National Women's Hockey League (2015–)

This article is about the women's hockey league founded in 2015. For the organization that existed from 1999 to 2007, see National Women's Hockey League (1999–2007).
National Women's Hockey League (2015–)
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2016–17 NWHL season
Sport Ice hockey
Founded March 2015
Commissioner Dani Rylan
No. of teams 4
Countries United States
Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.
Continent North America
Most recent
champion(s)		 Boston Pride (1st Title)
Most titles Boston Pride (1st Title)
TV partner(s) Cheddar
NESN (Boston Pride games)
Official website nwhl.zone

The National Women's Hockey League is an American women's professional ice hockey league. Established in 2015, the league comprises four teams: the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.[1] The league's championship trophy is the Isobel Cup, named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, the daughter of Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, donor of the Stanley Cup.[2]

Dani Rylan is the league's founder and commissioner.[3]

The league's financial backing, most of which is provided by silent partners, has been a source of scrutiny. Canadian Joel Leonoff, CEO of Paysafe Group and father of Connecticut Whale goaltender Jaimie Leonoff, was later revealed as a key investor.[4]

History

The formation of the NWHL was announced in March 2015. The league holds the distinction of being the first U.S women's hockey league to pay its players. Prior to the league's formation, the only current choice for top level women's hockey in North America was the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), which is unpaid. The league's first season ran on a salary cap of US $270,000 maximum per team and of $10,000 minimum per player.[5] The players can also make additional revenue by way of a right to 15% of profits off any NWHL jersey sold with their name on it. The league placed its four original teams in what it considered to be strong traditional hockey markets where support would be strongest: in the New York City area, Buffalo and New England.

The inaugural NWHL Entry Draft took place in Boston on June 20. The league held tryout camps in various locales in Canada, along with an international player camp in Boston.[6] In addition, due to the paid nature of the league and its placement in the Northeastern United States, the league attracted many top level United States women's national ice hockey team stars from the CWHL such as Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain Meghan Duggan, top graduating players from the NCAA, and international players. The league is recognized by USA Hockey as the top women's professional league.[7]

In December 2015, the league signed their first league wide sponsorship deal, a multi-year deal with Dunkin Donuts.[8]

On December 31, 2015, the Boston Pride played Montreal's Les Canadiennes of the CWHL to a 1–1 tie in the first Women's Winter Classic (officially the "Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank") the day before the 2016 NHL Winter Classic and at the same site, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It was the first outdoor professional women's hockey game and the first game between the NWHL and the CWHL.[9]

The 1st NWHL All-Star Game took place on January 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. The game featured a 4-on-4 format with Hilary Knight of the Boston Pride and Emily Pfalzer of the Buffalo Beauts serving as team captains. On Saturday March 12, 2016. The Boston Pride became the first ever Isobel Cup champions with a 3–1 win vs the Buffalo Beauts and a 2–0 series win.

Heading into the second season, the league undertook a new direction. On August 4, 2016, the league announced that all four inaugural season jersey designs would be retired.[10] All four teams enter the upcoming season with new jersey designs, that shall be voted upon by fans online.

Two days prior to this announcement, the league announced a partnership with You Can Play,[11] an organization dedicated to eradicating homophobia in sport. Not only did each team in the league have a You Can Play athlete-ambassador, it would eventually begin to develop a policy with regards to transgender players. This initiative took place in reaction to the October 7, 2016, announcement that Buffalo Beauts player Harrison Browne was transgender, which made him the first openly transgender athlete in professional American team sports.[12]

Part way into the league's second season, the NWHL informed its players on November 17, 2016, that they would all be getting up to a 50% pay cut. The league claims the pay cut is needed in order to sustain the longevity of the league. This dropped the league player minimums to $5,000 per player.[13]

Teams

The league consists of four teams concentrated in the Northeast.

Current teams

Team City Primary Arena Head Coach Isobel Cups Runners Up
Boston Pride Boston, Massachusetts Warrior Ice Arena Bobby Jay 1 0
Buffalo Beauts Buffalo, New York HarborCenter Ric Seiling 0 1
Connecticut Whale North Branford, Connecticut Northford Ice Pavilion Heather Linstad 0 0
New York Riveters Newark, New Jersey Prudential Center Chad Wiseman 0 0

In addition, the independent Minnesota Whitecaps played games against Connecticut, Boston and New York over the course of the inaugural season.[14]

Seasons

2015–16

Main article: 2015–16 NWHL season

The inaugural NWHL Entry Draft took place in Boston on June 20. The draft order was decided on June 8 by lottery: the New York Riveters to pick first, followed by the Connecticut Whale, the Boston Pride, and the Buffalo Beauts.[15] The first overall pick by the Riveters was Boston College graduate Alex Carpenter, the 2015 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award for the most outstanding player in NCAA women's hockey, and the daughter of National Hockey League All-Star Bobby Carpenter. The other first round picks were University of Minnesota forward Hannah Brandt by Connecticut, Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne by Boston, and University of Wisconsin defenseman Courtney Burke by Buffalo.

The first game in league history, between the New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale on October 11, 2015, sold out.[16] Manon Rheaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening faceoff before that game.[17] The first goal in league history, in a 4–1 win by the host Whale, was scored by Jessica Koizumi of Connecticut.[18]

Media coverage

The NWHL does not currently have a national television partner. During the inaugural season, some games were shown on ESPN3, a sister streaming service to cable channel ESPN.[19]
In 2016, third-party broadcasts moved from ESPN3 to the new Cheddar, an internet television channel available via Sling TV.[20]

The NWHL also streams non-Cheddar games on its own YouTube channel for free. The service is dubbed The Cross-Ice Pass.[21]

The league's flagship franchise, the Boston Pride, became the first women's hockey team to enter a regular broadcasting agreement with a regional sports network, with 8 of its 18 games presented on either NESN or NESNplus during the league's inaugural season.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Neale, Jen (March 26, 2015). "NWHL, new women's hockey league, promises to pay players". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Fink, James (April 16, 2015). "Buffalo Beauts to play at HarborCenter". Buffalo Business First.
  3. ↑ Clinton, Jared (March 26, 2015). "National Women's Hockey League set to begin in 2015–16, will pay players". The Hockey News. Longueuil, PQ. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ Borzi, Pat (February 9, 2016). "Father Of Connecticut Whale Goalie Among NWHL's Mystery Investors". espnW. ESPN Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ Cimini, Kaitlin (September 30, 2015). "NWHL Release of Player Finances Raises Questions". Today's Slapshot.
  6. ↑ Clinton, Jared (July 2, 2015). "NWHL to hold first Canadian-based free agent camps". The Hockey News. Longueuil, PQ.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Women's Players Highlight NWHL Rosters". Usahockey.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  8. ↑ Cimini, Kaitlin (December 7, 2015). "The NWHL Runs on Dunkin' (Donuts)". Today's Slapshot.
  9. ↑ "NHL to host first-ever Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank". NHL. December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ "NWHL retires inaugural season jersey designs". NWHL.zone. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  11. ↑ "NWHL partners with You Can Play". You Can Play Project. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  12. ↑ "NWHL player Harrison Browne comes out as a transgender man". ESPN. 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  13. ↑ "NWHL hit with bad news". The Fourth Period. November 18, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Whitecaps Split Games Against NWHL Teams". Mnwhitecaps.com. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  15. ↑ Zoë Hayden (June 9, 2015). "Women's Hockey News Roundup, 6/9". Stanley Cup of Chowder. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. ↑ Clinton, Jared (October 7, 2015). "NWHL sells out inaugural game, Manon Rheaume to drop ceremonial puck in Buffalo". The Hockey News. Longueuil, PQ.
  17. ↑ Marrazza, Dan (October 11, 2015). "As puck drops on opening day, NWHL focused on sport's long-term growth". SI.com. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  18. ↑ Clinton, Jared (October 11, 2015). "Watch Jessica Koizumi enter the record books with first goal in NWHL history". The Hockey News. Longueuil, PQ.
  19. ↑ Neale, Jen (November 25, 2015). "NWHL, ESPN announce partnership to stream on ESPN3". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  20. ↑ Laung, Diamond (November 15, 2016). "National Women's Hockey League To Broadcast Games on Cheddar's Sling TV Channel". sporttechie.com. SportTechie, LLC. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  21. ↑ Murphy, Mike (October 10, 2015). "NWHL Games will be Streamed for Free with Cross-Ice Pass". SB Nation. Vox Media. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ SI Staff (November 17, 2015). "NWHL, NESN reach deal to televise eight Boston Pride games in 2015–16". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2016.

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