calgary Date Away Home March 19 Calgary 0 4 Red Deer March 20 Calgary 3 4 Red Deer 2OT March 23 Red Deer 0 2 Calgary March 25 Red Deer 4 1 Calgary March 27 Calgary 3 1 Red Deer March 30 Red Deer 0 3 Calgary March 31 Calgary 2 4 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–3

Western Conference

Kelowna vs. Kootenay Date Away Home March 19 Kootenay 3 5 Kelowna March 20 Kootenay 1 4 Kelowna March 23 Kelowna 4 0 Kootenay March 24 Kelowna 3 1 Kootenay Kelowna wins series 4–0	Vancouver vs. Kamloops Date Away Home March 19 Kamloops 2 1 Vancouver March 20 Kamloops 2 4 Vancouver March 23 Vancouver 2 1 Kamloops March 24 Vancouver 5 3 Kamloops March 27 Kamloops 4 5 Vancouver OT Vancouver wins series 4–1
Everett vs. Spokane Date Away Home March 19 Spokane 1 2 Everett OT March 20 Spokane 0 3 Everett March 23 Everett 5 4 Spokane OT March 24 Everett 3 0 Spokane Everett wins series 4–0	Portland vs Tri-City Date Away Home March 19 Tri-City 4 2 Portland March 21 Tri-City 1 2 Portland OT March 23 Portland 1 4 Tri-City March 24 Portland 2 3 Tri-City March 26 Tri-City 3 1 Portland Tri-City wins series 4–1

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon Date Away Home April 2 Brandon 1 5 Medicine Hat April 3 Brandon 2 4 Medicine Hat April 6 Medicine Hat 5 3 Brandon April 7 Medicine Hat 3 9 Brandon April 9 Brandon 1 4 Medicine Hat Medicine Hat wins series 4–1	Moose Jaw vs. Red Deer Date Away Home April 2 Red Deer 4 3 Moose Jaw April 3 Red Deer 3 2 Moose Jaw April 6 Moose Jaw 4 2 Red Deer April 7 Moose Jaw 2 1 Red Deer OT April 9 Red Deer 2 1 Moose Jaw 2OT April 11 Moose Jaw 0 Red Deer 3 Red Deer wins series 4–2

Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Tri-City Date Away Home April 2 Tri-City 3 2 Kelowna OT April 3 Tri-City 4 3 Kelowna OT April 6 Kelowna 4 1 Tri-City April 7 Kelowna 4 3 Tri-City OT April 9 Tri-City 2 7 Kelowna April 11 Kelowna 2 1 Tri-City Kelowna wins series 4–2	Vancouver vs Everett Date Away Home April 2 Everett 1 2 Vancouver April 3 Everett 3 1 Vancouver April 5 Vancouver 3 1 Everett April 8 Vancouver 0 4 Everett April 9 Everett 6 2 Vancouver April 11 Vancouver 2 3 Everett Everett wins series 4–2

Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Medicine Hat vs Red Deer Date Away Home April 16 Red Deer 1 0 Medicine Hat April 17 Red Deer 2 4 Medicine Hat April 20 Medicine Hat 1 3 Red Deer April 21 Medicine Hat 2 1 Red Deer April 23 Red Deer 3 4 Medicine Hat April 25 Medicine Hat 4 2 Red Deer Medicine Hat wins series 4–2	Kelowna vs Everett Date Away Home April 16 Everett 3 2 Kelowna April 17 Everett 1 2 Kelowna April 20 Kelowna 2 1 Everett April 22 Kelowna 4 3 Everett April 24 Everett 1 0 Kelowna OT April 26 Kelowna 1 2 Everett OT April 27 Everett 2 1 Kelowna OT Everett wins series 4–3

WHL Championship

Medicine Hat vs Everett Date Away Home April 30 Everett 1 4 Medicine Hat May 1 Everett 0 3 Medicine Hat May 4 Medicine Hat 3 0 Everett May 5 Medicine Hat 4 2 Everett Medicine Hat wins series 4–0

RE/Max Canada-Russia Challenge

On November 26, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 4–1 in Calgary, Alberta before a crowd of 7,844.

On November 27, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 7–1 in Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,908.

WHL awards

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year): Cam Ward, Red Deer Rebels

Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year): Devan Dubnyk, Kamloops Blazers

Scholastic Team of the Year: Portland Winterhawks

Bob Clarke Trophy (Top scorer): Tyler Redenbach, Swift Current Broncos

Brad Hornung Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player): Nigel Dawes, Kootenay Ice

Bill Hunter Trophy (Top Defenseman): Dion Phaneuf, Red Deer Rebels

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Gilbert Brule, Vancouver Giants

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

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Kevin Constantine, Everett Silvertips

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy (Executive of the Year): Kelly Kisio, Calgary Hitmen

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (Best regular season record): Kelowna Rockets

Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (Top Official): Rob Matsuoka

St. Clair Group Trophy (Marketing/Public Relations Award): Mark Stiles, Calgary Hitmen

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year): Braydon Coburn, Portland Winter Hawks

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Andrew Ladd, Calgary Hitmen

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Kevin Nastiuk, Medicine Hat Tigers

All-Star Teams

Eastern Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Cam Ward	Red Deer Rebels	Rejean Beauchemin	Prince Albert Raiders
Defense	Dion Phaneuf	Red Deer Rebels	Derek Meech	Red Deer Rebels
	Mark Ardelan	Prince Albert Raiders	Aaron Rome	Moose Jaw Warriors
Forward	Kyle Brodziak	Moose Jaw Warriors	Tomas Fleischmann	Moose Jaw Warriors
	Ryan Getzlaf	Calgary Hitmen	Seth Leonard	Prince Albert Raiders
	Jeremy Williams	Swift Current Broncos	Tyler Redenbach	Swift Current Broncos
Western Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Kelly Guard	Kelowna Rockets	Jeff Harvey	Everett Silvertips
Defense	Josh Gorges	Kelowna Rockets	Richie Regehr	Portland Winter Hawks
	Braydon Coburn	Portland Winter Hawks	Shea Weber	Kelowna Rockets
Forward	Adam Courchaine	Vancouver Giants	Brandon Dubinsky	Portland Winter Hawks
	Nigel Dawes	Kootenay Ice	Chad Klassen	Spokane Chiefs
	Ryan Kinasewich	Tri-City Americans	Brad Schell	Spokane Chiefs

• source: Western Hockey League press release

2004 Bantam Draft

The 2004 WHL Bantam Draft was held at the WHL's head office in Calgary on April 29, 2004.

List of first round picks in the bantam draft.

#	Player	Nationality	WHL Team
1	Ryan Kerr (D)	Canada	Prince George Cougars
2	Colton Gillies (C)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades
3	Thomas Hickey (D)	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds
4	Dwight King (C)	United States	Lethbridge Hurricanes
5	Brett Leffler (RW)	Canada	Regina Pats
6	Brandon Sutter (RW)	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (via Brandon)
7	John Negrin (D)	Canada	Kootenay Ice
8	Drayson Bowman (C)	United States	Spokane Chiefs
9	Joel Broda (C)	Canada	Tri-City Americans
10	Colton Sceviour (RW)	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks
11	Keith Aulie (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (via Kamloops)
12	Paul Postma (D)	Canada	Swift Current Broncos
13	Brett Sonne (C)	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (via Everett)
14	Tyson Sexsmith (G)	Canada	Vancouver Giants
15	Eric Doyle (D)	Canada	Everett Silvertips (via Calgary)
16	Travis Dunstall (LW)	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (via Red Deer)
17	Justin Palazzo (D)	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders
18	Travis Ehrhardt (D)	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors
19	Jordie Deagle (LW)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers
20	Luke Schenn (D)	Canada	Kelowna Rockets

See also

• 2004 NHL Entry Draft
• 2003 in sports
• 2004 in sports

References

• 2005–06 WHL Guide