The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a
women's professional ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams
and has since grown to a mixture of seven independently owned teams: the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
,
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts are a professional ice hockey team based in Amherst, New York, United States. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four founding franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), originally named the National Women' ...
,
Connecticut Whale,
Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franchi ...
,
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...
,
Montreal Force
The Montreal Force (french: la Force de Montréal) are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They are based in Montreal, Quebec and practice at the Verdun Auditorium. The team was established in 2022 and debuted ...
and
Toronto Six
The Toronto Six is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are one of two Canadian teams in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League ...
.
The
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
, the league's championship trophy, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
.
History
League beginnings and inaugural 2015–16 season
The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was formed by
Dani Rylan
Dani Rylan Kearney (born August 5, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and former ice hockey player. She is the founder and former commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), the first professional women's hockey league in the United ...
in March 2015 with an estimated $2.5 million operating budget.
It was the first women's professional hockey league to pay its players.
Prior to the league's formation, the only choice for top level women's hockey in North America was the
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...
(CWHL), which at the time paid bonuses and incentives but not salaries. The league's
inaugural season ran on a
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
of US$270,000 maximum per team and a $10,000 minimum per player. The players also earn 15% of profits from any NWHL jersey sold with their name on it. The league placed its four original teams in markets where many young girls play ice hockey: the New York City area, Buffalo, and New England.
Commissioner Dani Rylan had not disclosed the league's initial investors or how much had been invested. Canadian Joel Leonoff, CEO of
Paysafe Group
Paysafe Limited (formerly known as Optimal Payments PLC) is a multinational online payments company. The group offers services both under the ''Paysafe'' brand and subsidiary brands that have become part of the group through several mergers an ...
and father of Connecticut Whale goaltender
Jaimie Leonoff
Jaimie Leonoff (born January 28, 1990) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former goaltender, who last played for the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She currently serves as NY Hockey Holdings business analyst for th ...
, has spoken about his investment in the league, although he declined to reveal the size of his investment.
The inaugural
NWHL Draft took place in Boston in June 2015 with each team selecting five collegiate athletes. The league held tryout camps in various locales in Canada, along with an international player camp in Boston. The league attracted many top level
United States women's national ice hockey team
The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament.
In 1998, the women's Olympic ...
stars from the CWHL such as
Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain
Meghan Duggan
Meghan Duggan (born September 3, 1987) is an American former ice hockey forward and director of player development for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. She played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 W ...
, top graduating players from the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, and international players.
In December 2015, the league signed their first league-wide sponsorship deal, a multi-year deal with
Dunkin' Donuts. On December 31, 2015, the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
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
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
in
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 at ...
. It was the first outdoor professional women's hockey game and the first game between the NWHL and the CWHL.
The
1st NWHL All-Star Game took place on January 24, 2016, in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. The game featured a 4-on-4 format with Hilary Knight of the Boston Pride and
Emily Pfalzer
Emily Pfalzer Matheson (born June 14, 1993) is an American women's ice hockey player who was the first captain the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) from 2015-2017.
Internationally, Pfalzer plays for United States women's na ...
of the Buffalo Beauts serving as team captains. On Saturday, March 12, 2016, the Boston Pride became the first
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
champions with a 3–1 win over the Buffalo Beauts and a 2–0 series win.
Structural changes and NHL partnerships (2016–2019)
On August 4, 2016, the league announced that all four inaugural season jersey designs would be retired and replaced with new uniform designs that were voted upon by fans. Two days prior to this announcement, the league announced a partnership with You Can Play, 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 response to the October 7, 2016, announcement that Buffalo Beauts player
Harrison Browne
Harrison Browne (born Hailey Browne on May 13, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Metropolitan Riveters and Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Browne was assigned female at birth an ...
was transgender (and the first openly transgender athlete in professional American team sports).
Part way into the league's
second season, the NWHL informed its players on November 17, 2016, that they would receive up to a 50% pay cut. This decreased the league player minimums to $5,000 per player. Five weeks later, in an attempt to partially compensate for the salary rollback, the league introduced an incentive program where players from the home team split the revenue generated by tickets sold in excess of 500 after each game. On February 3, 2017, the league announced that the season and playoffs would be shortened to accommodate for the players' participation in the
2017 IIHF World Championships and preparations for the 2018 Olympic teams. In September 2017, the league joined with 16 other international hockey organizations in formally adopting the NHL's Declaration of Principles, with the goal of advancing teaching, policies, and programs to strengthen hockey communities around the world.
In October 2017, the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) partnered with the Riveters, the first NHL team to partner with an NWHL team.
The three-year partnership provides facilities for Riveters games and practices, and assists with sponsorships, marketing, and tickets.
The team changed its name to the
Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franchi ...
and adopted the colors of the Devils.
Some Riveters games are broadcast on The One Jersey Network, the Devils' digital radio station as well.
As part of the new affiliation, the Riveters and Devils held a doubleheader at the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...
for the Riveters'
2017–18 season opener against the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
followed by the Devils' game against the
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
.
On December 21, 2017, the
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts are a professional ice hockey team based in Amherst, New York, United States. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four founding franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), originally named the National Women' ...
were acquired by
Pegula Sports and Entertainment
Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) is an American sports and entertainment company based in Buffalo, New York. The company was established after multi-billionaire Terry Pegula and his family combined their sports, property and entertainment ass ...
, owners of the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
,
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...
, and the Beauts' arena
HarborCenter
LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected ...
. The Beauts were the second team to become affiliated with an NHL franchise, following the Metropolitan Riveters and the New Jersey Devils partnership in October, the first NWHL franchise to not be owned by the league and the first team in professional women's hockey to be owned by a
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
owner.
On May 15, 2018, the league announced its first expansion franchise, the
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...
, would join the league for the
2018–19 season.
The Whitecaps played in the
Western Women's Hockey League
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offi ...
(WWHL) in Canada from 2004 to 2011.
Following the WWHL's closure, the team played as an independent, playing against college teams
and in exhibition games against NWHL teams during the inaugural 2015–16 season. The Whitecaps signed a partnership agreement with the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
, with whom the Whitecaps already had cooperated with as an independent, in the 2018 offseason. The Whitecaps were the second franchise to be privately operated in the NWHL.
In August 2018, the NWHL also began an affiliation program, called the Jr. NWHL, with youth hockey organizations to promote growth in girl's and women's hockey.
After a call for more transparency the league announced they would reveal some of the league investors and their stories over the 2018–19 season. The first league investor to be revealed was Neil Leibman, co-owner of the
Texas Rangers of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
. The second was announced as Lee Heffernan, a marketing executive.
In January 2019, the Boston Pride and the NHL's
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
officially became promotional partners, making the Pride the fourth NWHL team associated with an NHL team. During the 2018–19 season, commissioner Rylan stated that the Minnesota Whitecaps were the first NWHL team to turn a profit.
CWHL dissolution aftermath (2019–2021)
On March 31, 2019, it was announced that the
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...
board of directors had decided that the league would discontinue operations effective May 1, 2019. The
Toronto Furies
The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...
and
Les Canadiennes organizations announced they intended to continue operations while the
Calgary Inferno
The Calgary Inferno (previously known as Team Alberta, nickname "Honeybadgers", during the 2011–12 season) was a women's ice hockey team that joined the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) for the 2011–12 season. The team played its home g ...
announced an intention to do everything in its power to continue women's hockey in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. During the season, NWHL commissioner
Dani Rylan
Dani Rylan Kearney (born August 5, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and former ice hockey player. She is the founder and former commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), the first professional women's hockey league in the United ...
had been in talks with the CWHL about the possibility of a single league. In response to the abrupt folding of the CWHL, ''
The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
'' reported that the NWHL was exploring adding teams in Canada to fill the markets left by the CWHL, likely adding Toronto and Montreal teams with the possibility of adding Calgary if a major donor could help with the costs.
On April 2, 2019, the NWHL announced plans for two expansion franchises in Montreal and Toronto and official support from the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
to make it one of the NWHL's biggest financial sponsors. The league was in conversations with all of the current stakeholders and partners within Toronto and Montreal. However, in response to the folding of the CWHL, players from both leagues were dissatisfied in the operation of both the NWHL and CWHL in that neither league provided health insurance or a livable salary. Due to these conditions, over 200 players released a joint statement announcing their intent to not participate in any North American professional league for the 2019–20 season. The NWHL responded with that they were pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years and hoped to increase player salaries. and agreed to give players a 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals. On May 20, 2019, the players formed a
worker's union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
called the
Professional Women's Hockey Players Association
The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...
(PWHPA) to further push for their stated goals of a league that provides financial and infrastructure resources to players, health insurance, and support to training programs for young female players.
On May 8, 2019,
Pegula Sports and Entertainment
Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) is an American sports and entertainment company based in Buffalo, New York. The company was established after multi-billionaire Terry Pegula and his family combined their sports, property and entertainment ass ...
, the owners of the Buffalo Beauts, relinquished ownership and operations of the team back to the NWHL, but continued to claim rights to the Beauts name as part of the turnover. On May 17, 2019, it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters. With the partnerships dissolved, both teams changed their home venues.
In a league update on May 30, 2019, the NWHL announced that due to no additional investors, the league would not be able to increase to full-time salaries or provide players with health insurance outside of the typical worker's compensation for injuries, but had come to an agreement to a 50 percent revenue split on all league-wide sponsorship and media deals. In addition, the league also stated they would not add Montreal and Toronto for the 2019–20 season.
The league announced a longer 2019–20 season for the teams, going from 16 to 24 games.
In September 2019, the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone. On April 22, 2020, the NWHL announced an expansion team for
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, to begin play in the 2020–21 season later named the
Toronto Six
The Toronto Six is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are one of two Canadian teams in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League ...
. Johanna Neilson Boynton was announced as the owner of the team,
Tyler Tumminia
Tyler Adwen "Ty" Tumminia (born ) is an American sports executive and former commissioner of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Prior to her involvement with the PHF, she was a baseball executive and partial owner of several Minor League Base ...
as the team chairman, and
Digit Murphy
Margaret Pearl "Digit" Murphy (née Degidio; born December 7, 1961) is an American ice hockey coach, administrator, and former college ice hockey player. She is president of the Toronto Six of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).
Murphy h ...
as team president. The team replaced the former
Toronto Furies
The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...
of the former CWHL in the market.
On October 12, 2020, commissioner and founder Dani Rylan stepped down as commissioner and was replaced by
Tyler Tumminia
Tyler Adwen "Ty" Tumminia (born ) is an American sports executive and former commissioner of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Prior to her involvement with the PHF, she was a baseball executive and partial owner of several Minor League Base ...
as interim commissioner. In addition, the league changed its governing model to an incorporated association that is overseen by a board of governors with one representative per team. Rylan remained with the league to oversee the Beauts, Whale, Riveters, and Whitecaps while searching for independent ownership of the league operated teams until March 2021 when she also left that role.
In 2020 and 2021, the NWHL was criticized for producing content in association with
Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that produces content on sports and pop culture. Founded by David Portnoy in 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts, the company's two primary owners are ...
, a sports website which had previously been accused of promoting racist and misogynistic views. In response, the NWHL distanced itself from the outlet, after Barstool's CEO
Erika Nardini
Erika Ayers'' ''(formerly Nardini) is an American businesswoman and CEO of the digital media company Barstool Sports. Since 2017, she has consistently been ranked as one of the most powerful executives in sports media. Early life and education
...
posted a video allegedly encouraging the harassment of journalists who criticized the partnership.
Premier Hockey Federation (2021–present)
Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Tumminia announced that team salary caps would be doubled, going from $150,000 per team to $300,000. On May 10, 2021, the league announced it had sold the Connecticut Whale to a new independent ownership group called Shared Hockey Enterprises (SHE), LLC, led by Tobin Kelly, reducing the league operated teams to three. On May 26, the league announced the Riveters had been sold to BTM Partners, owners of the Boston Pride and Toronto Six, with John Boynton named the team's chairman. The NWHL finished selling its league operated teams to independent ownership with the sale of the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps to a joint partnership of NLTT Ventures, LLC, and Top Tier Sports on June 28, 2021.
In September 2021, the league officially rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation, alongside several structural changes including prioritizing private ownership of teams. The 2021–22 season, the league's first season under the PHF title, began in November 2021. PHF players were required to follow testing and quarantine protocols due the outbreak of the
COVID-19 Omicron
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
variant.
On January 18, 2022, the league announced that 2022–23 salary cap would more than double to $750,000 per team, as well as full healthcare benefits and an equity stake in the teams for the players.
Additionally, the league confirmed that it still plans to add the expansion team in Montreal and possibly additional locations in the United States.
In February 2022, it was announced that commissioner Tumminia was not seeking to renew her contract and would step down at the end of the 2021–22 season.
On July 12, 2022, the league officially announced the expansion franchise in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
to begin play in the 2022-2023 season. The Montreal team is owned by BTM Partners and Kevin Raphael will serve as the team's president.
In December 2022, the salary cap for the 2023–24 PHF season was set at $1.5 million per team, double the 2022–23 cap of $750,000.
The increase aligns with the Board of Governors' pledge, made in 2021, to invest $25 million directly in pay and benefits to PHF players over the ensuing three seasons. The PHF salary cap had already grown dramatically over the prior seasons, beginning at $150,000 per team during the 2021 season, then doubling to $300,000 during the 2021–22 season, and more than doubling to $750,000 for the 2022–23 season; the league also began providing full health-care benefits to players in the 2022–23 season.
The announced cap signifies a nine-hundred percent growth over the 2021 salary cap.
Teams
Current teams
Seasons
2015–16
The inaugural
NWHL Draft took place in Boston on June 20, with each team selecting five collegiate players.
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. The first overall pick by the Riveters was
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
graduate
Alex Carpenter
Alexandra "Alex" Carpenter (born April 13, 1994) is an American ice hockey player and member of the United States women's national team. She most recently played in the 2020–21 season of the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with the KRS Vanke R ...
, the 2015 winner of the
Patty Kazmaier Award
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is given to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four. The award was first presented in 1998.
The awa ...
for the most outstanding player in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
women's hockey, and the daughter of
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
All-Star
Bobby Carpenter.
The first game in league history occurred on October 11, 2015, a sell-out match between the New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.
Manon Rhéaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening faceoff before the game. The first goal in league history was scored by
Jessica Koizumi
Jessica "Jess" Koizumi (Ka-Zoo-Me) (born April 15, 1985) is an American ice hockey coach and player, currently serving as the associate head coach of the Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey program. She won a gold medal as a member of the Unit ...
of the Connecticut Whale during the team's 4–1 win.
2016–17
The same four teams returned for the second season. Prior to the first game of the season,
Harrison Browne
Harrison Browne (born Hailey Browne on May 13, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Metropolitan Riveters and Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Browne was assigned female at birth an ...
of the Buffalo Beauts made the declaration that he was a transgender athlete. The
2nd NWHL All-Star Game
The 2nd NWHL All-Star Game took place at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on February 12, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A skills competition was held the day prior on February 11, 2017.
This edition of the All-Star Game featured a "fanta ...
was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a rumored expansion market.
Amanda Kessel and
Kelley Steadman
Kelley Steadman (born July 17, 1990) is an American retired ice hockey player, currently serving as an ice hockey development ambassador for Lightning Made, the community hockey department of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a member of the United St ...
were named as All-Star captains.
Kessel scored the first
hat trick
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
in NWHL All-Star history and was named Star of the Night by
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
.
Brianna Decker
Brianna Decker (born May 13, 1991) is an American women's ice hockey player who plays for the Calgary section of the PWHPA and the United States women's national ice hockey team. She won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Award while playing for the Univer ...
finished the season as the league's top scorer and was named
NWHL Most Valuable Player Since 2016, the year of its inaugural season (which was then known as the NWHL), the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) grants several annual awards to players in the league, including Most Valuable Player, Goaltender of the Year, Best Defender, Rookie ...
(MVP). The
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts are a professional ice hockey team based in Amherst, New York, United States. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four founding franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), originally named the National Women' ...
, who finished in third place in the shortened season, upset the league-leading
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
in the Isobel Cup, broadcast online by
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
. The Beauts were honored at a Buffalo Sabres game later that month.
2017–18
The same four teams returned for the third season, all in the same primary home arenas for the first time. Buffalo played their home opener at
Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex
Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex is a non-profit indoor athletics facility in the Rochester, New York suburb of Brighton. Located on the campus of Monroe Community College, the arena was built in 1998. It is home to four regulation-size ice rinks ...
in the suburbs of
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
and there was also one neutral-site game in Pittsburgh. The
Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franchi ...
won the Isobel Cup defeating the Buffalo Beauts.
2018–19
![Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal holds up the Isobel Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Chelsey_Brodt_Rosenthal_holds_up_the_Isobel_Cup.jpg)
The league expanded to five teams with the inclusion of the formerly independent
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...
. The Champions Cup was played between the NWHL's 2018 Isobel Cup champion Metropolitan Riveters and the
Swedish Women's Hockey League
The Swedish Women's Hockey League ( sv, Svenska damhockeyligan), abbreviated SDHL, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Sweden. It was established in 2007 as the by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and was renamed prior to the 2016– ...
(SDHL) 2018 champion
Luleå HF
Luleå Hockeyförening is an ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are the northernmost team in the league and h ...
at
Hobey Baker Memorial Rink
Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is a 2,092-seat hockey arena in Princeton, New Jersey. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers men's and women's ice hockey teams as well as the venue for club and intramural hockey teams, intramural broomball, fi ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. Luleå defeated the Riveters 4–2. The Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup over the Buffalo Beauts in their first season in the league.
2019–20
The five teams from the previous season returned. Many former players boycotted the NWHL and formed the
Professional Women's Hockey Players Association
The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...
, leading to large roster turnover in the offseason. The game season was expanded from 16 to 24 games and a broadcast partnership was created with the Twitch streaming service. On Sunday, January 26, 2020,
Jillian Dempsey
Jillian T. Dempsey (born January 19, 1991) is an American ice hockey player who currently captains the Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She currently holds the all-time PHF records for games played, goals, assists, and points ...
became the first player in league history to reach 100 career points, including playoffs. She reached the century mark with an assist in a win versus the Minnesota Whitecaps. Prior to playing the championship game between the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
and
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...
, the closure of public events during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
led to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the championship. The 2020
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
was not awarded.
2020–21
The five teams from the previous season returned and an expansion team in the
Toronto Six
The Toronto Six is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are one of two Canadian teams in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League ...
was added. Due to the on-going
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the initial start of the regular season was pushed back to November 2020 and was to last until mid-March 2021 with 60 regular season games before the
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
playoffs. The start date was postponed again to January 2021
with each team playing five games, one against each team, before starting the Isobel Cup playoffs. All games are held at
Herb Brooks Arena
The Herb Brooks Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Lake Placid, New York. This surface, along with the USA Rink, was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics.
About
The arena hosted various events during the 1980 Winter Olympics, most famously the ice ...
in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...
, and regular season games streamed live on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
. The semifinals and Isobel Cup championship game are scheduled to be aired on
NBC Sports Network
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
.
During the two-week season, the Riveters had to withdraw from participation after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19. Several days later, the Whale forfeited their final game and withdrew before the playoffs. The league suspended play one day before the playoffs were to begin. The league rescheduled the Isobel Cup playoffs for March 26 and 27 in
Brighton, Massachusetts
Brighton is a Municipal annexation in the United States, former town and current Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of ...
.
2021–22
On April 28, 2021, the league announced that it was planning to double the salary cap of every franchise to $300,000, based on projections of financial stability for the seventh season.
Isobel Cup championship
![2017 Isobel Cup Browne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/2017_Isobel_Cup_Browne.jpg)
The
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
, the league's championship trophy, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
. It is named after
Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy
Lady Isobel Constance Mary Gathorne-Hardy {{post-nominals, country=GBR, DCVO ({{Nee, Stanley family, Stanley; September 2, 1875 – December 30, 1963) was a British courtier, best known for helping to popularize ice hockey in the early days of the ...
, the daughter of
Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, (15 January 1841 – 14 June 1908) styled as Hon. Frederick Stanley from 1844 to 1886 and as The Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United K ...
, the namesake of the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
.
The front of the trophy is engraved with "The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup 1875–1963. This Cup, shall be awarded annually to the greatest professional women's hockey team in North America. All who pursue this Cup, pursue a dream; a dream born with Isobel, that shall never die. EST. 2016."
The Boston Pride won the inaugural championship in 2016. The Buffalo Beauts have earned the most appearances in an Isobel Cup Final with four straight appearances from 2016 to 2019, winning in 2017.
The 2020 Isobel Cup championship between the Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps was originally postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and was later canceled outright. The league announced that no champion would be named for the season.
Broadcasting
During the inaugural season, some games were shown on
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
. 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
In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region.
...
, with 8 of its 18 games presented on either
NESN
New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports network, regional sports cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which ow ...
or
NESNplus during the league's inaugural season. In 2016, third-party broadcasts moved from ESPN3 to Cheddar. On March 16, 2017, the league announced that
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
' website would provide live streaming coverage of the 2017 Isobel Cup Playoffs.
On June 20, 2017, it was announced that the NWHL had made a deal with
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to live stream 16 regular season games, one game a week (billed as the "Twitter NWHL Game of the Week") plus the All Star Game and the NWHL/Team Russia Summit Series for the 2017–18 season. As part of the partnership with the New Jersey Devils in October 2017, some Riveters games are broadcast on The One Jersey Network, the Devils' digital radio station.
The league also streamed and archived some games on its
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel for free. The service is dubbed ''The Cross-Ice Pass''. Some archived matches are also available.
On September 5, 2019, the NWHL announced a three-year deal with the video game-oriented streaming service
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
to stream all games and league events on the platform. It marked the first NWHL broadcast deal to include a rights fee, and revenue will also be shared with players. The NWHL had also reached an agreement with
NBCSN
NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
to carry the
2021 Isobel Cup semifinals and final, which would mark the first NWHL games to be broadcast nationally on a
linear television
Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule.
Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation ...
channel.
On October 20, 2021, the PHF announced they will be exclusively streaming season 7 on ESPN+ in the U.S, with the 2022 Isobel Cup final airing on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
.
See also
*
PHF awards Since 2016, the year of its inaugural season (which was then known as the NWHL), the Premier Hockey Federation
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league ...
*
List of PHF records (individual) This is a list of individual records recognized by the Premier Hockey Federation through the end of the 2019–20 NWHL season, 2019–20 season. Jillian Dempsey currently holds the all-time PHF records for games played, goals, assists, and points. O ...
*
*
Major women's sport leagues in North America
The prominent women's sports leagues in the United States and Canada represent the elite level of women's sports competition for women athletes in North America. The majority of professional women's leagues are found in the United States. Top wo ...
*
List of ice hockey leagues
This is a list of ice hockey leagues, both professional and amateur, from around the world; parentheses denote year of establishment and, where applicable, year of disestablishment.
North America Major professional
* National Hockey League (1917 ...
*
Women's sports
The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premier Hockey Federation
2015 establishments in New York (state)
Women's ice hockey leagues in the United States
Women's ice hockey leagues in Canada
Sports leagues established in 2015
Professional ice hockey leagues in the United States
Professional ice hockey leagues in Canada
Multi-national professional sports leagues
2015 establishments in the United States
2015 establishments in Canada