1996–97 WHL season
| 1996–97 WHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Regular season | |
| Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy | Lethbridge Hurricanes (1) |
| Season MVP | Peter Schaefer (Brandon Wheat Kings) |
| Top scorer | Todd Robinson (Portland Winter Hawks) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Blaine Russell (Hurricanes) |
| Finals champions | Lethbridge Hurricanes (1) |
| Runners-up | Seattle Thunderbirds |
| 1996–97 CHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Canadian Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 49 |
| OHL | |
| QMJHL | |
| WHL | |
| Memorial Cup | |
| Finals champions | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
The 1996–97 WHL season was the 31st season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring eighteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and the President's Cup as playoff champions, both for the first time in team history. The Hurricanes went on to finish as runners-up at the 1997 Memorial Cup tournament.
The Edmonton Ice joined the WHL as its eighteenth team, and the first to call Edmonton home since the second iteration of the Oil Kings left the city in 1979.