League: Western Hockey League
Conference: Western
Location: Portland, Oregon
Venue: Moda Center and Memorial Coliseum
Notable Players: Todd Robinson, Dennis Holland, Ken Yaremchuk, Ray Podloski, Nic Petan, Brandon Smith, Glen Wesley, Troy Rutkowski, Jim Benning, Kevin Haupt, Derrick Pouliot, Mac Carruth and Kurtis Mucha
The Portland Winterhawks are one of the premier major junior ice hockey teams in the world. Originally founded as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the franchise relocated to the city of Portland in 1976, becoming the first US team in the WHL. Portland went on to win three WHL championships in 1982, 1998 and 2013. It is also one of the few non-Canadian teams to win the prestigious
Memorial Cup
— the highest honor in Canadian major junior hockey — as a home team in 1982 and again in 1998. Many Winterhawks alumni have gone on to enjoy long careers in the NHL. Todd Robinson, who played for the team between 1994 and 1999, is Portland’s all-time points leader with 145 goals and 325 assists in 317 games. If you want to catch some of the top hockey prospects in the world, then you should purchase Portland Winterhawks tickets at StubHub.
The Canadian Hockey League, which is the umbrella organization of the WHL, is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the world. It is intended solely for youth hockey players under the age of 20. With the exception of three exemptions per team, players are ineligible once they turn 20, and as players are considered professionals, they cannot then compete in the NCAA. At the end of the season, the three winners of the CHL leagues — the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — plus a fourth host team compete for the Memorial Cup.
Portland’s schedule for the 2019 to 2020 season includes important games against the
Seattle Thunderbirds
, the
Tri-City Americans
, the
Victoria Royals
, the
Spokane Chiefs
and the
Everett Silvertips
. The regular season concludes on March 21st and 22nd with back-to-back away and home games against rival Seattle. The playoffs officially begin on March 27th with the quest for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Portland finished the 2018 to 2019 season as the third team in the US Division of the Western Conference with 86 points and a record of 40 wins and 22 losses, plus three overtime losses and three shootout losses. In the first round of the WHL playoffs, Portland lost to the Spokane Chiefs in five games. Though Portland managed to win game two by a score of 5-2 to even the series, it dropped the next two games by one goal each in overtime. The final 4-1 victory clinched the series for Spokane.
The annual matchup between the Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds is known as the I-5 rivalry. Named for the major artery that runs north and south through California, Oregon and Washington, it is the premier inter-city rivalry of the Pacific Northwest. The name of the rivalry applies to almost any sport in which Seattle and Portland play.
Mike Johnston is currently the head coach, general manager and vice president of the Portland Winterhawks. After joining the team in 2008, he made the title game in four consecutive years between 2011 and 2014, winning the 2013 championship. Following the 2013 to 2014 season, Johnston was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a rocky tenure, however, he returned to the Winterhawks in 2016 for a second stint.
Portland splits time between the
Moda Center
, which seats approximately 20,000, and the
Veterans Memorial Coliseum
, which seats slightly less than 13,000 people. Both arenas are located right next to each other in the Rose Quarter of downtown Portland.