2015–16 NWHL season

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2015–16 NWHL season
LeagueNational Women's Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 11, 2015 – February 28, 2016
Inaugural draft
Top draft pickAlexandra Carpenter
Picked byNew York Riveters
Regular season
Season championsBoston Pride
Season MVPBrianna Decker
Top scorerHilary Knight
Isobel Cup
ChampionsBoston Pride
  Runners-upBuffalo Beauts
NWHL seasons

The 2015–16 NWHL season is the first season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League. Four teams competed for the inaugural Isobel Cup: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.

League business[]

  • July 2015: The NWHL Foundation hosted a Canadian Training Camp Series in four different Canadian cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor).[1]
  • Late July 2015: A training camp for European players took place at Ristuccia Memorial Arena outside Boston on July 23, hosted by Boston Pride head coach Bobby Jay. Players from Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Japan attended.[2]

All-star game[]

Main article: 1st NWHL All-Star Game

The 1st NWHL All-Star Game was held January 24, 2016 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, the home of the Beauts.[3]

Regular season[]

Standings[]

Pos Team
 GP W L OTL W% GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Boston Pride 18 14 3 1 0.806 75 39 +36 29
2 Connecticut Whale 18 13 5 0 0.722 61 51 +10 26
3 Buffalo Beauts 18 5 9 4 0.389 56 66 −10 14
4 New York Riveters 18 4 12 2 0.278 40 76 −36 10
Source: NWHL
y – Clinched division

Playoffs[]

Semifinals Finals
      
1 Boston Pride 2
4 New York Riveters 0
1 Boston Pride 2
3 Buffalo Beauts 0
2 Connecticut Whale 1
3 Buffalo Beauts 2

Statistics[]

Scoring leaders[]

  • The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season.
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Hilary Knight Boston Pride 17 15 18 33 8
Brianna Decker Boston Pride 17 14 15 29 20
Kelli Stack Connecticut Whale 17 8 14 22 24
Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale 18 9 13 22 24
Kelley Steadman Buffalo Beauts 13 13 7 20 16

Milestones[]

Milestone Player Team Date
First goal Jessica Koizumi Connecticut Whale Oct 11, 2015
First Canadian to score a goal Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale Oct 11, 2015
First European to log an assist Lyudmila Belyakova New York Riveters Oct 11, 2015
First European to score a goal Yekaterina Smolentseva Connecticut Whale Dec 13, 2015
First shootout goal Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale Nov 22, 2015
First multi-goal game Hilary Knight (2 goals) Boston Pride Oct 11, 2015
First hat trick Brianna Decker Boston Pride Oct 25, 2015
First multi-point game Kelli Stack (3 points) Connecticut Whale Oct 11, 2015
First multi-point game by a defenseman Kacey Bellamy (2 points) Boston Pride Oct 11, 2015
First goaltending win Jaimie Leonoff  Canada Connecticut Whale Oct 11, 2015
First American-born goaltender to win a regular season game Brittany Ott Boston Pride Oct 11, 2015
First international goaltender to win a regular season game Nana Fujimoto New York Riveters Nov 15, 2015
First African-American player to compete in the NWHL Blake Bolden Boston Pride Oct 11, 2015
First shutout game Brittany Ott Boston Pride Dec 20, 2015

Awards and honors[]

Transactions[]

NWHL draft[]

The 2015 NWHL draft took place in Boston on June 22, 2015. The draft was not binding on the players, who did not enter their names and did not have to give their consent.[4] It was not clear that the players felt themselves bound by the decisions made in the draft.[5] However, during the season the NWHL was frequently active on social media about draft picks' success in the NCAA, and on April 1, 2016 the NWHL announced [6] that the draft would be enforced insofar as there would be salary cap penalties for teams that signed other teams' draftees.

A draft lottery was held by NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan, with the New York Riveters earning the first pick overall.[7]

Notable first round picks included University of Minnesota forward Hannah Brandt by Connecticut, Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne by Boston, and University of Wisconsin defenseman Courtney Burke by Buffalo.[8][9]

= Indicates player with a prior Olympic appearance
= Indicates player with prior IIHF experience without appearing in the Olympics
# Player Pos Nationality Team College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 Alexandra Carpenter F United States New York Riveters Boston College (HEA)
2 Hannah Brandt F United States Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA)
3 Kendall Coyne F United States Boston Pride Northeastern (Hockey East)
4 Courtney Burke D United States Buffalo Beauts University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
5 Haley Skarupa F United States New York Riveters Boston College (HEA)
6 Michelle Picard D United States Connecticut Whale Harvard University (ECAC)
7 Emerance Maschmeyer G Canada Boston Pride Harvard University (ECAC)
8 Sarah Lefort F Canada Buffalo Beauts Boston University (HEA)
9 Erin Ambrose D Canada New York Riveters Clarkson University (ECAC)
10 Milica McMillen D United States Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA)
11 Lexi Bender D United States Boston Pride Boston College (HEA)
12 Amanda Leveille G Canada Buffalo Beauts University of Minnesota (WCHA)
13 Dana Trivigno F United States New York Riveters Boston College (HEA)
14 F United States Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA)
15 Miye D'Oench F United States Boston Pride Harvard (ECAC)
16 Emily Janiga F United States Buffalo Beauts Mercyhurst College (CHA)
17 G Canada New York Riveters Princeton University (ECAC)
18 Cassandra Poudrier D Canada Connecticut Whale Cornell University (ECAC)
19 Shannon MacAulay F Canada Boston Pride Clarkson University (ECAC)
20 F Canada Buffalo Beauts Mercyhurst College (CHA)

Free agency[]

Date Player Team
June 11, 2015 Janine Weber[10] New York Riveters
June 23, 2015 Amanda Pelkey[11] Boston Pride
June 25, 2015 Shiann Darkangelo[12] Connecticut Whale
June 25, 2015 Sam Faber[12] Connecticut Whale
June 25, 2015 Chelsea Laden[12] Connecticut Whale
June 26, 2015 Celeste Brown[13] New York Riveters
June 30, 2015 Kiira Dosdall[14] New York Riveters
June 30, 2015 Morgan Fritz-Ward[14] New York Riveters
July 1, 2015 Kaleigh Fratkin[15] Connecticut Whale
July 1, 2015 Brianne McLaughlin[16] Buffalo Beauts
July 2, 2015 Blake Bolden[17] Boston Pride
July 2, 2015 Jillian Dempsey[17] Boston Pride
July 2, 2015 Alyssa Gagliardi[17] Boston Pride
July 6, 2015 [18] Boston Pride
July 6, 2015 Jordan Smelker[18] Boston Pride
July 9, 2015 Jessica Koizumi[19] Connecticut Whale
July 9, 2015 Devon Skeats[20] Buffalo Beauts
July 9, 2015 Danielle Ward[19] Connecticut Whale
July 9, 2015 [20] Buffalo Beauts
July 10, 2015 [21] New York Riveters
July 10, 2015 Brittany Ott[21] Boston Pride
July 13, 2015 Lindsay Grigg[22] Buffalo Beauts
July 13, 2015 [22] Buffalo Beauts
July 14, 2015 Madison Packer[23] New York Riveters
July 17, 2015 Micaela Long[24] Connecticut Whale
July 17, 2015 Nicole Stock[24] Connecticut Whale
July 24, 2015 Kelly Cooke[25] Boston Pride
July 24, 2015 Marissa Gedman[25] Boston Pride
July 25, 2015 Lyudmila Belyakova[26] New York Riveters
July 26, 2015 Ashley Johnston[27] New York Riveters
July 26, 2015 Connecticut Whale|
July 26, 2015 Jaimie Leonoff[28] Connecticut Whale
July 26, 2015 [27] New York Riveters
July 27, 2015 Nana Fujimoto[29] New York Riveters
July 31, 2015 Corinne Buie[30] Boston Pride
July 31, 2015 Elena Orlando[30] New York Riveters
August 3, 2015 Meghan Fardelmann[31] New York Riveters
August 3, 2015 [31] Boston Pride
August 4, 2015 Kelly Babstock[32] Connecticut Whale
August 6, 2015 Hailey Browne[33] Buffalo Beauts
August 6, 2015 Kimberly Sass[33] Buffalo Beauts
August 7, 2015 [34] Buffalo Beauts
August 7, 2015 Tatiana Rafter[34] Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015 Paige Harrington[35] Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015 Rachel Llanes[35] Boston Pride
August 11, 2015 Amanda Makela[36] Buffalo Beauts
August 11, 2015 Jenny Scrivens[36] New York Riveters
August 11, 2015 Hayley Williams[35] Buffalo Beauts
August 13, 2015 [37] Connecticut Whale
August 13, 2015 Shannon Doyle[37] Connecticut Whale
August 15, 2015 Gabie Figueroa[38] New York Riveters
August 15, 2015 Kourtney Kunichika[38] Buffalo Beauts
August 15, 2015 Yekaterina Smolentseva[39] Connecticut Whale
August 16, 2015 Brooke Ammerman[40] New York Riveters
August 17, 2015 [41] Buffalo Beauts
August 17, 2015 [41] Boston Pride
August 17, 2015 Bray Ketchum[41] New York Riveters
August 18, 2015 Erin Barley-Maloney[42] New York Riveters
August 18, 2015 Molly Engstrom[43] Connecticut Whale
August 18, 2015 Zoe Hickel[44] Boston Pride
August 18, 2015 Hannah McGowan[42] Buffalo Beauts
September 22, 2015 Kacey Bellamy[45] Boston Pride
September 23, 2015 Brianna Decker[46] Boston Pride
September 23, 2015 Gigi Marvin[47] Boston Pride
September 24, 2015 [48] Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015 Jordan Brickner[48] Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015 Sydney Kidd[48] New York Riveters
September 24, 2015 Emily Pfalzer[49] Buffalo Beauts
September 24, 2015 Kelli Stack[50] Connecticut Whale
September 24, 2015 Alyssa Wohlfeiler[48] Connecticut Whale
September 25, 2015 Megan Bozek[51] Buffalo Beauts
September 25, 2015 Meghan Duggan[52] Buffalo Beauts
September 25, 2015 Hilary Knight[53] Boston Pride

Trades[]

January 27, 2016 (2016-01-27)[54] To New York Riveters

Chelsea Laden

To Connecticut Whale

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2015-06-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2015-06-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Buffalo lands all-star weekend". www.bizjournals.com. 2015. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2019-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "r/hockey - Comment by u/BazoozooTV on "AMA Alex Carpenter: The Women's Hockey Life"". reddit.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2019-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2019-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Five WCHA Players Selected During Inaugural NWHL Draft" (PDF). Western Collegiate Hockey Association. June 20, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Two former college hockey stars bypassed the NWHL to play for free". ESPN. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "NWHL Announces Historic First Player Signing". NWHL. June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  11. ^ "Amanda Pelkey Becomes First Player To Sign With Boston Pride". NWHL. June 23, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Whale Signs Darkangelo, Faber, & Laden". NWHL. June 25, 2015.
  13. ^ "Former RIT Captain Brown Inks Deal With Riveters". NWHL. June 26, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "New York Riveters Sign Dosdall and Fritz-Ward". NWHL. June 30, 2015.
  15. ^ "Whale Signs Fratkin, First Canadian in the NWHL". NWHL. July 1, 2015.
  16. ^ "Two-Time Olympic Silver Medalist McLaughlin Signs with Buffalo". NWHL. July 1, 2015.
  17. ^ a b c "Bolden, Gagliardi, and Dempsey Join Boston Pride". NWHL. July 2, 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Former Collegiate Captains Field and Smelker Sign With Boston Pride". NWHL. July 6, 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Whale Add Koizumi And Ward Ahead Of Inaugural Season". NWHL. July 9, 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Skeats and Zach Sign After Toronto Free Agent Camp". NWHL. July 9, 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Ott and Hanrahan Sign With Boston, New York". NWHL. July 10, 2015.
  22. ^ a b "Grigg and McDonald, Beauts First Blue Liners". NWHL. July 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "Riveters Add Power Forward with Packer". NWHL. July 14, 2015.
  24. ^ a b "NCAA Veterans Stock and Long Sign with Connecticut". NWHL. July 17, 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Pride Adds Ivy League Duo at Beantown Classic". NWHL. July 24, 2015.
  26. ^ "Belyakova Signs With Riveters at International Camp". NWHL. July 25, 2015.
  27. ^ a b "New York Adds Johnston, Lundberg from Union". NWHL. July 26, 2015.
  28. ^ "Yale Alumnae Tomimoto and Leonoff Join Whale". NWHL. July 26, 2015.
  29. ^ "Goaltender Fujimoto Joins Riveters After International Camp". NWHL. July 27, 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Buie to Boston, Orlando to New York". NWHL. July 31, 2015.
  31. ^ a b "Pride, Riveters Sign Slebodnick, Fardelmann". NWHL. August 3, 2015.
  32. ^ "Prolific Forward Babstock Signs With Connecticut". NWHL. August 4, 2015.
  33. ^ a b "Browne and Sass Head to Buffalo". NWHL. August 6, 2015.
  34. ^ a b "Buffalo Adds Canadians Bram and Rafter". NWHL. August 7, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  35. ^ a b c "Llanes, Williams, and Harrington Sign NWHL Contracts". NWHL. August 11, 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  36. ^ a b "Makela, Scrivens Sign with Buffalo, New York". NWHL. August 11, 2015.
  37. ^ a b "Doyle and Dougherty Sign With Connecticut". NWHL. August 13, 2015.
  38. ^ a b "Figueroa and Kunichika Join NWHL Teams". NWHL. August 15, 2015.
  39. ^ "Legendary Olympian Smolentseva Joins the Whale". NWHL. August 15, 2015.
  40. ^ "New York Signs Wisconsin Stand-Out Ammerman". NWHL. August 16, 2015.
  41. ^ a b c "Ketchum, Fickel, and Fralick Join NWHL Teams". NWHL. August 17, 2015.
  42. ^ a b "Barley-Maloney, McGowan Agree to Play in NWHL". NWHL. August 18, 2015.
  43. ^ "Two-Time Olympian Engstrom Agrees to Play in Connecticut". NWHL. August 18, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  44. ^ "Zoe Hickel Agrees to Play for Boston". NWHL. August 18, 2015.
  45. ^ "Olympian Bellamy Signs with Pride". NWHL. September 22, 2015.
  46. ^ "US Olympian Decker Joins the Pride". NWHL. September 23, 2015.
  47. ^ "Marvin Brings Versatility to Pride". NWHL. September 23, 2015.
  48. ^ a b c d "Berman, Brickner, Kidd, Wohlfeiler Join NWHL". NWHL. September 24, 2015.
  49. ^ "Boston College Standout Pfalzer Joins Buffalo". NWHL. September 24, 2015.
  50. ^ "Team USA's Stack Heads to Connecticut". NWHL. September 24, 2015.
  51. ^ "Olympic Silver Medalist Bozek Joins Beauts". NWHL. September 25, 2015.
  52. ^ "Team USA Captain Duggan Joins Buffalo". NWHL. September 25, 2015.
  53. ^ "Hilary Knight Signs with the Boston Pride". NWHL. September 25, 2015.
  54. ^ "NWHL Announces First League Trade". NWHL. January 27, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

External links[]

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