WHL releases 2025-26 regular season schedule

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on June 25, 2025.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

The Western Hockey League has unveiled the full schedule for the 2025-26 WHL season.

The 782-game schedule gets underway Friday, Sept. 19 and concludes on Sunday, March 22 with all 23 clubs playing 68 games.

The opening night of the season will feature eight games, including the WHL debut for the expansion Penticton Vees as they’ll head to the Island to face the defending B.C. Division-champion Victoria Royals.

The defending Ed Chynoweth Cup champion Medicine Hat Tigers begin their title defence on Sept. 20, hosting the Regina Pats who will visit Co-op Place.

The Tigers will make their B.C. division road trip in October, staring Oct. 18 in Victoria before they face the Vancouver Giants on Oct. 19. They’ll face the Prince George Cougars (Oct. 22), Kamloops Blazers (Oct. 24) and Kelowna Rockets (Oct. 25) before wrapping the trip up with their first look at the Vees on Oct. 27.

Before the B.C. trip, they’ll face a pair of U.S. division opponents at Co-op Place, hosting Medicine Hat product Ryan Miller and the Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 11 before a WHL Championship Series rematch with the Spokane Chiefs on Oct. 14.

The Tigers will host the other four U.S. division teams, Tri-City Americans (Nov. 2), Wenatchee Wild (Dec. 6), Seattle Thunderbirds (Jan. 9). The Everett Silvertips, led by CHL and WHL rookie of the year Landon DuPont will be at Co-op Place on Feb. 14.

They’ll host the Red Deer Rebels for a 2 p.m. game on Family Day (Feb. 16), also finishing the regular season against the Central division rival, with a home-and-home series on March 20 and 21. The Tigers have just one three-in-three on the calendar, Nov. 21 (at Red Deer), Nov. 22 (against the Calgary Hitmen) and Nov. 23 (at Calgary, 4 p.m.).

The WHL Trade Deadline will be Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. MST.

The WHL Playoffs are slated to begin March 27 with the WHL Championship Series running May 8-18 ahead of the Memorial Cup scheduled for May 22-31.

A total of 617 of the 782 games on the WHL Regular Season schedule – nearly 80 per cent – will be played on weekends or holidays.