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Wikipedia

Premier Hockey Federation

January 01, 1970

"National Women's Hockey League" redirects here. Not to be confused with National Women's Hockey League (1999–2007).

The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) 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 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.

Premier Hockey Federation
Most recent season or competition:
2022–23 PHF season
FormerlyNational Women's Hockey League (2015–2021)
SportIce hockey
FoundedMarch 2015 (2015-03)
CeasedJune 2023 (2023-06)
Replaced byProfessional Women's Hockey League
CommissionerReagan Carey
No. of teams7
CountriesCanada (2 teams)
United States (5 teams)
HeadquartersNew York City, United States
Last
champion(s)		Toronto Six
Most titlesBoston Pride (3 titles)
TV partner(s)ESPN+
TSN[1]
Official websitepremierhockeyfederation.com

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 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.

History edit

Foundation and inaugural season (2015–16) edit

The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was formed by Dani Rylan in March 2015 with an estimated $2.5 million operating budget.[2][3] It was the first professional women's hockey league to pay its players salaries.[4] 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.[5] Rylan had been in discussions with the CWHL about founding a New York-based expansion franchise before opting to build a new league in the United States instead.[6] The league's inaugural season in 2015–16 ran on a salary cap of US$270,000, with a $10,000 minimum per player.[7] Players also earned 15% of profits from NWHL jerseys sold with their name on them.[8] 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.[4] Rylan did not disclosed the league's initial investors or how much had been invested.[9] 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.[10]

The inaugural NWHL Draft took place in Boston in June 2015 with each team selecting five collegiate athletes.[11][12] The league held tryout camps in various locales in Canada, along with an international player camp in Boston.[13] The league attracted many top level United States national team stars from the CWHL, such as Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain Meghan Duggan,[14] top graduating players from the NCAA,[15] and international players.[16]

In December 2015, the league signed its first league-wide sponsorship deal, a multi-year deal with Dunkin' Donuts.[17] 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 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.[18] 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, 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.[19]

 
NWHL action between the Whale and Riveters during the inaugural season.

Structural changes and NHL partnerships (2016–2019) edit

On 4 August 2016, the league announced that each team would introduce new uniform designs voted upon by fans.[20] Two days prior to this announcement, the league announced a partnership with You Can Play, an organization dedicated to eradicating homophobia in sport.[21] Each team in 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.[22]

On 17 November 2016, part way into the league's second season, the NWHL informed its players that they would receive up to a 50% pay cut.[23] This decreased the league minimum salary to $5,000.[24] 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.[25]

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.[26]

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.[27][28] 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, the Devils' digital radio station as well.[29][30] The Riveters changed their name from the New York to the Metropolitan Riveters and adopted the Devils' colors.[30] 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.[31]

On 21 December 2017, 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.[32] 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.[33]

On 15 May 2018, the league announced that its first expansion franchise, the Minnesota Whitecaps, would join the league for the 2018–19 season.[34][35] The Whitecaps had played in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011.[36] Following the WWHL's closure, the team played independently, including exhibition games against NWHL teams during the inaugural 2015–16 season.[37] The Whitecaps signed a partnership agreement with the NHL's Minnesota Wild, with whom the Whitecaps had already cooperated as an independent, in the 2018 off-season.[38] The Whitecaps were the second privately-operated franchise in the NWHL.[39]

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.[40][41]

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.[42] The second was announced as Lee Heffernan, a marketing executive.[43]

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.[44] During the 2018–19 season, commissioner Rylan stated that the Minnesota Whitecaps were the first NWHL team to turn a profit.[45]

CWHL dissolution and aftermath (2019–2021) edit

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.[46] In response to the abrupt folding of 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.[47] 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.[48][49] However, in the wake of the collapse of 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.[50][51]

The NWHL responded that it was pursuing 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.[52] 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.[53]

On 8 May 2019, Pegula Sports and Entertainment relinquished ownership and operations of the Beauts back to the NWHL.[54][55] On 17 May, it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters.[56][57] With the partnerships dissolved, both teams changed their home venues.[58]

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 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.[59] The league announced a longer 2019–20 season, increasing from 16 to 24 games.[58] The NWHL Players Association called the negotiated agreement a "breakthrough" that represented the first "substantial gains" players had made since the formation of the league.[60]

In September 2019, the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone.[61] 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 was announced as the owner of the team, Tyler Tumminia as the team chairman, and Digit Murphy as team president.[62]

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 the league to oversee the Beauts, Whale, Riveters, and Whitecaps, while searching for independent ownership of the league operated teams.[63] Rylan left that role in March 2021.[64]

Premier Hockey Federation (2021–2023) edit

 
Jonna Albers of the Whitecaps on a breakaway against Corinne Schroeder of the Pride.

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Tumminia announced that the salary cap would be doubled to $300,000.[65][66] 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 the number of league-operated teams to three.[67][68] 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.[69] 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.[70]

In September 2021, the league officially rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation, reflecting its many recent structural changes and deliberately adopting a gender-neutral name.[71][72] The 2021–22 season, the league's first season under the PHF title, began in November 2021.[73][74] PHF players were required to follow testing and quarantine protocols due the outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.[75]

On January 18, 2022, 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.[76][77] Additionally, the league announced an expansion team for Montreal, and opened the possibility of additional expansion in the United States.[76][77] On 12 July, the league officially introduced the Montreal team, the Force, owned by BTM Partners, and Kevin Raphael would serve as the team's president.[78]

In February 2022, the league announced that Tumminia would step down as commissioner at the end of the 2021–22 season.[79][80] In April, Tumminia was succeeded by Reagan Carey, the former director of USA Hockey's women's program.[81]

In December 2022, the salary cap for the 2023–24 PHF season was set at $1.5 million.[82][83] 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 the ensuing three seasons. The announced cap signified a 900 percent growth over the 2021 salary cap.[84][85]

Buyout and launch of PWHL (2023) edit

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 a new, unified women's professional league.[86][87] 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.[88] Players who reviewed 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.[89]

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 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.[89]

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.[90][91] The new league began play in January 2024.[92]

Teams edit

class=notpageimage|
Map of Premier Hockey Federation teams in its final season (2022–23)
  1. ^ The team played its first two home games of the 2022–23 season at Centre 21.02, which doubled as its practice facility; the Force played its remaining home games at five different venues throughout the province of Quebec.[94]

Seasons edit

2015–16 edit

Main article: 2015–16 NWHL season

The inaugural NWHL Draft took place in Boston on 20 June 2015, with each team selecting five collegiate players.[97] The draft order was decided by lottery: the New York Riveters to pick first, followed by the Connecticut Whale, the Boston Pride, and the Buffalo Beauts.[98] 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.[99]

The first game in league history occurred on 11 October 2015, a sold-out match between the Riveters and the Whale.[100] Manon Rhéaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial face-off before the game.[101] The first goal in league history was scored by Jessica Koizumi of the Whale; Connecticut went on to a 4–1 win.[102] The Boston Pride secured the first Isobel Cup championship on 12 March 2016, defeating the Buffalo Beauts to secure a 2–0 series win.[19]

2016–17 edit

Main article: 2016–17 NWHL season

All four teams returned for the second season. Prior to the first game of the season, the Beauts' Harrison Browne announced that he was a transgender athlete.[103] The 2nd NWHL All-Star Game was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a rumored expansion market.[104] Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman were named as All-Star captains.[104] Kessel scored the first hat trick in NWHL All-Star history and was named Star of the Night by ESPN's SportsCenter.[105] Brianna Decker finished the season as the league's top scorer and was named NWHL Most Valuable Player (MVP).[106] The Beauts, who finished in third place in the shortened season, upset the league-leading Pride to win the Isobel Cup.[107] The Beauts were honored at a Buffalo Sabres game later that month.[108]

2017–18 edit

Main article: 2017–18 NWHL season

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 the suburbs of Rochester. There was also one neutral-site game in Pittsburgh.[109] The Metropolitan Riveters won the Isobel Cup, defeating the Buffalo Beauts.[110]

2018–19 edit

Main article: 2018–19 NWHL season
 
Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal of the Whitecaps lifts the Isobel Cup in 2019.

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 the Riveters 4–2.[111] The Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup over the Beauts in their first season in the league.

2019–20 edit

Main article: 2019–20 NWHL season

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.[112][113] The season was expanded from 16 to 24 games.[114] On 26 January 2020, Jillian Dempsey 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 Minnesota.[115] 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.[116]

2020–21 edit

Main article: 2020–21 NWHL season

The five teams from the previous season returned and the expansion Toronto Six were added. Due to 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.[117] All games were held at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.[118]

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.[119] The league rescheduled the Isobel Cup playoffs for March 26 and 27 in Brighton, Massachusetts.[120] On 27 March, Boston won its second Isobel Cup title.

2021–22 edit

Main article: 2021–22 PHF season

On 28 April 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.[121] The Pride won their second consecutive and third overall Isobel Cup.

2022–23 edit

Main article: 2022–23 PHF season

The 2022–23 season saw the debut of a seventh franchise, the Montreal Force.[122] The Toronto Six defeated the Minnesota Whitecaps 4–3 in overtime to become the first Canadian team to win the Isobel Cup championship.[123]

Isobel Cup championship edit

Main article: Isobel Cup
 
Harrison Browne of the Buffalo Beauts lifts the Isobel Cup in 2017.

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.[124] The front of the trophy is engraved:

"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."[124]

The Boston Pride won the inaugural championship in 2016.[19] The Buffalo Beauts earned the most appearances in the Isobel Cup championship with four straight appearances from 2016 to 2019, winning once in 2017.[125][126]

The 2020 Isobel Cup championship between the Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps was originally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was later canceled outright.[127][128] The league announced that no champion would be named for the season.[129]

Boston was the only team to win the Isobel Cu in consecutive seasons, achieving the feat in 2020–21 and 2021–22.[130] The Toronto Six were the final Isobel Cup champions with the league ceasing operations following the 2022–23 PHF season.[131]

Broadcasting edit

During the inaugural season, some games were shown on ESPN3.[132] 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.[133] In 2016, third-party broadcasts moved from ESPN3 to Cheddar.[134] On 16 March 2017, the league announced that ABC News' website would provide live streaming coverage of the 2017 Isobel Cup Playoffs.[135]

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.[136] As part of 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.[29] 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.[137]

On 5 September 2019, the NWHL announced a three-year deal with Twitch streaming service to stream all games and league events on the platform.[138] It marked the first NWHL broadcast deal to include a rights fee, with revenue to be shared with players.[139] 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.[140]

In 2020 and 2021, the NWHL was criticized for producing content in association with Barstool Sports, a media organization which had previously been accused of promoting racist and misogynistic views.[141] 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.[142][143]

On 20 October 2021, the PHF announced it would exclusively stream its seventh season on ESPN+ in the United States, with the 2022 Isobel Cup final airing on ESPN2.

See also edit

References edit

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Further reading edit

  • Theberge, Nancy (2000). Higher goals: women's ice hockey and the politics of gender. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791446417. OCLC 42771390.
  • Scott, Richard (2017). Who's Who in Women's Hockey Guide 2018. Blurb, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1364113308. OCLC 990850828.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Premier Hockey Federation.
  • Official website

January 01, 1970
premier, hockey, federation, national, women, hockey, league, redirects, here, confused, with, national, women, hockey, league, 1999, 2007, women, professional, hockey, league, united, states, canada, that, operated, from, march, 2015, until, june, 2023, leagu. National Women s Hockey League redirects here Not to be confused with National Women s Hockey League 1999 2007 The Premier Hockey Federation PHF 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 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 Premier Hockey FederationMost recent season or competition 2022 23 PHF seasonFormerlyNational Women s Hockey League 2015 2021 SportIce hockeyFoundedMarch 2015 2015 03 CeasedJune 2023 2023 06 Replaced byProfessional Women s Hockey LeagueCommissionerReagan CareyNo of teams7CountriesCanada 2 teams United States 5 teams HeadquartersNew York City United StatesLastchampion s Toronto SixMost titlesBoston Pride 3 titles TV partner s ESPN TSN 1 Official websitepremierhockeyfederation com 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 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 Contents 1 History 1 1 Foundation and inaugural season 2015 16 1 2 Structural changes and NHL partnerships 2016 2019 1 3 CWHL dissolution and aftermath 2019 2021 1 4 Premier Hockey Federation 2021 2023 1 5 Buyout and launch of PWHL 2023 2 Teams 3 Seasons 3 1 2015 16 3 2 2016 17 3 3 2017 18 3 4 2018 19 3 5 2019 20 3 6 2020 21 3 7 2021 22 3 8 2022 23 4 Isobel Cup championship 5 Broadcasting 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory editFoundation and inaugural season 2015 16 edit The National Women s Hockey League NWHL was formed by Dani Rylan in March 2015 with an estimated 2 5 million operating budget 2 3 It was the first professional women s hockey league to pay its players salaries 4 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 5 Rylan had been in discussions with the CWHL about founding a New York based expansion franchise before opting to build a new league in the United States instead 6 The league s inaugural season in 2015 16 ran on a salary cap of US 270 000 with a 10 000 minimum per player 7 Players also earned 15 of profits from NWHL jerseys sold with their name on them 8 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 4 Rylan did not disclosed the league s initial investors or how much had been invested 9 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 10 The inaugural NWHL Draft took place in Boston in June 2015 with each team selecting five collegiate athletes 11 12 The league held tryout camps in various locales in Canada along with an international player camp in Boston 13 The league attracted many top level United States national team stars from the CWHL such as Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain Meghan Duggan 14 top graduating players from the NCAA 15 and international players 16 In December 2015 the league signed its first league wide sponsorship deal a multi year deal with Dunkin Donuts 17 On 31 December 2015 the Boston Pride played the CWHL s Les Canadiennes de Montreal to a 1 1 tie in the first Women s Winter Classic one day before the 2016 NHL Winter Classic and at the same site Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts It was the first outdoor professional women s hockey game and the first game between the NWHL and the CWHL 18 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 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 19 nbsp NWHL action between the Whale and Riveters during the inaugural season Structural changes and NHL partnerships 2016 2019 edit On 4 August 2016 the league announced that each team would introduce new uniform designs voted upon by fans 20 Two days prior to this announcement the league announced a partnership with You Can Play an organization dedicated to eradicating homophobia in sport 21 Each team in 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 22 On 17 November 2016 part way into the league s second season the NWHL informed its players that they would receive up to a 50 pay cut 23 This decreased the league minimum salary to 5 000 24 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 25 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 26 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 27 28 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 the Devils digital radio station as well 29 30 The Riveters changed their name from the New York to the Metropolitan Riveters and adopted the Devils colors 30 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 31 On 21 December 2017 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 32 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 33 On 15 May 2018 the league announced that its first expansion franchise the Minnesota Whitecaps would join the league for the 2018 19 season 34 35 The Whitecaps had played in the Western Women s Hockey League WWHL from 2004 to 2011 36 Following the WWHL s closure the team played independently including exhibition games against NWHL teams during the inaugural 2015 16 season 37 The Whitecaps signed a partnership agreement with the NHL s Minnesota Wild with whom the Whitecaps had already cooperated as an independent in the 2018 off season 38 The Whitecaps were the second privately operated franchise in the NWHL 39 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 40 41 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 42 The second was announced as Lee Heffernan a marketing executive 43 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 44 During the 2018 19 season commissioner Rylan stated that the Minnesota Whitecaps were the first NWHL team to turn a profit 45 CWHL dissolution and aftermath 2019 2021 edit 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 46 In response to the abrupt folding of 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 47 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 48 49 However in the wake of the collapse of 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 50 51 The NWHL responded that it was pursuing 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 52 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 53 On 8 May 2019 Pegula Sports and Entertainment relinquished ownership and operations of the Beauts back to the NWHL 54 55 On 17 May it was reported that the New Jersey Devils were ending their partnership with the Riveters 56 57 With the partnerships dissolved both teams changed their home venues 58 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 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 59 The league announced a longer 2019 20 season increasing from 16 to 24 games 58 The NWHL Players Association called the negotiated agreement a breakthrough that represented the first substantial gains players had made since the formation of the league 60 In September 2019 the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone 61 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 was announced as the owner of the team Tyler Tumminia as the team chairman and Digit Murphy as team president 62 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 the league to oversee the Beauts Whale Riveters and Whitecaps while searching for independent ownership of the league operated teams 63 Rylan left that role in March 2021 64 Premier Hockey Federation 2021 2023 edit nbsp Jonna Albers of the Whitecaps on a breakaway against Corinne Schroeder of the Pride Ahead of the 2021 22 season Tumminia announced that the salary cap would be doubled to 300 000 65 66 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 the number of league operated teams to three 67 68 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 69 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 70 In September 2021 the league officially rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation reflecting its many recent structural changes and deliberately adopting a gender neutral name 71 72 The 2021 22 season the league s first season under the PHF title began in November 2021 73 74 PHF players were required to follow testing and quarantine protocols due the outbreak of the COVID 19 Omicron variant 75 On January 18 2022 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 76 77 Additionally the league announced an expansion team for Montreal and opened the possibility of additional expansion in the United States 76 77 On 12 July the league officially introduced the Montreal team the Force owned by BTM Partners and Kevin Raphael would serve as the team s president 78 In February 2022 the league announced that Tumminia would step down as commissioner at the end of the 2021 22 season 79 80 In April Tumminia was succeeded by Reagan Carey the former director of USA Hockey s women s program 81 In December 2022 the salary cap for the 2023 24 PHF season was set at 1 5 million 82 83 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 the ensuing three seasons The announced cap signified a 900 percent growth over the 2021 salary cap 84 85 Buyout and launch of PWHL 2023 edit 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 a new unified women s professional league 86 87 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 88 Players who reviewed 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 89 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 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 89 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 90 91 The new league began play in January 2024 92 Teams edit nbsp nbsp BostonPride nbsp BuffaloBeauts nbsp ConnecticutWhale nbsp MetropolitanRiveters nbsp MinnesotaWhitecaps nbsp TorontoSix nbsp MontrealForceclass notpageimage Map of Premier Hockey Federation teams in its final season 2022 23 Team City Primary arena Head coach Cups Joined Partner teams Boston Pride Boston Massachusetts Warrior Ice Arena Paul Mara 3 2015 Boston Bruins NHL Buffalo Beauts Amherst New York Northtown Center vacant 93 1 2015 Buffalo Sabres NHL Connecticut Whale Simsbury Connecticut International Skating Center of Connecticut 94 Colton Orr 0 2015 Metropolitan Riveters East Rutherford New Jersey The Rink at American Dream 94 Venla Hovi 1 2015 New Jersey Devils NHL Minnesota Whitecaps Richfield Minnesota Richfield Ice Arena 95 vacant 96 1 2018 Minnesota Wild NHL Montreal Force Montreal Quebec Various a Peter Smith 0 2022 Toronto Six Toronto Ontario Canlan Ice Sports York Geraldine Heaney 1 2020 The team played its first two home games of the 2022 23 season at Centre 21 02 which doubled as its practice facility the Force played its remaining home games at five different venues throughout the province of Quebec 94 Seasons edit2015 16 edit Main article 2015 16 NWHL season The inaugural NWHL Draft took place in Boston on 20 June 2015 with each team selecting five collegiate players 97 The draft order was decided by lottery the New York Riveters to pick first followed by the Connecticut Whale the Boston Pride and the Buffalo Beauts 98 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 99 The first game in league history occurred on 11 October 2015 a sold out match between the Riveters and the Whale 100 Manon Rheaume dropped the puck in the ceremonial face off before the game 101 The first goal in league history was scored by Jessica Koizumi of the Whale Connecticut went on to a 4 1 win 102 The Boston Pride secured the first Isobel Cup championship on 12 March 2016 defeating the Buffalo Beauts to secure a 2 0 series win 19 2016 17 edit Main article 2016 17 NWHL season All four teams returned for the second season Prior to the first game of the season the Beauts Harrison Browne announced that he was a transgender athlete 103 The 2nd NWHL All Star Game was held in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania a rumored expansion market 104 Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman were named as All Star captains 104 Kessel scored the first hat trick in NWHL All Star history and was named Star of the Night by ESPN s SportsCenter 105 Brianna Decker finished the season as the league s top scorer and was named NWHL Most Valuable Player MVP 106 The Beauts who finished in third place in the shortened season upset the league leading Pride to win the Isobel Cup 107 The Beauts were honored at a Buffalo Sabres game later that month 108 2017 18 edit Main article 2017 18 NWHL season 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 the suburbs of Rochester There was also one neutral site game in Pittsburgh 109 The Metropolitan Riveters won the Isobel Cup defeating the Buffalo Beauts 110 2018 19 edit Main article 2018 19 NWHL season nbsp Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal of the Whitecaps lifts the Isobel Cup in 2019 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 Lulea HF at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink in Princeton New Jersey Lulea defeated the Riveters 4 2 111 The Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup over the Beauts in their first season in the league 2019 20 edit Main article 2019 20 NWHL season 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 112 113 The season was expanded from 16 to 24 games 114 On 26 January 2020 Jillian Dempsey 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 Minnesota 115 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 116 2020 21 edit Main article 2020 21 NWHL season The five teams from the previous season returned and the expansion Toronto Six were added Due to 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 117 All games were held at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid New York 118 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 119 The league rescheduled the Isobel Cup playoffs for March 26 and 27 in Brighton Massachusetts 120 On 27 March Boston won its second Isobel Cup title 2021 22 edit Main article 2021 22 PHF season On 28 April 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 121 The Pride won their second consecutive and third overall Isobel Cup 2022 23 edit Main article 2022 23 PHF season The 2022 23 season saw the debut of a seventh franchise the Montreal Force 122 The Toronto Six defeated the Minnesota Whitecaps 4 3 in overtime to become the first Canadian team to win the Isobel Cup championship 123 Isobel Cup championship editMain article Isobel Cup nbsp Harrison Browne of the Buffalo Beauts lifts the Isobel Cup in 2017 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 124 The front of the trophy is engraved 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 124 The Boston Pride won the inaugural championship in 2016 19 The Buffalo Beauts earned the most appearances in the Isobel Cup championship with four straight appearances from 2016 to 2019 winning once in 2017 125 126 The 2020 Isobel Cup championship between the Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps was originally postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic and was later canceled outright 127 128 The league announced that no champion would be named for the season 129 Boston was the only team to win the Isobel Cu in consecutive seasons achieving the feat in 2020 21 and 2021 22 130 The Toronto Six were the final Isobel Cup champions with the league ceasing operations following the 2022 23 PHF season 131 Broadcasting editDuring the inaugural season some games were shown on ESPN3 132 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 133 In 2016 third party broadcasts moved from ESPN3 to Cheddar 134 On 16 March 2017 the league announced that ABC News website would provide live streaming coverage of the 2017 Isobel Cup Playoffs 135 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 136 As part of 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 29 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 137 On 5 September 2019 the NWHL announced a three year deal with Twitch streaming service to stream all games and league events on the platform 138 It marked the first NWHL broadcast deal to include a rights fee with revenue to be shared with players 139 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 140 In 2020 and 2021 the NWHL was criticized for producing content in association with Barstool Sports a media organization which had previously been accused of promoting racist and misogynistic views 141 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 142 143 On 20 October 2021 the PHF announced it would exclusively stream its seventh season on ESPN in the United States with the 2022 Isobel Cup final airing on ESPN2 See also edit nbsp Ice hockey portal nbsp Sports portal PHF awards List of PHF records individual List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada Major women s sport leagues in North America List of ice hockey leagues Women s sportsReferences edit Krotz Paul August 24 2022 PHF Extends Exclusive Rights Agreement With ESPN PremierHockeyFederation com Premier Hockey Federation Archived from the original on December 16 2022 Retrieved December 15 2022 Two year agreement with ESPN includes regular season games special events and Isobel Cup Playoffs streaming live exclusively in the U S on ESPN Internationally TSN to provide live coverage to Canadian viewers Barshop Sarah March 4 2016 Behind the scenes on an NWHL road trip with the Riveters Sports Illustrated Archived from the original on June 16 2018 Retrieved May 25 2018 Neale Jen March 26 2015 NWHL new women s hockey league promises to pay players Yahoo Sports Archived from the original on March 31 2015 Retrieved March 26 2015 a b Peters Chris October 11 2015 NWHL first paid women s pro hockey league drops puck on first season CBS Sports Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved May 25 2018 Cleary Martin September 30 2007 Dreaming of a league of her own Ottawa Citizen Archived from the original on October 23 2007 Rutherford Kristina 2019 What s right for the game Inside the frustrating inspiring mess that s women s pro hockey Sportsnet Archived from the original on March 30 2019 Retrieved January 20 2024 Cimini Kaitlin September 30 2015 NWHL Release of Player Finances Raises Questions Today s Slapshot Archived from the original on October 3 2015 Retrieved October 3 2015 Clinton Jared September 4 2015 NWHL opens shop and reveals jerseys portion of profit goes to players The Hockey News Sports Illustrated Archived from the original on May 25 2018 Retrieved May 25 2018 Keyser Hannah Where Does The NWHL Go From Here Deadspin Archived from the original on May 10 2018 Retrieved May 25 2018 Borzi Pat February 9 2016 Father of Connecticut Whale Goalie Among NWHL s Mystery Investors ESPN Archived from the original on March 13 2016 Retrieved March 13 2016 Women s Pro League Offering Pay Signs Its First Player The New York Times June 11 2015 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 25 2018 Retrieved May 25 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