The 2015–16 CWHL season is the ninth season of the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's Senior ice hockey, senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and ...

(CWHL).

Offseason

CWHL Draft

For the second consecutive year, the Brampton Thunder held the first pick overall and selected

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

defender Sarah Edney. Two members of Canada's gold medal winning roster at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

were selected during the first round:

Marie-Philip Poulin Marie-Philip Poulin (born March 28, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also the captain o ...

by Les Canadiennes and Brianne Jenner by 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 CWHL season, 2011–12 season. The ...

. Calgary also selected

Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser (born August 12, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, physician and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was the first woman to play full-time professional men’s hockey in a position other ...

ninth overall. In total, the five teams selected 55 players over 13 rounds.

Regular season

Les Canadiennes LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental S ...

won the Commissioner's Trophy for the best regular season records for the fifth time in seven years, eight points ahead of second-place Calgary Inferno. Montreal also lead the league with a +78 goal differential and an average of 4.75 goals per game. With a 5–4 win against the Brampton Thunder in the final game of the season, Calgary was the second team to secure home-ice advantage for the play-offs. Defending Clarkson Cup champions Boston Blades, however, would only record one shootout victory in their second game of the season, finishing last in the league with two points. Regular season scoring was led by four Canadiennes players, with

claiming the Angela James Bowl as the CWHL's top scorer. Along with Natalie Spooner of the Toronto Furies and

Laura Fortino Laura Michele Fortino (born January 30, 1991) is a Canadian-Italian ice hockey defenceman and coach, currently playing in the Italian Hockey League Women (IHLW) with the EV Bozen Eagles. A former member of the Canadian national team, she won ...

of the Brampton Thunder, she was also nominated for the MVP title.

Milestones

In a game against the Brampton Thunder on December 13, 2015, Noemie Marin registered the 200th point of her CWHL career . She would record two assists in the game, including one on the game-winning tally, to reach the milestone.

Standings

''indicates team has clinched regular season title''
''indicates team has clinched a playoff spot''

All-Star Game

The CWHL All-Star Game was held at Toronto's

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena (SBA), formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and t ...

for the second time. In an online poll, Natalie Spooner and

Julie Chu Julie Wu Chu (born March 13, 1982) is an American-Canadian former Olympic ice hockey player who played forward on the United States women's ice hockey team and defense with Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). She won ...

voted as team captains by the fans. Chu's Team Black won the game 5–1, with Marie-Philip Poulin scoring two goals and being named the All-Star Game MVP.

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. ''GP = Games played; G =

Goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

s; A = Assists; Pts =

Points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

; +/– = P

Plus–minus Plus–minus, ±, +/−, or variants may refer to: * Plus–minus sign (±), a mathematical symbol which can mean either plus (+) or minus (−), or can indicate the uncertainty of a measurement or statistic * Plus–minus (sports), a sport ...

; PIM = Penalty minutes''

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 500 minutes played lead the league in

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

. ''GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO =

Shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s; GAA = Goals against average; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT =

Overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

loss''

Clarkson Cup playoffs

Awards and honors

* CWHL Most Valuable Player:

, Montreal * CWHL Top Forward:

, Montreal * CWHL Defender of the Year:

, Brampton * CWHL Goaltender of the Year: Charline Labonte, Montreal * Angela James Bowl winner:

, Montreal * CWHL Outstanding Rookie: Elana Lovell, Calgary * CWHL Coach of the Year: Tyler Fines, Brampton * CWHL Humanitarian of the Year: Lisa-Marie Breton, Montreal

CWHL All-Rookie Team

* Goaltender: Sydney Aveson * Defender: Brigitte Lacquette * Defender: Sarah Edney * Forward: Elana Lovell * Forward: Jillian Saulnier * Forward: Rebecca Vint

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 CWHL season Canadian Women's Hockey League seasons 1