Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League is the national hockey league of the Western Republic. Every season, the top 8 teams of each conference, a total of 16 teams, advance to the playoffs. There are four rounds of the playoffs; the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals, the Conference Finals, and the Western Cup Finals. The winner of the Western Cup Finals wins the Western Cup, the greatest prize in hockey. As of 2019, the latest winner of the Western Cup is the Seattle Aviators, who won it against the San Jose Sharks. As of 2019, the team who won the most Western Cups is the Seattle Aviators, who have won 25 Western Cups since the league was founded in 1917.

The Western Hockey League was founded in 1917. Despite the league being officially founded, the Western Cup was awarded annually since 1893. The Original Six teams of the Western Republic were the Vancouver Canucks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Seattle Aviators (called the Seattle Metropolitans until 1924), the California Seals, the Calgary Flames (called the Alberta Flames until 1980, they changed their name due to the expansion into Edmonton the year before), and the Portland Winterhawks. However, the Seattle Aviators date back to the late 1800s, and were called the Seattle Metropolitans until 1924, when they renamed to the Seattle Aviators, named after both the aviators who fought for the Western Republic Air Force during World War I, as well as Boeing's presence in Seattle. The league consisted of only six teams until 1967, when the league finally expanded.

The best players in the league get to play in the Western Hockey League All-Star Game. The All-Star Game is held annually in the Hawaiian Airlines Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Western Hockey League has its headquarters in Vancouver, which is known as the hockey capital of the world.

The newest team to the league os the Vegas Golden Knights, who joined for the 2017-18 season. A second team in the Seattle metropolitan area, most likely playing in Tacoma, will join the league as the thirty-second team, starting play in the 2021-22 season.

Teams
The WHL has thirty-one teams. Fifteen in the Northern Conference, and sixteen in the Southern Conference.

2018-19 Playoffs
† - Indicates that this team placed first in the league's regular season.