1968–69 WCHL season

The 1968–69 WCHL season was the third season of the Western Canada Hockey League, known in the present day as the Western Hockey League. Eight teams completed a 60 game season, with the Flin Flon Bombers winning the President's Cup.

League notes

• Three teams, the Moose Jaw Canucks, Regina Pats and Weyburn Red Wings left the league over concerns about the WCHL's poor relationship with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
• The remaining eight teams were broken into East and West Divisions.
• League agreed to compete for a National Championship against a similar league in Ontario known as the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The Flin Flon Bombers beat the WOJAHL Champions St. Thomas Barons after a Game 4 forfeit.

Regular season

Final standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Flin Flon Bombers	60	47	13	0	94	343	159
Estevan Bruins	60	40	20	0	80	294	195
Winnipeg Jets	60	29	31	0	58	290	268
Brandon Wheat Kings	60	18	40	2	38	224	350

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Edmonton Oil Kings	60	33	25	2	68	229	206
Calgary Centennials	60	31	28	1	63	253	236
Saskatoon Blades	60	24	35	1	49	195	271
Swift Current Broncos	60	14	44	2	30	186	329

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bobby Clarke	Flin Flon Bombers	58	51	86	137	123
Greg Polis	Estevan Bruins	60	40	85	125	94
Tom Serviss	Calgary Centennials	60	24	79	103	60
Bob Liddington	Calgary Centennials	60	58	33	91	26
Ernie Moser	Estevan Bruins	56	46	40	86	41
Brian Marchinko	Flin Flon Bombers	60	41	45	86	96
Gregg Sheppard	Estevan Bruins	54	42	42	84	33
Doug Smith	Winnipeg Jets	47	31	52	83	130
Jim Nichols	Saskatoon Blades	60	37	35	72	16
Steve Andrascik	Flin Flon Bombers	50	32	36	68	142
Wayne Harwysh	Flin Flon Bombers	58	31	37	68	187

1969 WCHL Playoffs

Quarterfinals

• Calgary defeated Swift Current 4 games to 0
• Edmonton defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
• Estevan defeated Brandon 4 games to 1
• Flin Flon defeated Winnipeg 4 games to 2 with 1 tie

Semifinals

• Flin Flon defeated Estevan 4 games to 0 with 1 tie
• Edmonton defeated Calgary 4 games to 2 with 1 tie

Finals

• Flin Flon defeated Edmonton 4 games to 2

National Championship

• Flin Flon defeated St. Thomas 2 games to 1 (Series was forfeited)

All-Star game

The 1968–69 WCHL all-star game was held in Flin Flon, Manitoba, with the WCHL All-stars and Flin Flon Bombers ending in a 4–4 draw before a crowd of 2,100.

Awards

Most Valuable Player: Bobby Clarke, Flin Flon Bombers

Top Scorer: Bobby Clarke, Flin Flon Bombers

Most Sportsmanlike Player: Bob Liddington, Calgary Centennials

Defenseman of the Year: Dale Hoganson, Estevan Bruins

Rookie of the Year: Ron Williams, Edmonton Oil Kings

Goaltender of the Year: Ray Martyniuk, Flin Flon Bombers

Regular Season Champions: Flin Flon Bombers

See also

• 1968 in sports
• 1969 in sports

References

• whl.ca
• 2005–06 WHL Guide
• The Rink - Stories From Hockey's Home Towns (1997), written by Chris Cuthbert and Scott Russell, Pp. 209–210, Penguin Books