The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was a women's ice hockey league established in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in service from 1999 to 2007. In its final season the league was run by the Ontario Women's Hockey Association.

History

The NWHL superseded the old Central Ontario Women's Hockey League in 1998–99. After the old COWHL dropped down to three teams in 1997–98, the new league expanded to Brampton, Ottawa and the Montreal area (Montreal, Bonaventure and Laval) in 1998–99. The league was officially renamed the National Women's Hockey League on February 16, 1999 with Susan Fennell as the league's first president/Commissioner. In the inaugural season, the Beatrice Aeros won the West Division while the Bonaventure Wingstar won the East Division. Under Commissioner Fennell, the NWHL transformed to independent owners with the League negotiating to have cross Canada live television broadcast for the finals. Michael Charbon (MAC Productions) worked with the Commissioner to secure broadcast times with WTN. Games were played in Brampton's Powerade Centre (now called "The CAA Centre"), coinciding with the Brampton Canadettes world's largest hockey tournament, which brought together teams from all ages and from across North America to compete. A special highlight was attending the Championship Cup games of the NWHL. Michael Charbon designed the NWHL Logo in the same colors of the NHL logo. Commissioner Fennell sought the approval from Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, and it was granted. Commissioner Fennell was instrumental in having the Championship Cup purchased and engraved annually with the Champion Team players names, coaches, and even volunteers. During the NHL strike there was talk that the women should be able to play for the Stanley Cup. Instead, Commissioner Fennell initiated talks with Governor General Adrianne Clarkson and requested consideration to rename the Championship Cup the "Clarkson Cup" as the late Governor General Lord Stanley had done for the NHL years before. The NWHL league lasted nine years before it disbanded one year after Commissioner Fennell retired 2006 after balancing Mayoral duties and growing a professional sports league. Mayor Fennell signed over all legal instruments for the NWHL to the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) to lead the next steps. However, one season later, following the 2006–07 season, all existing owners quit and it appeared there would be no league. In 2007–08, players from the old NWHL joined new teams in similar markets in the newly formed

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 ...

Structure

From the 1998–99 to the 2001–02 seasons, the NWHL consisted of two divisions: the Eastern Division with

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

-based teams, and the Western Division with

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

-based teams. For the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, the league had three divisions: the Eastern Division with Quebec-based teams, a renamed Central Division with Ontario-based teams, and a new Western Division with teams in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

(both seasons) and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

(2002–03 only). The high travel costs for the two Alberta teams caused them to leave the NWHL to form 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 ...

, reducing the NWHL to the Eastern and Central Divisions for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. The WWHL had five teams, in Alberta, British Columbia,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, for its own 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. The WWHL agreed to merge with the NWHL for the 2006–07 NWHL season. The NWHL reverted to three divisions: Eastern Division with Quebec-based teams, the Central Division with Ontario-based teams, and a renewed Western Division with teams Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Minnesota. The Eastern and Central Division teams scheduled a 35-game unbalanced but interlocking schedule, while the Western Division would only play within itself for the regular season - saving travel costs for all three divisions. The merger broke down midseason, with the WWHL teams treating it as the 2006–07 WWHL season and the remaining NWHL teams handling their playoffs with all four teams from the Central Division and the top two teams from the Eastern Division qualifying for the postseason. In the NWHL playoffs, teams played a best-of-three series to determine the Eastern and Central Division champions, who then met for the NWHL championship. By the end of the 2006–07 NWHL season, the league had fallen into disarray, season records are incomplete, and the league folded shortly after the Central Division's

Brampton Thunder The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...

defeated the Eastern Division's Montreal Axion to win the last ever NWHL Championship.

NWHL Franchises

The following is list of franchises which existed in all three divisions of the now defunct National Women's Hockey League.

Eastern Division

* Montreal Axion,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(2003–07) ** Montreal Wingstar (1999–2003) ** Bonaventure Wingstar (1998–99) * Montreal Jofa Titan, Montreal, Quebec (1998–99) * Ottawa Raiders,

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(1999–2007) ** National Capital Raiders (1998–99) ** note: to CWHL as Ottawa Capital Canucks * Quebec Avalanche,

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

(2002–07) ** Metropol Le Cheyenne (2001–02) ** Sainte-Julie Pantheres (1999–2001) * Laval Le Mistral,

Laval, Québec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Cana ...

(1998–2001)

Western (1998–2002), Central (2002–07) Division

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

(1998–2007) ** note: to CWHL as Brampton Canadette Thunder * Oakville Ice,

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Generally seen as a commuter suburb of Toronto, it is located on Lake ...

(2003–07) ** Mississauga Ice Bears (2000–2003) ** Mississauga Chiefs (1998–2000) ** note: to CWHL as Mississauga Chiefs * Etobicoke Dolphins,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(2006–07) ** Telus Lightning (2001–06) ** Clearnet Lightning (1999–2001) ** note: to CWHL as Vaughan Flames * Mississauga Aeros,

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

(2006–07) ** Toronto Aeros (2003–06) ** Beatrice Aeros (1998–2003) * Toronto Sting (2000–01) ** Scarborough Sting (1998–2000)

Western Division (2002–04, 2006–07)

* Vancouver Griffins (2002–03) * Calgary Oval X-Treme,

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

(2002–04, partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL) * Edmonton Chimos,

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

(2002–04, partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL) *

British Columbia Breakers The British Columbia Breakers were a professional women's ice hockey team in the National Women's Hockey League (1999), National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). The team played its home games in Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Lan ...

, Langley, British Columbia (partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL) * Strathmore Rockies,

Strathmore, Alberta Strathmore is a town located in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Wheatland County. It is along the Trans-Canada Highway approximately east of Calgary. History The town began as a hamlet for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) ...

(partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL) * Saskatchewan Prairie Ice,

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

(partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL) *

Minnesota Whitecaps The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the ...

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Brooklyn Center is a commuter town, first-ring suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. In 1911, the area became a village formed from parts of B ...

(partial 2006–07 season, reverted to WWHL)

Championship

During its inaugural 1998–99 season, a playoff tournament was held over three consecutive days, resulting in the presentation of a gold, silver and bronze medal. For the next six seasons, the playoff champion was awarded the NWHL Champions Cup. For its final two seasons, the championship winner was awarded the

Clarkson Cup The Clarkson Cup () is an ice hockey trophy awarded to Canada's national women's champions. Commissioned by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, the trophy was first unveiled in July 2006 when Clarkson ceremoniously presented it to the Ca ...

. Though the NWHL and the

(WWHL) were considered merged for the 2006–07 season, the WWHL teams did not compete for the Clarkson Cup, instead playing for the WWHL Champions Cup. After the 2007 disbanding of the NWHL, the Clarkson Cup was presented to the winner of a playoff between WWHL and

(CWHL) teams, then solely to the CWHL champion after the WWHL merged with that league. A list of NWHL Championship winners and the team they met in the final:

Scoring champions

* 2006–07 –

Jayna Hefford Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Hefford got her start in the sport of ringette but soon moved ...

, Brampton Thunder * 2005–06 – Sommer West, Toronto Aeros * 2004–05 – Jayna Hefford, Brampton Thunder * 2003–04 – Jayna Hefford, Brampton Thunder * 2002–03 – Jayna Hefford, Brampton Thunder * 2001–02 – Amy Turek, Beatrice Aeros * 2000–01 – Jayna Hefford, Brampton Thunder & Amy Turek, Beatrice Aeros * 1999–00 – Karen Nystrom, Brampton Thunder * 1998–99 – Stephanie Boyd, Brampton Thunder

Goal-scoring champions