The 2002–03 WHL season was the 37th season for the Western Hockey League. 19 teams completed a 72 game season. The Kelowna Rockets won the President's Cup.

Contents 1 Regular season 1.1 Final standings 1.2 Eastern Conference 1.3 Western Conference 1.4 Scoring leaders 1.5 Goaltending leaders 2 WHL Playoffs 2.1 Conference quarterfinals 2.1.1 Eastern Conference 2.1.2 Western Conference 2.2 Conference semifinals 2.3 Conference finals 2.4 WHL Championship 3 All-Star Game 4 WHL awards 5 2003 Bantam draft 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Final standings

[edit] Eastern Conference

East Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Brandon Wheat Kings	72	43	17	9	3	98	258	187
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	36	22	11	3	86	266	208
x Saskatoon Blades	72	40	27	5	0	85	234	205
x Regina Pats	72	25	28	14	5	69	171	217
Prince Albert Raiders	72	27	37	3	5	62	185	258

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Red Deer Rebels	72	50	17	3	2	105	271	160
x Swift Current Broncos	72	38	24	7	3	86	240	215
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	29	34	2	7	67	278	314
x Calgary Hitmen	72	27	36	7	2	63	240	260
Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	28	39	2	3	61	236	303

[edit] Western Conference

B.C. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Kelowna Rockets	72	51	14	6	1	109	311	164
x Kamloops Blazers	72	39	27	5	1	84	261	222
x Kootenay Ice	72	36	25	6	5	83	234	202
x Vancouver Giants	72	26	37	5	4	61	217	292
x Prince George Cougars	72	26	41	3	2	57	257	317

U.S. Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
x Seattle Thunderbirds	72	44	22	3	3	94	280	224
x Spokane Chiefs	72	26	36	6	4	62	216	261
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	19	40	8	5	51	192	243
Tri-City Americans	72	20	44	3	5	47	240	335

• Prince George Crosses over into U.S. Division playoffs

[edit] Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Erik Christensen	Kamloops Blazers	67	54	54	108	60
Jesse Schultz	Kelowna Rockets	72	53	51	104	47
Jeremy Jackson	Lethbridge Hurricanes	65	44	58	102	83
Matt Ellison	Red Deer Rebels	72	40	56	96	80
Chris St. Jaques	Medicine Hat Tigers	70	31	65	96	78
Brooks Laich	Seattle Thunderbirds	60	41	53	94	65
Jeremy Williams	Swift Current Broncos	72	41	52	93	117
Dylan Stanley	Tri-City Americans	72	34	59	93	60
David Bararuk	Moose Jaw Warriors	66	29	64	93	44
Nigel Dawes	Kootenay Ice	72	47	45	92	54

[edit] Goaltending leaders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Kelly Guard	Kelowna Rockets	53	3018	39	10	3	97	6	.911	1.93
Geoff McIntosh	Brandon Wheat Kings	23	1337	12	6	4	46	2	.914	2.06
Cam Ward	Red Deer Rebels	57	3367	40	13	2	118	5	.920	2.10
Jeff Glass	Kootenay Ice	35	1884	15	16	2	77	4	.909	2.45
Blake Grenier	Moose Jaw Warriors	41	2356	23	8	8	100	5	.911	2.55

[edit] WHL Playoffs

[edit] Conference quarterfinals

[edit] Eastern Conference

Brandon vs. Regina Date Away Home March 21 Regina 1 3 Brandon March 22 Regina 2 1 Brandon OT March 25 Brandon 3 1 Regina March 26 Brandon 2 1 Regina OT March 28 Regina 2 4 Brandon Brandon wins series 4–1	Moose Jaw vs. Saskatoon Date Away Home March 21 Saskatoon 3 0 Moose Jaw March 22 Saskatton 4 5 Moose Jaw March 25 Moose Jaw 3 5 Saskatoon March 26 Moose Jaw 3 2 Saskatoon OT March 29 Saskatoon 1 3 Moose Jaw March 31 Moose Jaw 5 3 Saskatoon Moose Jaw wins series 4–2
Red Deer vs. Calgary Date Away Home March 21 Calgary 0 2 Red Deer March 22 Calgary 2 3 Red Deer March 25 Red Deer 4 2 Calgary March 26 Red Deer 1 2 Calgary March 29 Calgary 3 4 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–1	Swift Current vs. Medicine Hat Date Away Home March 21 Medicine Hat 3 2 Swift Current OT March 22 Medicine Hat 4 2 Swift Current March 25 Swift Current 3 6 Medicine Hat March 26 Swift Current 1 7 Medicine Hat Medicine Hat wins series 4–0

[edit] Western Conference

Kelowna vs. Vancouver Date Away Home March 22 Vancouver 0 10 Kelowna March 23 Vancouver 3 4 Kelowna 2OT March 26 Kelowna 2 0 Vancouver March 27 Kelowna 8 2 Vancouver Kelowna wins series 4–0	Kamloops vs. Kootenay Date Away Home March 21 Kootenay 2 1 Kamloops OT March 22 Kootenay 0 1 Kamloops March 25 Kamloops 2 3 Kootenay 2OT March 26 Kamloops 1 4 Kootenay March 29 Kootenay 6 7 Kamloops March 31 Kamloops 1 2OT Kootenay wins series 4–2
Seattle vs. Prince George Date Away Home March 22 Prince George 1 4 Seattle March 23 Prince George 3 7 Seattle March 26 Seattle 2 4 Prince George March 27 Seattle 3 1 Prince George March 29 Prince George 3 4 Seattle Seattle wins series 4–1	Spokane vs. Portland Date Away Home March 21 Spokane 2 4 Portland March 23 Spokane 1 3 Portland March 26 Portland 3 4 Spokane OT March 28 Portland 2 1 Spokane 2OT March 29 Portland 3 8 Spokane March 31 Spokane 3 2 Portland OT April 2 Portland 2 4 Spokane Spokane wins series 4–3

[edit] Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
Red Deer vs. Medicine Hat Date Away Home April 4 Medicine Hat 2 6 Red Deer April 5 Medicine Hat 0 3 Red Deer April 8 Red Deer 3 4 Medicine Hat April 9 Red Deer 3 6 Medicine Hat April 11 Medicine Hat 2 4 Red Deer April 13 Red Deer 2 3 Medicine Hat 2OT April 15 Medicine Hat 1 5 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–3	Brandon vs. Moose Jaw Date Away Home April 4 Brandon 2 3 Moose Jaw April 5 Brandon 2 1 Moose Jaw April 9 Moose Jaw 5 3 Brandon April 11 Moose Jaw 1 4 Brandon April 12 Moose Jaw 1 2 Brandon April 14 Brandon 6 7 Moose Jaw OT April 16 Moose Jaw 3 7 Brandon Brandon wins series 4–3

Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Spokane Date Away Home April 4 Spokane 1 6 Kelowna April 5 Spokane 1 5 Kelowna April 9 Kelowna 4 1 Spokane April 11 Kelowna 4 3 Spokane OT Kelowna wins series 4–0	Seattle vs. Kootenay Date Away Home April 5 Kootenay 2 4 Seattle April 7 Kootenay 0 4 Seattle April 9 Seattle 5 0 Kootenay April 10 Seattle 1 2 Kootenay 2OT April 12 Kootenay 1 2 Seattle OT Seattle wins series 4–1

[edit] Conference finals

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Red Deer vs. Brandon Date Away Home April 18 Brandon 1 5 Red Deer April 19 Brandon 0 2 Red Deer April 22 Red Deer 5 1 Brandon April 23 Red Deer 1 2 Brandon April 25 Brandon 1 3 Red Deer Red Deer wins series 4–1	Kelowna vs. Seattle Date Away Home April 18 Seattle 4 5 Kelowna April 19 Seattle 3 6 Kelowna April 22 Kelowna 2 3 Seattle 2OT April 23 Kelowna 4 0 Seattle April 25 Seattle 2 4 Kelowna Kelowna wins series 4–1

[edit] WHL Championship

Kelowna vs. Red Deer Date Away Home May 2 Red Deer 1 5 Kelowna May 3 Red Deer 2 5 Kelowna May 5 Kelowna 2 6 Red Deer May 6 Kelowna 1 2 Red Deer May 8 Red Deer 2 5 Kelowna May 10 Kelowna 2 0 Red Deer Kelowna wins series 4–2 [edit] All-Star Game On November 12, the WHL Eastern All-Stars defeated the QMJHL Lebel All-Stars 5–2 at Hull, Quebec with a crowd of 2194. On November 19, the WHL Western All-Stars defeated the OHL Eastern All-Stars 7–3 at Vancouver, British Columbia before a crowd of 7,046. The WHL won the Hershey Cup as champion of the round robin format all-star tournament. [edit] WHL awards Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Josh Harding, Regina Pats Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Brett Dickie, Brandon Wheat Kings Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Erik Christensen, Kamloops Blazers Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Boyd Gordon, Red Deer Rebels Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Jeff Woywitka, Red Deer Rebels Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Matt Ellison, Red Deer Rebels Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Josh Harding, Regina Pats Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Marc Habscheid, Kelowna Rockets Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Bruce Hamilton, Kelowna Rockets Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Kelowna Rockets Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Steve Kozari Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Anne-Marie Hamilton, Kelowna Rockets, and Reid Pederson, Regina Pats Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy - Ryan Craig, Brandon Wheat Kings WHL Plus-Minus Award: Matthew Spiller, Seattle Thunderbirds Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Jesse Schultz, Kelowna Rockets [edit] 2003 Bantam draft List of first round picks in the bantam draft. # Player Nationality WHL Team 1 Jonathan Toews (C)  Canada Tri-City Americans 2 Ben Maxwell (C)  Canada Kootenay Ice (via Lethbridge) 3 Zach Hamill (C)  Canada Everett Silvertips 4 Ryan de Pape (RW)  Canada Prince Albert Raiders 5 Sasha Golin (RW)  Canada Portland Winter Hawks 6 Taylor Swyston (C)  Canada Prince George Cougars 7 Jason Reese (LW)  United States Vancouver Giants 8 Michael Reich (C)  Canada Spokane Chiefs 9 Keegan Dansereau (RW)  Canada Calgary Hitmen 10 Trevor Glass (D)  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers 11 Logan Pyett (D)  Canada Regina Pats 12 Todd Panchyson (D)  Canada Kootenay Ice 13 Victor Bartley (D)  Canada Kamloops Blazers 14 Justin McCrae (C)  Canada Saskatoon Blades 15 Brennan Wray (C)  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors 16 Kyle Bortis (LW)  Canada Swift Current Broncos 17 George Holloway (C)  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds 18 Mike Cann (D)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings 19 Matthew Cline (C)  Canada Red Deer Rebels 20 Craig Cuthbert (C)  Canada Kelowna Rockets [edit] See also 2003 Memorial Cup 2003 NHL Entry Draft 2002 in sports 2003 in sports [edit] References whl.ca 2005–06 WHL Guide Preceded by 2001–02 WHL season WHL seasons Succeeded by 2003–04 WHL season