WHL's Greatest Scorers

[Daryn Duliba]

I have put together a list of the greatest scorers in WHL history. The system levels the playing field across eras so that the players of the high scoring 80s do not have an unfair advantage over the players of today. Everybody gets a fair comparison across the league's entire 39 year history.

Dominating the league scoring race is the key to being at the top of this list. Good career point totals are nice but, how you dominate during your time in the league is what constitutes greatness. This list recognizes the true greats that dominated the WHL.

So, here they are. The greatest scorers in WHL history:


1 Brian Propp 21
2 Ray Allison 18
3 Bobby Clarke 16
Rob Brown 16
5 Dennis Sobchuk 15
6 Brian Sakic 14.5
7 Tom Lysiak 14
8 Reg Leach 13
Dale Derkatch 13
Pavel Brendl 13
Jock Callander 13
12 Brad Moran 12.5
13 Greg Polis 12
Bill Derlago 12
Dan Hodgson 12
Darcy Tucker 12
17 Joe Sakic 10.5
18 Don Murdoch 10
Barry Pederson 10
Dennis Holland 10
Layne Ulmer 10
22 Lorne Henning 9.5
Theoren Fleury 9.5
Justin Mapletoft 9.5
25 Dean Evason 8
Domenic Pittis 8
Todd Robinson 8
28 Blaine Stoughton 7.5
Ron Chipperfield 7.5
Cliff Ronning 7.5
Hnat Dominechelli 7.5
32 Gerry Pinder 7
Chuck Arnason 7
Mel Bridgman 7
Bernie Federko 7
Doug Wickenheiser 7
Brian Varga 7
Gary Michayluk 7
Ray Ferraro 7
Craig Endean 7
Troy Mick 7
Stu Barnes 7
Len Barrie 7
Ray Whitney 7
Kevin St. Jacques 7
Jason Krywulak 7
Lonny Bohonos 7
Daymond Langkow 7
Mark Deyell 7
Sergei Varlamov 7
Nathan Barrett 7
Jeremy Jackson 7
Erik Cristensen 7
Chris St. Jacques 7
Tyler Redenbach 7
Eric Fehr 7
57 Jeremy Williams 6.33
58 Rick Sentes 6
Orest Kindrachuk 6
Stan Weir 6
Bryan Trottier 6
Greg Carroll 6
Tim Tookey 6
Ken Yaremchuk 6
Simon Wheeldon 6
Glen Goodall 6
Terry Degner 6
Valeri Bure 6
Frank Banham 6
Byron Ritchie 6
Cory Cyrenne 6
Joffrey Lupul 6
Jesse Schultz 6
Ryan Stone 6
75 Lanny McDonald 5.5
Kelly Kisio 5.5
Dylan Gyori 5.5
78 Herb Pinder 5
Bernie Blanchette 5
Tom Serviss 5
Chris Oddleifson 5
Laurie Yaworski 5
Mike Rogers 5
Steve Tambellini 5
Laurie Boschman 5
Bruce Eakin 5
Jim McGeough 5
Kelly Glowa 5
Ken Morrison 5
Len Neilson 5
Mark Recchi 5
Tim Tisdale 5
Victor Gervais 5
Cal McGowan 5
Rick Girard 5
Stacy Roest 5
Marty Murray 5
Patrick Marleau 5
Ronald Petrovicky 5
Radek Duda 5
Jared Aulin 5
Eric Johansson 5
Kyle Brodziak 5
104 Robbie Neale 4.5
Mark MacKay 4.5
Greg Evtushevski 4.5
Allan Egeland 4.5
Tim Konsorada 4.5
Gilbert Brule 4.5
110 Brian Lavander 4
Ron Snell 4
Bob Liddington 4
Darcy Rota 4
Al Hiller 4
Dave Faulkner 4
Blair Chapman 4
Kevin McCarthy 4
Errol Rausse 4
Duane Sutter 4
Roger Kortko 4
Taylor Hall 4
Randy Smith 4
Blair Atcheynum 4
Pat Falloon 4
Kevin Riehl 4
Louis Dumont 4
Ryan Duthie 4
Jarome Iginla 4
Peter Schaefer 4
Chad Hinz 4
Jarrett Stoll 4
Tyler Beechey 4
133 Matt Ellison 3.5
Brad Schell 3.5
Phil Huber 3.5
Ray Podloski 3.5
Shane Willis 3.5
Quinn Hancock 3.5
Steve Tsujiura 3.5
Jim Benning 3.5
141 Ernie Hicke 3
Reg Bechtold 3
Wayne Chernecki 3
Terry Ruskowski 3
Doug Morrison 3
Jim Dobson 3
Don Ashby 3
Cam Plante 3
Fred Berry 3
Ken Preistlay 3
Robb Gordon 3
BJ Young 3
Shawn McNeil 3
Scott Gomez 3
Blake Evans 3
Jozef Balej 3
Colton Yellowhorn 3
Chris Schmidt 3
159 Darren Ritchie 2.5
Ernie Moser 2.5
Brian Marchinko 2.5
Randy Rota 2.5
Jim Nichols 2.5
Dan Bonar 2.5
Tony Currie 2.5
Al Conroy 2.5
Jason Ruff 2.5
Jason Miller 2.5
Tim Smith 2.5
170 Rick Schinske 2
Rich Gosselin 2
Gene Peacosh 2
Dan Spring 2
Jeff Ablett 2
Wayne Bianchin 2
Rick Blight 2
Geordie Robertson 2
Ron Flockhart 2
Gary Yaremchuk 2
Marc Habscheid 2
Randy Heath 2
Rob Matechuk 2
Adam Morrison 2
Terry Yake 2
Wayne Hynes 2
Petr Nedved 2
Jeff Nelson 2
John Varga 2
Josh Holden 2
Josh St. Louis 2
Brett McLean 2
Kyle Wanvig 2
Brooks Laich 2
Chad Klassen 2
Jonathan Filewich 2
196 Ken Faranski 1.5
Morris Stefaniw 1.5
Mike Toal 1.5
Todd Holt 1.5
200 Mikhail Yakubov 1
Gord Walker 1
Gerry Minor 1
Jim Gustafson 1
Don Kozak 1
Gregg Sheppard 1
Ron Garwasiuk 1
Danny Gare 1
Greg Hawgood 1
Brad Rubachuk 1
Zac Boyer 1
Terry Ryan 1
Mike LeClerc 1
Mark Smith 1
Trent Hunter 1
Seth Leonard 1
Adam Courchaine 1
217 Vic Mercredi 0.5
Peter Morris 0.5
Barry Dean 0.5
Gord Williams 0.5
Darren Veitch 0.5
Mark Lamb 0.5
Peter Kasowski 0.5
Mike Sillinger 0.5
Jordan Krestanovich 0.5
Konstantin Panov 0.5
227 Dylan Stanley 0.33
David Bararuk 0.33
229 Mark Lofthouse 0.25
Wayne Babych 0.25
Brent Peterson 0.25
Kim Davis 0.25

[Daryn Duliba]

And here are the greatest single scoring seasons in WHL history:


1. 1986-87 Rob Brown 212 points, Craig Endean 146 points. Brown wins by 45.2%
2. 1976-77 Bill Derlago 178 points, Ray Allison 137 points. Derlago wins by 29.9%
3. 1967-68 Bobby Clarke 168 points, Reg Leach 131 points. Clarke wins by 28.2%
4. 1978-79 Brian Propp 194 points, Ray Allison 153 points. Propp wins by 26.8%

[Hedberg]

Good lists.

[Hyped]

Prop was definitely the best. Love that guy...

[Trot]

Interesting reading you obviously put some time into these lists, so don't take this the wrong way. You've pretty well eliminated the bias towards guys like Glen Goodall and Todd Robinson (who had long careers and put up big numbers) but there is a bias towards above average players who played their 19 and 20 year old seasons in the Dub (obviously for guys like Propp who played before the NHL lowered the draft age they had no choice). Players like Brad Moran and Darcy Tucker (who I wish played for Seattle) had the chance to put up big numbers their final seasons. However, players like Patrick Marleau and Petr Nedved seem to be "penalized" on this list as they were never returned to the Dub after putting up monster seasons during their draft years. I know it's impossible (and stupid) to project what these players might have done, but it's pretty safe to assume they would change the landscape of the greatest scorers.

The name that most stands out on this list though is Lonny Bohonos. One good twenty year old season, and he rates at 32nd?! He was terrible in Seattle (maybe the coaching and system hurt him). Bohonos had a great season in 93-94, don't get me wrong, but it shouldn't make him one of the greatest scorers in WHL history.

[JonathanTwinkleToews]

Brendl at 8th!

[phaneuf_fan_3]

Originally Posted by Brule

Brendl at 8th!

Yep What A Waste

[STS]

Great list - thank you for taking the time to put it together !!!!!! Interesting to see Ron Chipperfield tied at 28 - he played on some pretty bad Brandon Wheat King teams in the early 70's yet scored at least 40 goals in each of the four seasons he played culminating with a remarkable 90 goals in his last season. Brian Propp on the other hand played on one of the all time great junior hockey teams of not only the WHL but all of Junior hockey - the 77-78 and 78-79 Brandon Wheat Kings. Would he have done as well as he did had he played on the lesser teams that Ron Chipperfield played on? Of course Chipperfield didn't do squat as a pro while Propp went on to a remarkable career in the NHL primarily with the Flyers ....

[Daryn Duliba]

Originally Posted by Trot

Interesting reading you obviously put some time into these lists, so don't take this the wrong way. You've pretty well eliminated the bias towards guys like Glen Goodall and Todd Robinson (who had long careers and put up big numbers) but there is a bias towards above average players who played their 19 and 20 year old seasons in the Dub (obviously for guys like Propp who played before the NHL lowered the draft age they had no choice). Players like Brad Moran and Darcy Tucker (who I wish played for Seattle) had the chance to put up big numbers their final seasons. However, players like Patrick Marleau and Petr Nedved seem to be "penalized" on this list as they were never returned to the Dub after putting up monster seasons during their draft years. I know it's impossible (and stupid) to project what these players might have done, but it's pretty safe to assume they would change the landscape of the greatest scorers.

The name that most stands out on this list though is Lonny Bohonos. One good twenty year old season, and he rates at 32nd?! He was terrible in Seattle (maybe the coaching and system hurt him). Bohonos had a great season in 93-94, don't get me wrong, but it shouldn't make him one of the greatest scorers in WHL history.

Unfortunately, the nature of the WHL is short 1, 2 or 3 year careers most of the time, so all it takes is one really good year to move well up the list. As well, the lower NHL age limit does affect what players can accomplish in the WHL. Some that could be at the top of the list never will be because they went on to a pro career before they could really lite up the league.

That being said, this is a compilation of greatest WHL scorers so, it can only be based on what players did during their WHL careers. With the nature of hockey being what it is today, Brian Propp may never be knocked off his perch at #1. He dominated this league for 3 years, many of today's players will never get the chance to play that long in the league.

[Trot]

Originally Posted by Ogopogo

Unfortunately, the nature of the WHL is short 1, 2 or 3 year careers most of the time, so all it takes is one really good year to move well up the list. As well, the lower NHL age limit does affect what players can accomplish in the WHL. Some that could be at the top of the list never will be because they went on to a pro career before they could really lite up the league.

That being said, this is a compilation of greatest WHL scorers so, it can only be based on what players did during their WHL careers. With the nature of hockey being what it is today, Brian Propp may never be knocked off his perch at #1. He dominated this league for 3 years, many of today's players will never get the chance to play that long in the league.

Like I said it's an interesting list that will generate discussion and disagreement. I understand the nature of junior hockey and the state of hockey today, where NHL clubs are looking for immediate payoff in their drafts.

Personally I think more weight should be given to a 17/18 year old who puts up big numbers than to a 19/20 year old who has a big season(s).

Looking up the numbers of some of the players on this list it just reminded me of how good Marleau's 96-97 season was. 125 points in his draft year and led the T-Birds to the conference finals vs Lethbridge, a feat that looking at their roster seems almost impossible.

At first glance at the list I found it interesting that Hnat Domenichelli was rated so much higher than Jarome Iginla. But after looking at the raw numbers it makes more sense. That said, watching them as linemates in 95-96 it was clear who was going to star as a professional and who was just a very talented junior player.

[CurtisJD13]

110 Brian Lavander 4
Ron Snell 4
Bob Liddington 4
Darcy Rota 4
Al Hiller 4
Dave Faulkner 4
Blair Chapman 4
Kevin McCarthy 4
Errol Rausse 4
Duane Sutter 4
Roger Kortko 4
Taylor Hall 4
Randy Smith 4
Blair Atcheynum 4
Pat Falloon 4
Kevin Riehl 4
Louis Dumont 4
Ryan Duthie 4
Jarome Iginla 4
Peter Schaefer 4
Chad Hinz 4
Jarrett Stoll 4
Tyler Beechey 4

Falloon definately was better than that in the WHL. And Iginla should be higher also, IMO. Other than that, it seems about right.

[bossy]

Originally Posted by Ogopogo

And here are the greatest single scoring seasons in WHL history:


1. 1986-87 Rob Brown 212 points, Craig Endean 146 points. Brown wins by 45.2%
2. 1976-77 Bill Derlago 178 points, Ray Allison 137 points. Derlago wins by 29.9%
3. 1967-68 Bobby Clarke 168 points, Reg Leach 131 points. Clarke wins by 28.2%
4. 1978-79 Brian Propp 194 points, Ray Allison 153 points. Propp wins by 26.8%

Len Barrie 180 points

[Daryn Duliba]

Originally Posted by bossy

Len Barrie 180 points

The top 10 scorers in 1989-90 were:

1 Len Barrie, Kamloops.............185
2 Glen Goodall, Seattle............163
3 Victor Gervais, Seattle..........160
4 Brian Sakic, 2 teams.............152
4 Phil Huber, Kamloops.............152
6 Petr Nedved, Seattle.............145
7 Stu Barnes, Tri-City.............144
8 Corey Lyons, Lethbridge..........142
9 Wes Walz, Lethbridge.............140
10 Bryan Bosch, Lethbridge..........138

Barrie beat Goodall by 13.5%. Barrie had an excellent season but, it was not quite as dominant as those four seasons that I listed.

[gibber1600]

VERY good list. I am also a Oil fan but Iginla seems a little low.