Thursday, September 18, 2003

 CALGARY, AB - Ron Robison, Commissioner of the Western Hockey League today via teleconference from Calgary, Alberta, officially opened the 2003-04 Western Hockey League season.

 The 2003-04 WHL season will be highlighted by the introduction of the WHL's newest expansion franchise, the Everett Silvertips. With the addition of Everett, the opportunity to play in the world's finest development league for junior hockey player has increased as the WHL expands to 20 teams this season with the Silvertips joining the WHL's U.S. Division.

 With the addition of the Everett Silvertips, the WHL has achieved its overall objective of a 20 team league featuring four five team divisions and two fully balanced ten team conferences for the first time in its 37 year history.

 The Everett Silvertips, under the direction of General Manager, Doug Soetaert and Head Coach, Kevin Constantine, open their inaugural WHL season in Kamloops, Friday, September 19th. The Silvertips home opener in the new state of the art 8,250 seat Everett Event Center is scheduled for Saturday, October 4th.

 The WHL which opens the 2003-04 season Friday with a total of eight games will once again provide hockey fans throughout the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Western Canada with the opportunity to see many of the world's highest rated prospects as they prepare to take the next step to the National Hockey League.

 The WHL is one the world's leading providers of talent for the NHL. Since 1992, 581 players have been drafted from the WHL, more than any other league in the world.

 "The WHL has a tradition of producing some of the finest young talent in the game and this season our fans will once again enjoy watching these top prospects turn into bonafide stars," stated WHL Commissioner, Ron Robison.

 The WHL and the city of Kelowna will serve as the official hosts for the 2004 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Kelowna Rockets will host the WHL Champions, Ontario Hockey League Champions and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Champions from May 14 - May 23, 2004, which promises to be one of the most exciting National Championship ever held, both on and off the ice.

 This season will also be highlighted by a new CHL showcase event, the 2003 RE/MAX Canada Russia Challenge series when the WHL takes on Russian Selects. The Calgary Hitmen (Wednesday November 26) and Brandon Wheat Kings (Thursday November 27) will host games for the WHL. The RE/MAX Canada/Russia Challenge is a six game series across the Canadian Hockey League and will be an integral part of the identification process for Canada's National Junior Team final selection camp.

 This season will mark enormous interest in the crop of young talented defenceman in the Western Hockey League. Seven of the eight defencemen who represented Canada at the World Under-18 Tournament were from the WHL. Nine of the 16 defenceman who were invited to attend Canada's National Junior Team Summer Evaluation Camp were from the Western Hockey League, including the top two WHL players taken in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Braydon Coburn of the Portland Winter Hawks and Dion Phaneuf of the Red Deer Rebels.