The WHL

Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

's U.S. Division (United States Division) was formed in 2001 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the West Division. As its name suggests, the teams are from the United States Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

, which has four teams in Washington state

Washington State

Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...

 and one in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. The aforementioned league realignment divided the WHL into two conferences of two divisions each: Eastern Conference: East Division; Central Division; Western Conference: U.S. Division; and the B.C. Division.

Current teams

• Everett Silvertips
  Everett Silvertips
  The Everett Silvertips are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that plays in Everett, Washington. They joined the league as an expansion team for the 2003–04 WHL season. The team name comes from the silvertip bear...
  
  
• Portland Winter Hawks
  Portland Winter Hawks
  The Portland Winterhawks are a major junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League, a member league in the Canadian Hockey League. They play their home games at the Memorial Coliseum, though typically a few games each season are also played in the...
  
  
• Seattle Thunderbirds
  Seattle Thunderbirds
  The Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center...
  
  
• Spokane Chiefs
  Spokane Chiefs
  The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. Spokane consistently ranks in the top 10 in the...
  
  
• Tri-City Americans
  Tri-City Americans
  The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center...
  
  

See also

• B.C. Division
  B.C. Division
  The WHL's B.C. Division was formed in 2001 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the West Division. As its name suggests, the teams are from British Columbia, which is just north of Washington...
  
  
• East Division
  East Division (WHL)
  The WHL's East Division was formed in 2001 as part of the Eastern Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the East Division. The teams consist of five from Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba...
  
  
• Central Division
  Central Division (WHL)
  The WHL's Central Division was formed in 2001 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the Central Division. As its name suggests, the division predominantly consists of the five Alberta teams. In 2004, A minor change saw the Kootenay Ice move to the...