WHL unveils new WHL Playoffs identity and logo
Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League unveiled today the new brand identity and logo for the WHL Playoffs and WHL Championship Series. The new design will be featured prominently throughout the 2023 WHL Playoffs and 2023 WHL Championship Series, including in-arena, on-ice, and in digital and social media content.
“With the high quality of young prospects leading the WHL and with our fanbase attendance levels returning to pre-COVID levels, this season represented the perfect opportunity to reimagine the WHL Playoffs and WHL Championship Series brand,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “This modern brand points towards the bright future of the WHL and the next generation of stars set to make history. We believe WHL fans will embrace and celebrate this new era with us.”
The new brand identity and logo represents the modern era of WHL hockey with a nod to the rich history of the WHL Champions of yesteryear. Featuring a new perspective of the WHL Championship trophy flanked by ribbons adorned with maple leaves and stars, the new WHL Playoffs brand identity pays tribute to WHL Clubs on both sides of the 49th parallel – recognition of 17 Canadian teams and five U.S. teams in the Pacific Northwest. The unmistakable WHL logo is representative of that which ties all 22 WHL Clubs together. The VTF Redzone classic letterform serves as a clean typeface with a classic feel.
The 2023 WHL Playoffs are scheduled to begin Friday, March 31, with the continuation of the Conference Playoff format.
The first-place teams in the two Division in each Conference will receive the top two playoff seeds in the first round only based on Regular Season points. The next six Clubs in each Conference, based on Regular Season points, will receive the third to eighth playoff positions.
In the event two Clubs are tied in points for the last playoff position, these Clubs will play a sudden-death game in the home arena of the Club having won the most games in the WHL standings.
Clubs advancing to the second round and Conference Championships will be re-seeded each round based on Regular Season points. The two Conference Champions will advance to the WHL Championship Series, with the Club possessing the most Regular Season points receiving home-ice advantage.
All series throughout the 2023 WHL Playoffs will follow a best-of-seven format.
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.
