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1986–87 WHL season

Junior ice hockey season

Field	Value
title	1986–87 WHL season
league	Western Hockey League
sport	Ice hockey
playoffs	Playoffs
finals_champ	Medicine Hat Tigers (2)
finals_runner-up	Portland Winter Hawks
no_of_teams	14
season	Regular season
season_champ_name	Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy
season_champs	Kamloops Blazers (2)
MVP_link	Four Broncos Memorial Trophy
MVP	Rob Brown (Kamloops Blazers) / Joe Sakic (Swift Current Broncos)
top_scorer_link	Bob Clarke Trophy
top_scorer	Rob Brown (Kamloops Blazers)
seasonslistnames	WHL
prevseason_year	[1985–86](1985-86-whl-season)
nextseason_year	[1987–88](1987-88-whl-season)

| finals_runner-up = Portland Winter Hawks | finals_runner-up = Oshawa Generals (OHL)

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

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Medicine Hat Tigers	72	48	19	5	101	383	264
x Saskatoon Blades	72	44	26	2	90	369	282
x Prince Albert Raiders	72	43	26	3	89	346	264
x Moose Jaw Warriors	72	38	31	3	79	366	321
x Regina Pats	72	31	37	4	66	332	356
x Swift Current Broncos	72	28	40	4	60	331	393
Calgary Wranglers	72	23	46	3	49	304	390
Brandon Wheat Kings	72	19	49	4	42	282	443

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
x Kamloops Blazers	72	55	14	3	113	496	292
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	47	23	2	96	439	355
x Spokane Chiefs	72	37	33	2	76	374	350
x Victoria Cougars	72	30	41	1	61	334	412
Seattle Thunderbirds	72	21	47	4	46	328	430
New Westminster Bruins	72	18	50	4	40	300	432

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.

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Rob Brown, Kamloops Blazers

All-Star teams

East Division	First Team	Second Team	West Division	First Team
Goal	Kenton Rein	Prince Albert Raiders	unknown
Defense	Wayne McBean	Medicine Hat Tigers
Mark Tinordi	Calgary Wranglers
Center	Theoren Fleury	Moose Jaw Warriors
Left Wing	Mark Pederson	Medicine Hat Tigers
Right Wing	Pat Elynuik	Prince Albert Raiders
Goal	Drago Adam	New Westminster Bruins	Peter Fry	Victoria Cougars
Defense	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

References

2005–06 WHL Guide

before = 1985–86 WHL season | after = 1987–88 WHL season | title = WHL seasons | years = |

References

(2016-12-30). "Memorial unveiled on 30th anniversary of crash that killed 4 Swift Current hockey players". [[CBC News]].
Coleman, Cory. (2022-02-09). "Former Regina Pat Brad Hornung remembered for perseverance, positive attitude after death from cancer". [[CBC News]].
(2014-12-29). "Highest scoring seasons in major junior hockey history". [[Sportsnet]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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