Western Hockey League (minor pro)

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This article refers to the minor pro Western Hockey League operating from 1952 to 1974. For other leagues with the same name, see Western Hockey League (disambiguation)

The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. It was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. During the 1960's, the WHL moved into large west coast markets like Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it was feared that the WHL would become a rival major league that finally convinced the National Hockey League to expand for the 1967-68 season.

In the 1965-66 and 1967-68 seasons, they played an interlocking schedule with the American Hockey League. A diluted talent pool, and the move of the NHL and World Hockey Association into many of its traditional markets forced the league to cease operations after the 1973-74 season.

The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup, which is currently on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.