1979–80 WHL season
The 1979–80 WHL season was the 14th season for the Western Hockey League. Eleven teams completed a 72 game season. The Regina Pats won the President's Cup.
League notes
- The Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Great Falls, Montana to become the Great Falls Americans, however the team only lasted 28 games, as the Americans ceased operations on December 16, 1979.
- The WHL abandoned the three division format, opting instead for a two division format of eight teams in the East and four in the West.
Regular season
Final standings
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 47 | 24 | 1 | 95 | 429 | 311 |
| x Calgary Wranglers | 72 | 43 | 27 | 2 | 88 | 376 | 319 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 37 | 30 | 5 | 79 | 344 | 315 |
| x Billings Bighorns | 72 | 37 | 34 | 1 | 75 | 326 | 284 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 33 | 37 | 2 | 68 | 319 | 343 |
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 28 | 39 | 5 | 61 | 329 | 349 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 27 | 40 | 5 | 59 | 331 | 382 |
| Great Falls Americans1 | 28 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 73 | 186 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 53 | 18 | 1 | 107 | 398 | 293 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 51 | 21 | 0 | 102 | 349 | 226 |
| x Seattle Breakers | 72 | 29 | 41 | 2 | 60 | 297 | 364 |
| New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 10 | 61 | 1 | 21 | 244 | 443 |
1Folded mid-season
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Wickenheiser | Regina Pats | 71 | 89 | 81 | 170 | 99 |
| Tim Tookey | Portland Winter Hawks | 70 | 58 | 83 | 141 | 55 |
| Barry Pederson | Victoria Cougars | 72 | 52 | 88 | 140 | 50 |
| Kelly Kisio | Calgary Wranglers | 71 | 65 | 73 | 138 | 64 |
| Jim Dobson | Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 66 | 68 | 134 | 179 |
| Ron Flockhart | Regina Pats | 65 | 54 | 76 | 130 | 63 |
| Gord Williams | Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 57 | 65 | 122 | 92 |
| Darren Veitch | Regina Pats | 71 | 29 | 93 | 122 | 118 |
| Brian Varga | Regina Pats | 70 | 39 | 79 | 118 | 97 |
| Doug Morrison | Lethbridge Broncos | 68 | 58 | 59 | 117 | 188 |
1980 WHL Playoffs
First round
- Regina defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
- Brandon defeated Calgary 4 games to 3
- Medicine Hat defeated Billings 4 games to 3
Division semi-finals
Round Robin format
- Medicine Hat (3–1) advanced
- Regina (2–2) advanced
- Brandon (1–3) eliminated
- Victoria (5–3) advanced
- Seattle (4–4) advanced
- Portland (3–5) eliminated
Division finals
- Regina defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1
- Victoria defeated Seattle 4 games to 0
WHL Championship
- Regina defeated Victoria 4 games to 1
All-Star game
There was no All-Star game in 1979–80.
WHL awards
| Most Valuable Player: Doug Wickenheiser, Regina Pats |
| Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Doug Wickenheiser, Regina Pats |
| Most Sportsmanlike Player: Steve Tsujiura, Medicine Hat Tigers |
| Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dave Babych, Portland Winter Hawks |
| Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Grant Fuhr, Victoria Cougars |
| Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Kevin Eastman, Victoria Cougars |
| Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Doug Sauter, Calgary Wranglers |
| Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Portland Winter Hawks |
See also
References
- whl.ca
- 2005–06 WHL Guide
| Preceded by 1978–79 WHL season |
WHL seasons | Succeeded by 1980–81 WHL season |
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