The 1986–87 WHL season was the 21st season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). While the Kamloops Blazers won their second Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions, the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup as playoff champions before going on to win the 1987 Memorial Cup tournament.
The season saw the return of the Swift Current Broncos, with the Lethbridge Broncos relocating prior to the start of the season.
League notes On December 30, 1986, the Swift Current Broncos bus crash caused the deaths of four members of the Broncos: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff. Despite the tragedy, the Broncos opted to continue playing for the remainder of the season. The WHL would later rename its Most Valuable Player award the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in honour of the four players who were killed in the crash. On March 1, 1987, Regina Pats player Brad Hornung was paralyzed during a game by a body check. In 1988, the WHL renamed its Most Sportsmanlike Player award—previously the Frank Boucher Memorial Trophy—the Brad Hornung Trophy in his honor. The incident also led to a rule change, making body checking from behind illegal. Rob Brown established a league record with a 212-point season for the Kamloops Blazers. In a season where the league awarded Most Valuable Player honours to a player from each of the East and West Divisions, Brown shared the MVP title with the Broncos' Joe Sakic.
Team changes The Lethbridge Broncos relocate to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, becoming the Swift Current Broncos.
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Rob Brown Kamloops Blazers 63 76 136 212 101 Craig Endean Regina Pats 72 69 77 146 34 Len Nielsen Regina Pats 72 36 100 136 32 Joe Sakic Swift Current Broncos 72 60 73 133 31 Theoren Fleury Moose Jaw Warriors 66 61 68 129 110 Adam Morrison Victoria Cougars 65 55 70 125 57 Greg Hawgood Kamloops Blazers 61 30 93 123 139 Ron Shudra Kamloops Blazers 71 49 70 119 68 Robin Bawa Kamloops Blazers 62 57 62 113 91 Pat Elynuik Prince Albert Raiders 64 51 62 113 40
1987 WHL Playoffs
First round Medicine Hat earned a bye Saskatoon earned a bye Prince Albert defeated Swift Current 3 games to 1 Moose Jaw defeated Regina 3 games to 0
Division semi-finals Medicine Hat defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 2 Saskatoon defeated Prince Albert 4 games to 0 Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 0 Portland defeated Spokane 5 games to 0
Division finals Medicine Hat defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 3 Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3
WHL Championship Medicine Hat defeated Portland 4 games to 3
All-Star game
On January 20, the East Division defeated the West Division 4–3 at Regina, Saskatchewan with a crowd of 3,652.
WHL awards
Note: For the 1986–87 season, the WHL handed out separate awards for the East and West Divisions.
Most Valuable Player - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: East: Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos; West: Rob Brown, Kamloops BlazersScholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Casey McMilan, Swift Current BroncosTop Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: East: Craig Endean, Regina Pats; West: Rob Brown, Kamloops BlazersWHL Most Sportsmanlike Player: East: Len Nielson, Regina Pats; West: Dave Archibald, Portland Winter HawksTop Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: East: Wayne McBean, Medicine Hat Tigers; West: Glen Wesley, Portland Winter HawksRookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: East: Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos; West: Dennis Holland, Portland Winter HawksTop Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: East: Kenton Rein, Prince Albert Raiders; West: Dean Cook, Kamloops BlazersCoach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: East: Graham James, Swift Current Broncos; West: Ken Hitchcock, Kamloops BlazersRegular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Kamloops BlazersWHL Plus-Minus Award: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers
All-Star teams East Division First Team Second Team Goal Kenton Rein Prince Albert Raiders Mark Reimer Saskatoon BladesDefense Wayne McBean Medicine Hat Tigers unknown Mark Tinordi Calgary Wranglers Dean Kolstad Prince Albert Raiders Center Theoren Fleury Moose Jaw Warriors Joe Sakic Swift Current Broncos Left Wing Mark Pederson Medicine Hat Tigers Craig Endean Regina Pats Right Wing Pat Elynuik Prince Albert Raiders unknownWest Division First Team Second Team Goal Drago Adam New Westminster Bruins Peter Fry Victoria CougarsDefense Greg Hawgood Kamloops Blazers Mike Berger Spokane Chiefs Glen Wesley Portland Winter Hawks Chris Joseph Seattle Thunderbirds Center Rob Brown Kamloops Blazers Glen Goodall Seattle Thunderbirds Left Wing Brent Hughes Victoria Cougars Ken Priestlay Victoria Cougars Right Wing Robin Bawa Kamloops Blazers Ron Shudra Kamloops Blazers
See also 1987 NHL entry draft 1986 in sports 1987 in sports
References
2005–06 WHL Guide