Stadium Journey's Western Hockey League Arena Rankings 2026
- Dave Cottenie
- 6 hours ago
- 9 min read
The WHL found that they were settling into the reality of the NCAA eligibility changes in the 2025-26 season. Ready to host the Memorial Cup in Kelowna at the end of May, it was a big season in the WHL. At the beginning of the season it was reported that the expansion team set for Chilliwack, British Columbia would not begin in September of 2026 but rather 2027, leaving the new franchise as a bit of a question mark.
Markus Ruck of the Medicine Hat Tigers led all players with 108 points while Cameron Schmidt of the Seattle Thunderbirds tallied a league leading 51 goals. Rookie Michal Orsulak of the Prince Albert Raiders had the top Goals Against Average with 2.22 and Joshua Ravensbergen of the Prince George Cougars posted a stellar .919 save percentage, earning him the Del Wilson Top Goaltender Award. The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy for the WHL Player of the Year was awarded to Bryce Pickford of Medicine Hat.
The Edmonton Oil Kings once again had the best season at the turnstiles, averaging 7,645 fans per game. The Everett Silvertips were dominant during the regular season and playoffs posting a massive 117 points on the year. Everett rumbled through Portland, Kelowna, Penticton and Prince Albert to earn their first Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions, only losing 2 games in the process. The Silvertips will join the host Kelowna Rockets in the Memorial Cup at the end of May.
The annual WHL rankings at Stadium Journey are based on the FANFARE metric used on the website, where a number of different writers assess the hockey experience based on the categories of Food, Atmosphere, Neighbourhood, Fans, Access, Return on Investment and any extras that the writers experienced. The stakes are high, with an average grading of 3.61 being earned out of a possible perfect 5.0.
This list is just an amalgamation of a number of opinions, and may not be in agreement for all. Please let Stadium Journey know your opinions on our various Social Media outlets. How is your list different from ours? What do we have right? What do we have wrong?
Without further ado, Stadium Journey is proud to present the 2025-2026 Rankings of the Western Hockey League Experiences...
N/R - Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, Penticton Vees, Prince George Cougars, Spokane Chiefs, Wenatchee Wild
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Andrew Kulyk - Andrew Kulyk - Home for the Brandon Wheat Kings is Assiniboine Credit Union Place, a 6,000-seat arena built as part of a larger convention/exhibition complex called Keystone Centre. It was built in 1972 and has undergone numerous renovations. The franchise is the easternmost franchise in the Western Hockey League and ranks in the upper end of attendance in the league.
Josh Eastern - The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior hockey league team that plays in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League. They play in the ShoWare Center located in Kent, WA which is about 30 minutes south of Seattle. It was opened in January of 2009. The Thunderbirds played at Mercer Arena before moving to Key Arena. In 2009, the T-Birds moved south to the ShoWare Center. It is a multi-purpose arena that is mostly used for hockey. It is a great setting for hockey.
Andrew Kulyk - The Brandt Centre is a hockey arena located in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan. Opened in 1977, its primary tenant is the Regina Pats, a junior hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The arena is part of a larger interconnected complex called Evraz Place, which offers exhibit space, curling venues and other public facilities.
Jim Flannery - The Calgary Hitmen entered the Western Hockey League in 1995, filling the junior hockey gap in Calgary caused by the departure of the Calgary Wranglers in 1987. Named after wrestling legend and team co-founder Brett “The Hitman” Hart, the Hitmen have gone on to enjoy a great deal of success, earning the best record in the WHL four times, and going all the way to the Memorial Cup twice. The Scotiabank Saddledome opened its doors in 1983 and is among the busiest arenas in the country as it is also the home of the Calgary Flames, Calgary Roughnecks and AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
Dennis Morrell - Angel of the Winds Arena is nestled in the heart of downtown at 2000 Hewitt Avenue, the north edge of the block bordered by Oakes Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east. The corner of Hewitt and Oakes provides the facility’s most grand entrance. It is arguably the epicenter of activity in this quaint community. From the outside, the building does not look like much, but get inside and it has some character. It is intimate with sections close together and built nearly on top of the ice instead of spread back.
Andrew Kulyk - True story. Back in 1983, a Saskatoon-based investment group put together a deal to buy the NHL St. Louis Blues and move them to Saskatoon, a city that was off the grid for most hockey fans. Plans were put in place for a new arena to replace a dated historic downtown venue that had served the city well. Front office staffers were hired, and moving plans were put in place. And then it all derailed when the NHL Board of Governors refused to support the move. Lawsuits went flying from all sides, and in the end the Blues stayed put in St. Louis. Out of the disappointment of that debacle came a gleaming new arena and showplace for hockey in Saskatoon, an arena initially dubbed Saskatchewan Place. Fans who liked the old and creaky downtown barn weren’t happy with the move. But with numerous renovations, expansions, and now a showplace for some major events, the arena is now embraced within the community.
Jim Flannery - Until the fall of 2015, the Medicine Hat Tigers spent the entire history of their franchise playing in the Medicine Hat Arena, located just east of the city’s downtown core. The Tigers relocated to a brand new arena at the start of the 2015-16 season; after 45 seasons in the Arena, it was time to move into a more modern facility. Originally called Canalta Centre, it was specifically designed to Memorial Cup specifications in the hopes of luring the CHL championship to Medicine Hat in the near future. Now called Co-op Place, it has room for 3,000 more fans than Medicine Hat Arena did, includes 22 luxury suites, 350 club seats on the south side between the blue lines, a lounge, and state of the art technology throughout.
Paul Hilchen - Portland hockey dates back to the 1910’s with the Portland Rosebuds. The most recent team not named the Winterhawks was the Buckaroos, who played in the Coliseum from 1960-1975. The franchise has had much success during their tenure in the Rose City, including winning the 1998 Memorial Cup, and a current run of back to back to back to back Western Conference championships. Memorial Coliseum is on the National Register of Historic Places due to its architecture and glass walls that adorn the outside of the building. Some within Portland have questioned the practicality of having two buildings side by side that serve exactly the same purpose, while others have outwardly called for its demolition so a baseball stadium could be built on the site. Whatever side of the spectrum one finds themselves on, no one can deny the fact that the building has a great amount of history and character.
Jim Flannery - In a small facility like the InnovationPlex, it doesn’t take a lot of people to get the energy up in the place. A couple thousand people, many with cowbells, can get the place rocking in no time at all. With the game viewable from standing room in the main lobby right at ice level, audience members downstairs almost feel like they’re right in the game, just inches from the play. And even the worst seats in the main viewing bowl are only 11 rows back from the ice, so there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
Jim Flannery - After a four-year stint in Winnipeg, the Western Hockey League’s Warriors moved to Moose Jaw in 1984. They played their games at the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, better known as the Crushed Can, for many years, but in 2011 the team moved to a brand new facility right downtown, known as Temple Gardens Centre. The $61 million arena seats 4,465 people, which is the equivalent of about 13 percent of the entire city population when the place is full. In addition to the rink area, it also features an eight-sheet curling club, a banquet room, and other meeting rooms. It has played host to a number of major events, including the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and concerts by A-list performers like Alice Cooper and Carrie Underwood. But the Moose Jaw Warriors are the centrepiece of entertainment in the building.
Dave Cottenie - The Victoria Royals may seem a bit isolated, being located on Vancouver Island. However, Victoria is an excellent tourist destination, and the Victoria Royals can definitely be a part of the excitement. The Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre provides a solid junior hockey experience, and fans will definitely enjoy the experience.
Dave Cottenie - In 2001, Vancouver, British Columbia, was granted an expansion team. The Vancouver Giants called the Pacific Coliseum home and enjoyed decent success there. The Giants took home the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League Champions in 2006 and eclipsed that feat with a Memorial Cup the following season. The Giants have produced several NHL players, including Cody Franson, Evander Kane, Brendan Gallagher, and Milan Lucic. In 2016, the Giants moved away from the oversized Pacific Coliseum, the former home of the Vancouver Canucks, to the Langley Events Centre. Built in 2009 and more appropriately sized for junior hockey, Langley Events Centre is a ways from central Vancouver, but serves the suburban cities.
Jim Flannery - VisitLethbridge.com Arena opened its doors in 1974, in anticipation of the 1975 Canada Winter Games. The Sportsplex (as it was then known) was designed for a multitude of purposes. The arena converts easily to a number of different applications for curling, concerts, hockey, basketball, banquets, etc. The Lethbridge Hurricanes ice hockey began their history as the Winnipeg Jets in 1967 and have been in operation ever since. They changed their name twice while in Winnipeg before moving to Calgary and becoming the Wranglers in 1977. They remained in Calgary until 1987 when they relocated to Lethbridge and were renamed once again, becoming the Hurricanes, a name they have stuck with now for more than 30 years.
Jim Flannery - The Oil Kings returned to Edmonton for the 2007-08 season and have been have found an audience. Owned and operated by the Katz Group, which also owns the NHL’s Oilers, the Oil Kings are drawing good crowds, and winning consistently. The Oil Kings spent most of their history playing at what is currently known as Rexall Place (formerly Northlands Coliseum). But starting in the fall of 2016, the Oil Kings have relocated to the new downtown arena, called Rogers Place. It is the newest, most modern arena in hockey and without a doubt the premier place to watch the WHL.
Jim Flannery - Playing at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders have been one of the more successful junior hockey teams in Saskatchewan. Between 1977-1982 the Raiders won four Tier II junior national championships in six years. After graduating up to the WHL for the 1982-83 season, the Raiders went on to win the Memorial Cup in 1985 as the top junior team in the country. The Raiders have produced 72 players who have made it to the NHL, including Brad McCrimmon, James Patrick, Wes Walz and Mike Modano. And all of them have paid their dues in this little arena in this little city.
Andrew Kulyk - The Tri City Americans, representing the adjoining cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland in the State of Washington, are one of the flagship original franchises of the Western Hockey League. Its origins began in Calgary, before city hopping to several locations throughout British Columbia, with a 5-year stop in Billings, Montana along the way. They have been located in Tri Cities since 1988, and have played in the Toyota Center in the bedroom community of Kennewick since the arena opened that same year. The facility also doubles as a theatre, offering a season of Broadway musicals and other stage shows.
Dave Cottenie - Nestled almost exactly halfway between Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, the residents of Red Deer share a healthy split of allegiances between the two major Alberta cities’ NHL clubs. Both the Oilers and Flames are well represented in Red Deer, however, when it comes to Junior Hockey, there is no question as to who is king. The Red Deer Rebels have been members of the Western Hockey League since 1992. Founded by Terry and Wayne Simpson, the Rebels have seen quite a few future NHL players walk through the doors and also enjoyed some team successes. The ultimate team successes for the Rebels came in 2001 when the Rebels, led by future NHL players Jeff Woywitka and Colby Armstrong, saw Doug Lynch score the biggest goal in Rebels history, an overtime goal to defeat Val d’Or in the Memorial Cup Final.
