Chilliwack Expansion Franchise Opens 2006-07 WHL Season

CHILLIWACK, BC – Ron Robison, Commissioner of the Western Hockey League today via webcast and teleconference officially opened the 2006-07 Western Hockey League season from Chilliwack, British Columbia, home of the Western Hockey League’s new expansion franchise, the Chilliwack Bruins.
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rWith the addition of Chilliwack, the WHL expands to 21 franchises this season as the Bruins join the WHL’s B.C. Division. The Chilliwack Bruins, under the direction of General Manager Darrell May and Head Coach Jim Hiller open their inaugural WHL season at home, Thursday, September 21st as they meet the Kelowna Rockets at the new Prospera Center in Chilliwack. On Friday, September 22nd, the WHL Regular Season schedule will feature eight games as the WHL’s 41st season gets into full swing.
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rThe WHL and the City of Vancouver will serve as the official hosts for the 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Vancouver Giants will host the WHL Champions, Ontario Hockey League Champions and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Champions from May 18 – May 27, 2007, which promises to be one of the most exciting National Championships ever held, both on and off the ice.
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rThe WHL has also adopted the NHL standard of rule enforcement for the 2006-07 season and will also utilize the 2-man referee system for 40% of WHL Regular Season games and for 100% of games during the 2006 – 07 WHL Playoffs.
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rThe WHL is also pleased to announce the Shaw Cable broadcast schedule. Shaw who has served as, the official cable broadcaster of the Western Hockey League for the past two seasons, will feature 26 regular season games and extensive playoff coverage beginning with the WHL season opener in Chilliwack, as the Bruins will play host to the Kelowna Rockets.
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rThe WHL is also proud to announce the ‘new and improved’ WHL Web-TV through the WHL’s Internet streaming partner INSINC. Fans and media will have access to the WHL like never before; with every game broadcast live on the Internet. Off-season improvements to Internet broadcast will ensure fans a higher quality of viewing pleasure.
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rThe WHL is also pleased to announce the re-launching of the WHL official website, www.whl.ca. A fan friendly approach has been taken to the re-design of the WHL website. New and improved access to the WHL’s 21 member clubs will be made available. The introduction of video to the site will give the WHL the ability to promote its WHL member clubs like never before.
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rThe WHL would like to thank its prestige partners Kal-Tire and Meyers Norris Penny for their continued support of the Western Hockey League. The WHL would also like to welcome Waste Management as the WHL’s newest corporate partner.
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rThis 2006-07 season will be highlighted by a familiar CHL showcase event, the 2006 ADT Canada Russia Challenge series when Team WHL takes on the Russian Selects. The Chilliwack Bruins (Wednesday November 29) and Kamloops Blazers (Thursday November 30) will host games for the WHL.
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rThe WHL approved the playoff formats for the 2006 – 07 WHL season based on the new re-alignment which will feature 11 Clubs in the WHL Eastern Conference and 10 Clubs in the WHL Western Conference. Under the new alignment, the WHL Eastern Conference Central Division will consist of 5 Clubs while the East Division will have 6 Clubs.
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rIn the WHL Eastern Conference, with the transfer of Swift Current to the East Division, and Kootenay to the Central Division, the playoff format will include a wild card feature for the 2006 – 07 WHL season. The fifth place team in the East Division will be slotted into either the third or fourth place position in the Central Division if it finishes with more regular season points than either team. The fifth place team cannot be slotted higher than third place. Should the wild card apply, the fourth place team in the Central Division will not qualify for the post-season. In the event the top four teams in the Central and East Divisions have more points than the fifth place team in the East Division; the playoff format will remain as the same format used in the 2005 – 06 WHL season.
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rThe WHL Western Conference playoff format will remain identical to the format used during the 2005 – 06 WHL season.
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