94-484: The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup , often shortened to Isobel Cup , is the championship trophy that was awarded annually to the now defunct Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. The trophy is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy , the daughter of Lord Stanley —former Governor-General of Canada and namesake of the Stanley Cup —and one of the first women known to play the game of ice hockey. The Isobel Cup
188-581: A regular season to earn one of four places in a postseason tournament that determines the winner of the Walter Cup . Differences between the PWHL and other North American professional hockey leagues include a 3-2-1-0 points system, terminations of penalties following a short-handed goal, best-of-five shootouts , and greater restrictions on body checking . The league's matches are broadcast nationally in Canada by
282-518: A "breakthrough" that represented the first "substantial gains" players had made since the formation of the league. In September 2019, the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone. On 22 April 2020, the NWHL announced the awaited expansion team for Toronto, bringing the league to Canada for the first time. The Toronto Six began play in the 2020–21 season. Johanna Neilson Boynton
376-523: A 2–1 overtime victory, with Lee Stecklein scoring the title-winning goal. The 2020 championship was slated to be played between Boston and Minnesota. However, it was initially delayed due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic , before it was cancelled outright in May 2020. League play resumed in 2021, with a shortened " bubble " season taking place at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York . The final featured
470-462: A 3–2 win to secure their first title. The Beauts advanced to their third consecutive final in 2018, defeating Boston 3–2 in overtime in the semi-final before losing 1–0 against the Metropolitan Riveters and MVP goaltender Katie Fitzgerald . The Beauts extended their streak of finals appearances to four in 2019; however, the expansion Minnesota Whitecaps secured their first championship with
564-503: A 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals. On 20 May 2019, the boycotting players formed the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to organize towards a unified league providing financial and infrastructure resources to players, health insurance, and support to training programs for young female players. On 8 May 2019, Pegula Sports and Entertainment relinquished ownership and operations of
658-676: A dream; a dream born with Isobel, that shall never die. EST. 2016." The Cup was unveiled to serve as the league's championship trophy, awarded at the conclusion of the PHF playoffs in March. The Isobel Cup was first awarded in 2016, with the Boston Pride winning the inaugural title by defeating the Buffalo Beauts 2–0 in a best-of-three championship series; the Pride won the first game in overtime, before securing
752-476: A formal players' union in early 2023—the PWHL Players Association (PWHLPA)—that became the players' union representing all PWHL players. Unique to professional women's hockey, the PWHL established an eight-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the players' union. The CBA establishes that each team must sign at least six players to a minimum salary of $ 80,000, and no more than nine players to
846-523: A franchise. Pittsburgh , Washington, D.C. , and London, Ontario , were also considered for inaugural franchises. Potential franchise nicknames were registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in October 2023: Boston Wicked, Minnesota Superior, Montreal Echo, New York Sound, Ottawa Alert, and Toronto Torch. However, the league ultimately opted to forgo unique club identities for
940-407: A league minimum salary of $ 35,000, with teams instructed to achieve an average salary of $ 55,000. The base and average salaries are slated to increase 3% per season through the end of the agreement in 2031. The CBA further outlines performance and team bonuses, including a $ 63,250 bonus for the championship-winning team, and other financial incentives, including housing stipends. Brian Burke acts as
1034-517: A match-up of the cancelled 2020 final between Boston and Minnesota, with the Pride emerging victorious with a 4–3 win. This made the Pride the first team to win the championship twice. In 2022, the Pride won unprecedented back-to-back championships, defeating the Connecticut Whale in the title game by a score of 4–2. In 2023, the Toronto Six became the first and to date only Canadian team to win
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#17328557062131128-472: A media organization 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 posted a video allegedly encouraging the harassment of journalists who criticized the partnership. On 20 October 2021, the PHF announced it would exclusively stream its seventh season on ESPN+ in the United States, with
1222-489: A new league in the United States instead. The league's inaugural season in 2015–16 ran on a salary cap of US$ 270,000, with a $ 10,000 minimum per player. Players also earned 15% of profits from NWHL jerseys sold with their name on them. The league placed its four original teams in markets with high levels of female youth participation in ice hockey: the New York City area, Buffalo, and New England. Rylan did not disclosed
1316-499: A new, unified women's professional league. The buyout voided all PHF player contracts, with PHF players receiving severance payments; PHF players would be required to renegotiate their contracts with the new league. PHF players would also not be parties to negotiations toward a collective bargaining agreement between the PWHPA's new labour union, the PWHL Players Association , and the new league before its ratification. Players who reviewed
1410-578: A partnership with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in May 2022, with the intent to create a new, unified professional women's ice hockey league in North America. On 29 August 2023, the partners announced the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), which began play in January 2024. The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was formed by Dani Rylan in March 2015 with an estimated $ 2.5 million operating budget. It
1504-556: A team takes a penalty, all of the players for the penalized team must remain on the ice until after the ensuing faceoff. This rule is similar to the existing rule which keeps players on the ice after their team ices the puck. As of the 2024–25 season , six teams compete in the league: the Montréal Victoire , Ottawa Charge , and Toronto Sceptres from Canada, and the Boston Fleet , Minnesota Frost , and New York Sirens from
1598-514: Is the Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and Amy Scheer is the Senior Vice President of Business Operations. Former hockey player and broadcaster Cassie Campbell-Pascall is an advisor to the Board. The league hired over 100 staff members to support league operations, distinguishing it from past women's hockey leagues that have lacked such operational support. The PWHPA organized
1692-426: Is the movement of players. Under rule 52.1, "a player who is stationary is entitled to that area of the ice. It is up to the opponent to avoid body contact with such a player." If a player were to initiate a body check on a player who is stationary and without the puck, there would be grounds for a referee to assess a penalty. Prior to the 2024–25 season , the PWHL announced the "No Escape Rule." Under this rule, when
1786-417: Is used for classification, whereby a team is awarded 3 points for a regulation win, 2 for an overtime or shootout win, and 1 for an overtime or shootout loss. At the end of the regular season, the best four teams qualify for a postseason tournament that determines the champion, comprising two semi-finals and a final played as best-of-five series. The teams compete for the Walter Cup , a trophy named after
1880-650: 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. The 1st NWHL All-Star Game took place on 24 January 2016, in Buffalo. 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 12 March 2016,
1974-405: The 2022–23 PHF season . During the inaugural season, some games were shown on ESPN3 . 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. In 2016, third-party broadcasts moved from ESPN3 to Cheddar. On 16 March 2017,
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#17328557062132068-817: The Bell Centre in Montreal and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto in games dubbed the "Duel at the Top" and "Battle on Bay Street" rivalry matches between Montréal and Toronto. Other one-off match venues have included Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh; and the Prudential Center in Newark. For its inaugural season, the PWHL announced that it would collaborate with
2162-453: The Boston Pride , Buffalo Beauts , Connecticut Whale , Metropolitan Riveters , Minnesota Whitecaps , Montreal Force , and Toronto Six . The Isobel Cup was awarded annually to the league playoff champion. The PHF ceased operations on 29 June 2023, after the league and its intellectual properties were purchased by Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises, led by Mark Walter and Billie Jean King , respectively. Both businesses had entered
2256-632: The Buffalo Beauts were acquired by Pegula Sports and Entertainment , owners of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres , the Rochester Americans , and the Beauts' arena, the HarborCenter . The Beauts thus became the second NWHL team to become affiliated with an NHL franchise—and the first professional women's team to be owned by an NHL team owner—as well as the first NWHL franchise outside league ownership. On 15 May 2018,
2350-599: The CBC and TSN , their French-language affiliates Radio-Canada and RDS , and Sportsnet . In the United States, it is broadcast in syndication , while worldwide it is streamed on YouTube . The collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019 led to the establishment of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), a non-profit organization that advocated for greater professionalism in women's ice hockey. PWHPA members boycotted existing leagues, including
2444-529: The Clarkson Cup . The CWHL, which operated on a non-profit basis, did not pay player salaries, but it did at times offer stipends and bonuses as it aspired to become a professional league. However, the league lacked financial stability and it abruptly folded in 2019. A new National Women's Hockey League—later re-named the Premier Hockey Federation —which did offer player salaries, was established in
2538-738: The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), with the goal of establishing a stable, unified professional league, and worked to build a collective bargaining agreement with Mark Walter and Billie Jean King Enterprises. The Mark Walter Group acquired the assets of the PHF following its 2022–23 season . Subsequently, the PWHPA worked with the Mark Walter Group to establish a unified league with new ownership and management. The league's first draft took place in September 2023, and its first season began in January 2024. Top-level and professional women's hockey in North America has developed in starts and stops since
2632-466: The Swedish Women's Hockey League , the PWHL breaks women's ice hockey and IIHF conventions and allows body checking , with the rule-book outlining that checking is permissible "when there is a clear intention of playing the puck or attempting to 'gain possession' of the puck", allowed principally along the boards. League executive Jayna Hefford has stated that body checking was included at the behest of
2726-460: The Xcel Energy Center on January 6; 19,285 at the inaugural "Battle on Bay Street" match at Scotiabank Arena on February 16; and 21,105 at the "Duel at the Top" match at the Bell Centre on April 20. The latter two drew the largest ever crowds for women's ice hockey, surpassing the 18,013 that watched Canada play Finland at the 2013 Women's World Championship . Toronto finished atop
2820-481: The 2018–19 season, commissioner Rylan stated that the Minnesota Whitecaps were the first NWHL team to turn a profit. On 31 March 2019, it was announced that the Canadian Women's Hockey League board of directors had decided to discontinue operations effective 1 May 2019. Early in 2019, NWHL commissioner Rylan had been in talks with the CWHL about the possibility of merging. In response to the abrupt folding of
2914-468: The 2022 Isobel Cup final airing on ESPN2 . Professional Women%27s Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League ( PWHL ; French : Ligue professionnelle de hockey féminin , LPHF ) is a professional women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter Group . It consists of six franchises, three each from Canada and the United States, who play
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3008-527: The Beauts back to the NWHL. On 17 May, 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 30 May 2019, the NWHL announced that due to no additional investment, the league would not be able to increase to full-time salaries or provide players with health insurance outside of
3102-519: The Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps was originally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and was later canceled outright. The league announced that no champion would be named for the season. Boston was the only team to win the Isobel Cup in consecutive seasons, achieving the feat in 2020–21 and 2021–22. The Toronto Six were the final Isobel Cup champions with the league ceasing operations following
3196-406: The Boston Pride became the first Isobel Cup champions with a 3–1 win over the Buffalo Beauts to secure a 2–0 series win. On 4 August 2016, the league announced that each team would introduce new uniform designs 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. Each team in
3290-404: The CWHL, The Athletic reported that the NWHL was exploring Canadian expansion to fill the markets left by the CWHL, targeting Toronto, Montreal, and potentially Calgary. On 2 April 2019, the NWHL announced plans for two expansion franchises in Montreal and Toronto and increased support from the NHL, making it one of the NWHL's biggest financial sponsors. However, in the wake of the collapse of
3384-476: The CWHL, it became clear that players from both leagues were dissatisfied in the operation of both leagues and a lack of livable salaries, health insurance, and other benefits. On 2 May, over 200 players released a joint statement announcing their intent to boycott all North American professional hockey for the 2019–20 season. The NWHL responded that it was pursuing more sponsors than in previous years and hoped to increase player salaries, and agreed to give players
3478-524: The CWHL, such as Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain Meghan Duggan , top graduating players from the NCAA , and international players. In December 2015, the league signed its first league-wide sponsorship deal, a multi-year deal with Dunkin' Donuts . On 31 December 2015, the Boston Pride played the CWHL's Les Canadiennes de Montréal to a 1–1 tie in the first Women's Winter Classic , one day before
3572-634: The Devils' digital radio station as well. The Riveters changed their name from the New York to the Metropolitan Riveters and adopted the Devils' colors. As part of the new affiliation, the Riveters and Devils held a doubleheader at the Prudential Center for the Riveters' 2017–18 season opener against the Boston Pride , followed by the Devils' game against the Arizona Coyotes . On 21 December 2017,
3666-439: The Isobel Cup championship. The Isobel Cup , the league's championship trophy, was awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season . The trophy was named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy , the daughter of Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby , the namesake of the Stanley Cup . The front of the trophy is engraved: "The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup 1875–1963. This Cup, shall be awarded annually to
3760-482: The Isobel Cup, securing a 4–3 overtime victory over Minnesota in the final with Tereza Vanišová scoring the title-winning goal. From 2016 to 2019, the Isobel Cup was awarded roughly concurrently with the Clarkson Cup , the championship trophy for the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The CWHL abruptly ceased operations in 2019, leaving the NWHL as the only top-level women's league in North America. However, in
3854-538: The NHL's Minnesota Wild , with whom the Whitecaps had already cooperated as an independent, in the 2018 off-season. The Whitecaps were the second privately-operated franchise in the NWHL. In August 2018, the NWHL also began an affiliation program with youth hockey organizations, called the Jr. NWHL, to promote growth in girl's and women's hockey. After a call for more transparency, the league announced they would reveal some of
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3948-640: 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 of the National Hockey League (NHL) partnered with the Riveters, becoming the first NHL team to partner with an NWHL team. The three-year partnership provided facilities for Riveters games and practices, and assisted with sponsorships, marketing, and tickets; some Riveters games were broadcast on The One Jersey Network,
4042-450: The NWHL informed its players that they would receive up to a 50% pay cut. This decreased the league minimum salary to $ 5,000. Five weeks later, in an attempt to partially compensate for the salary rollback, the league introduced an incentive program where players split revenue generated by tickets sold in excess of 500 after each game. In September 2017, the league joined with 16 other international hockey organizations in formally adopting
4136-519: The National Hockey League on its All-Star festivities, intending to host its own All-Star game in future seasons. PWHL All-Stars participated in the "PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase" on February 1 during the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto where it featured 24 PWHL players divided between Team King and Team Kloss—named after Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss , respectively—coached by Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Meghan Duggan . Internationally,
4230-475: The PWHPA entered a partnership with the Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises—led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and Billie Jean King , respectively—with the intent to launch a new professional league. In 2023, the two business partners purchased the assets of the Premier Hockey Federation, and the PHF ceased operations. The PWHPA negotiated a collective bargaining agreement ahead of
4324-542: The Riveters 4–2. The Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup over the Beauts in their first season in the league. All five teams returned. Many former players boycotted the NWHL and formed the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), leading to large roster turnover in the offseason. The season was expanded from 16 to 24 games. On 26 January 2020, Jillian Dempsey became the first player in league history to reach 100 career points, including playoffs. She reached
4418-558: The United States in 2015, before expanding into Canada in 2020. However, after the dissolution of the CWHL, hundreds of prominent women's players, including Canadian and American Olympians, founded the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA) and opted to boycott existing leagues in pursuit of a unified, financially stable professional league. In the meantime, the PWHPA attracted partnerships with corporate sponsors and National Hockey League teams, organizing exhibition tournaments to generate support for their goal. In 2022,
4512-436: The United States. The six clubs have been described as the league's own "Inaugural Six". The teams' locations were chosen for being markets of National Hockey League franchises with "track records of supporting hockey and, specifically, the women's game." The teams are located in five of the seven Premier Hockey Federation markets—the Buffalo Beauts and Connecticut Whale were not given PWHL replacements, while Ottawa gained
4606-462: The Whale. Manon Rhéaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial face-off before the game. The first goal in league history was scored by Jessica Koizumi of the Whale; Connecticut went on to a 4–1 win. The Boston Pride secured the first Isobel Cup championship on 12 March 2016, defeating the Buffalo Beauts to secure a 2–0 series win. All four teams returned for the second season. Prior to the first game of
4700-415: The century mark with an assist in a win versus Minnesota. Prior to the championship game between the Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps, the closure of public events during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the championship—the 2020 Isobel Cup was thus not awarded. The five teams from the previous season returned and the expansion Toronto Six were added. Due to
4794-422: The ensuing three seasons. The announced cap signified a 900 percent growth over the 2021 salary cap. On 29 June 2023, the Premier Hockey Federation announced that the league had been sold to Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises, respectively led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and American tennis legend Billie Jean King , who had since 2022 been working with the PWHPA with the intention of launching
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#17328557062134888-453: The executive director of the players' union. The inaugural PWHL season consisted of a 24-game schedule lasting from January to May. From the 2024–25 season, the schedule comprises 30 games played from November to May, with each team facing their opponents six times. The schedule includes a mid-season break during the annual IIHF World Women's Championship in April. A 3-2-1-0 points system
4982-524: The first Walter Cup championship. Natalie Spooner was the league's first scoring champion and the inaugural winner of the league's Bill Jean King Most Valuable Player award, while Taylor Heise led the playoffs in scoring and was given postseason MVP honours. The PWHL and all six of its teams are owned by the Mark Walter Group. The Advisory Board of the PWHL is formed by Billie Jean King , Ilana Kloss , Stan Kasten , and Royce Cohen. Jayna Hefford
5076-419: 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 earned the most appearances in the Isobel Cup championship with four straight appearances from 2016 to 2019, winning once in 2017. The 2020 Isobel Cup championship between
5170-795: The inaugural season, and the league also organized a number of neutral-site games. Minnesota plays its home games at the Xcel Energy Center , the largest-capacity venue in the league at 17,954. New York plays in the second largest venue at Newark's Prudential Center . Boston plays at the Tsongas Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell . Montréal hosts games at Place Bell in Laval . Ottawa plays at TD Place Arena in Lansdowne Park . Finally, Toronto plays at Coca-Cola Coliseum . The league has presented one-off matches at other large venues, including
5264-544: The inaugural season, emphasizing league branding instead. This meant that teams lacked nicknames, crests , and stylized jerseys , and were identified by their city. On September 9, 2024, ahead of the league's second season, team names and logos were announced, with none of them matching the trademarked names from 2023: the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres. Some teams experimented with multiple venues during
5358-451: The late twentieth century. The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) launched in 1999, featuring teams mainly in Ontario and Quebec . Some teams from Western Canada competed intermittently, but a Western Women's Hockey League was formed in 2004. The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) effectively replaced the NWHL and ran for twelve seasons, from 2007 to 2019, with teams competing for
5452-560: The launch of the new professional league the union had been working towards. The establishment of the Professional Women's Hockey League was announced by Mark Walter Group in August 2023, along with the location of its six charter franchises: Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Montreal, New York City, Ottawa, and Toronto. Teams began constructing their rosters that summer, with an initial ten-day free agency period to sign three players. Emily Clark , Brianne Jenner , and Emerance Maschmeyer became
5546-575: The league announced that ABC News ' website would provide live streaming coverage of the 2017 Isobel Cup Playoffs. On 20 June 2017, it was announced that the NWHL had made a deal with Twitter 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
5640-535: The league announced that 2022–23 salary cap would increase to $ 750,000, and that players would receive full healthcare benefits and an equity stake in its teams. Additionally, the league announced an expansion team for Montreal, and opened the possibility of additional expansion in the United States. On 12 July, the league officially introduced the Montreal team, the Force, owned by BTM Partners, and Kevin Raphael would serve as
5734-479: 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. The Pride won their second consecutive and third overall Isobel Cup. The 2022–23 season saw the debut of a seventh franchise, the Montreal Force. The Toronto Six defeated the Minnesota Whitecaps 4–3 in overtime to become the first Canadian team to win
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#17328557062135828-582: The league announced that its first expansion franchise, the Minnesota Whitecaps , would join the league for the 2018–19 season . The Whitecaps had played in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011. Following the WWHL's closure, the team played independently, including exhibition games against NWHL teams during the inaugural 2015–16 season. The Whitecaps signed a partnership agreement with
5922-402: The league hosted a You Can Play athlete-ambassador, and would begin to develop a policy with regards to transgender players. This initiative took place in response to the October 2016, announcement that Buffalo Beauts player Harrison Browne was transgender—the first openly transgender athlete in professional American team sports. On 17 November 2016, part way into the league's second season ,
6016-486: 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 . The second was announced as Lee Heffernan, a marketing executive. In January 2019, the Boston Pride and the NHL's Boston Bruins officially became promotional partners, making the Pride the fourth NWHL team associated with an NHL team. During
6110-509: The league officially rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation, reflecting its many recent structural changes and deliberately adopting a gender-neutral name. 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 variant. On January 18, 2022,
6204-569: The league to oversee the Beauts, Whale, Riveters, and Whitecaps, while searching for independent ownership of the league operated teams. Rylan left that role in March 2021. Ahead of the 2021–22 season , Tumminia announced that the salary cap would be doubled to $ 300,000. On 10 May 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
6298-511: The league worked with the Hockey Hall of Fame in designing the trophy, and that when she learned about the story of Lady Isobel—her early love for hockey and direct connection to Lord Stanley—the name was obvious. The front of the trophy features the following inscription: "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
6392-470: The league's financial backers, the Walter family. PWHL rules closely follow National Hockey League and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) standards, with some notable innovations. A "jailbreak" rule allows a team to terminate a minor penalty against by scoring a short-handed goal. During best-of-five shootouts , any player is eligible to shoot at any time, including taking multiple attempts. Like
6486-448: The league's first goal en route to a 4–0 win. The game's Canadian television audience of 2.9 million viewers was the largest for a sports or entertainment broadcast that day, beating the 2024 NHL Winter Classic . The attendance record for a professional women's ice hockey match would be set multiple times during the ensuing season: 8,318 at Ottawa's first home game at TD Place Arena on January 2; 13,316 at Minnesota's first home game at
6580-520: The league's first players when they signed with Ottawa . The inaugural draft took place in September at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, where Minnesota chose Taylor Heise as the first pick in a fifteen-round, ninety-player draft from a pool of 286 eligible players. The league announced that, due to time constraints, the teams would not be given nicknames until after the inaugural season, and would wear jerseys featuring
6674-572: The league's initial investors or how much had been invested. Canadian Joel Leonoff, CEO of Paysafe Group and father of Connecticut Whale goaltender Jaimie Leonoff , later spoke about his investment in the league but 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 national team stars from
6768-560: The name of the teams' locales in a diagonal wordmark. Prior to the start of the inaugural season , all six teams congregated at the Utica University Nexus Center in early December for a five day evaluation camp, including scrimmages used to experiment with new rules. The first game took place on January 1, 2024, when Toronto hosted New York at the Mattamy Athletic Centre . New York's Ella Shelton scored
6862-417: The new CBA reported that it included minimum salaries of $ 35,000, medical benefits, compensation for housing and relocation, retirement benefits, parental and maternity leave, and other incentives. The new league was expected to have six 23-player teams, one fewer than the PHF and five fewer than the PHF and PWHPA combined, meaning that many players from both organizations would not be drafted or signed during
6956-601: The new league's free-agency period. Players not playing in a professional league for the 2023–24 season would be eligible for an additional compensatory payment of at least $ 10,000. On 29 August 2023, the new league was announced as the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with six teams: Boston , Minnesota , Montreal , New York , Ottawa , and Toronto . The new league began play in January 2024. The inaugural NWHL Draft took place in Boston on 20 June 2015, with each team selecting five collegiate players. The draft order
7050-455: The number of league-operated teams to three. On 26 May, the league announced that 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 28 June. In September 2021,
7144-427: The on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the 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 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 were held at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York . During
7238-463: The partnership with the New Jersey Devils in October 2017, some Riveters games were broadcast on The One Jersey Network, the Devils' digital radio station. The league also streamed and archived some games on its YouTube channel for free through a service dubbed The Cross-Ice Pass . Some archived matches are also available. On 5 September 2019, the NWHL announced a three-year deal with Twitch streaming service to stream all games and league events on
7332-426: The platform. It marked the first NWHL broadcast deal to include a rights fee, with revenue to be shared with players. The NWHL also reached an agreement with NBCSN to carry the 2021 Isobel Cup semifinals and final, which would mark the first NWHL games to be broadcast nationally on a linear television channel. In 2020 and 2021, the NWHL was criticized for producing content in association with Barstool Sports ,
7426-399: The players. There are two main factors which determine the legality of a body check. The first is being able to determine whether or not gaining possession of the puck is the sole purpose of the player initiating the body check—a blatant example of an illegal body check would be if a player is across the ice from the puck, and they initiate a body check against another player. The second factor
7520-443: The season as the league's top scorer and was named NWHL Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Beauts, who finished in third place in the shortened season, upset the league-leading Pride to win the Isobel Cup. The Beauts were honored at a Buffalo Sabres game later that month. All four teams returned for the third season, all with a primary home arena for the first time. Buffalo played their home opener at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex in
7614-507: The season, the Beauts' Harrison Browne announced that he was a transgender athlete. The 2nd NWHL All-Star Game was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a rumored expansion market. Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman were named as All-Star captains. Kessel scored the first hat trick in NWHL All-Star history and was named Star of the Night by ESPN 's SportsCenter . Brianna Decker finished
7708-406: The standings at the end of the inaugural season—they chose to play fourth place Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, leaving Montréal and Boston to play the other series. Minnesota defeated Toronto in a five-game series, while Boston defeated Montréal in three straight games, with every decision coming in overtime. In the final, Minnesota defeated Boston in a five game series to capture
7802-553: The suburbs of Rochester . There was also one neutral-site game in Pittsburgh. The Metropolitan Riveters won the Isobel Cup, defeating the Buffalo Beauts. The league expanded to five teams with the inclusion of the formerly independent Minnesota Whitecaps. The Champions Cup was played between the NWHL's 2018 Isobel Cup champion Metropolitan Riveters and the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) 2018 champion Luleå HF at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink in Princeton, New Jersey ; Luleå defeated
7896-483: The team's president. In February 2022, the league announced that Tumminia would step down as commissioner at the end of the 2021–22 season. In April, Tumminia was succeeded by Reagan Carey, the former director of USA Hockey 's women's program. In December 2022, the salary cap for the 2023–24 PHF season was set at $ 1.5 million. The increase aligned with the Board of Governors' pledge, made in 2021, to invest $ 25 million directly in pay and benefits to PHF players over
7990-480: The title with a 3–1 victory in the second. Boston forward Brianna Decker was named Most Valuable Player (MVP). After the win, Decker stated, "It felt like the Stanley Cup. That's exactly what we were going for with women's hockey. It's fantastic." 2017 brought a re-match in the championship between Boston and Buffalo. This time, it was a winner-take-all match instead of a series, and the Beauts emerged victorious with
8084-522: 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 . On 27 March, Boston won its second Isobel Cup title. On 28 April 2021,
8178-399: 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 stated it would not add teams in Montreal and Toronto for the 2019–20 season. The league announced a longer 2019–20 season, increasing from 16 to 24 games. The NWHL Players Association called the negotiated agreement
8272-405: The wake of the collapse of the CWHL , more than 200 female players formed the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advocate for the creation of a stable, unified North American professional league. In 2023, the PWHPA's business partners bought out the PHF before launching the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The closure of the PHF left the Isobel Cup in limbo. It
8366-514: Was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), comprising four league-owned teams. Over time, some teams gained independent ownership and the number of teams grew to seven; teams during the league's final season in 2022–23 included
8460-410: Was announced as the owner of the team, Tyler Tumminia as the team chairman, and Digit Murphy as team president. On 12 October 2020, Rylan stepped down as commissioner and was replaced by Tyler Tumminia as interim commissioner. In addition, the league changed its governing model to an incorporated association overseen by a board of governors with one representative from each team. Rylan remained with
8554-537: Was decided 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 was Boston College graduate Alex Carpenter , the 2015 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award , and the daughter of NHL All-Star Bobby Carpenter . The first game in league history occurred on 11 October 2015, a sold-out match between the Riveters and
8648-469: Was last awarded in 2023. After the 2022–23 season concluded, the PHF was bought out as part of the process of establishing the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), leaving the Isobel Cup's status in limbo. The Isobel Cup was first unveiled in 2016 during the playoffs of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which rebranded as the PHF in 2021. League commissioner Dani Rylan stated that
8742-532: Was suggested that the new league could seek to incorporate both the Clarkson and Isobel Cups, with both having important legacies in women's hockey. However, in April 2024, the PWHL unveiled the Walter Cup—named after the Walter family, the league's financial backers—as its new championship trophy. Isobel Cup winning years denoted in bold. Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation ( PHF )
8836-426: Was the first professional women's hockey league to pay its players salaries. Prior to the league's formation, the top level of women's hockey in North America was the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), a non-profit league that covered team costs and offered bonuses and incentives but not salaries. Rylan had been in discussions with the CWHL about founding a New York-based expansion franchise before opting to build
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