Chynoweth a legend in major-junior hockey
Ed Chynoweth raised the profile of major-junior hockey to onceunimaginable heights.
Early in his 20-plus-year tenure as president of the Western Hockey League, Chynoweth assumed a dual role as president of the Canadian Hockey League — an alliance of the three major-junior leagues.
In the early years of his administration, Chynoweth — who was born in Dodsland and grew up in nearby Coleville — was based in Saskatoon. The league’s head office moved to its present home of Calgary in 1976.
While based in Alberta, Chynoweth worked on behalf of the CHL in a collaboration with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada) to establish the foundation of a national team that would compete at the world junior hockey championship.
In 1995, Chynoweth stepped down as the WHL’s president to found an expansion team, the Edmonton Ice. The team eventually moved to Cranbrook, B.C., and was renamed the Kootenay Ice. The Ice won WHL titles in 2000 and 2002, and captured the Memorial Cup in the latter year.
The WHL announced in May of 2007 that its championship trophy would be renamed the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Chynoweth was 66 when he died on April 22, 2008, following a twoyear battle with kidney cancer. At the time, he was the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors.
Later in 2008, Chynoweth was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — a shrine to which he had contributed as a long-time member of the selection committee. As we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017, the Leader-Post and StarPhoenix are telling the stories of 150 Saskatchewan people who helped shape the nation. Send your suggestions or feedback to sask150@ postmedia.com.