Connecticut Whale (PHF)

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This article is about the PHF team. For the AHL team once known as the Connecticut Whale, see Hartford Wolf Pack.

Connecticut Whale
2021–22 PHF season
CT Whale logo.svg
CityDanbury, Connecticut
LeaguePremier Hockey Federation
Founded2015 (2015)
Home arenaDanbury Ice Arena
ColorsWhite, blue, green
     
Owner(s)Shared Hockey Enterprises (SHE), LLC
General managerAlexis Moed[1]
Head coachColton Orr
CaptainShannon Doyle
MediaThe Collinsville Press
NWHL on Twitch
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Connecticut Whale is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. It is one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). Its name and colors are an homage to the former NHL and WHA franchise known as the Hartford Whalers.

History[]

For their first season, the Whale played home games in Stamford, Connecticut at Chelsea Piers. Chris Ardito was hired as the first general manager in franchise history,[2] while Jake Mastel and Lisa Giovanelli coached the team. The team is the second professional hockey team to bear the Connecticut Whale name, following the American Hockey League team previously and currently known as the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Among their off-season acquisitions, the Whale signed Kaleigh Fratkin to a contract on July 1, 2015. She was the first Canadian player to sign a contract in the NWHL.[3]

The team made its debut in the 2015–16 season. Jessica Koizumi was named first team captain in franchise history.[4] The first game in NWHL history was a sell out on October 11, 2015 between the New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.[5] The Whale prevailed by a 4–1 tally as Jessica Koizumi scored the first goal in both franchise and NWHL history. In the same game, Kelli Stack had one goal and two assists, becoming the first player to record a multi-point performance. Whale goaltender Jaimie Leonoff was credited the win, capturing the game's First Star. Stack was recognized as the Second Star, and Kelly Babstock, who became the first Canadian-born player to score a goal in an NWHL regular season game, was acknowledged as the Third Star.

The Whale won their first three games in franchise history with three different goalies. In the first game, the Whale prevailed with Jaimie Leonoff, while former Quinnipiac goaltender Chelsea Laden captured the second win, and Nicole Stock played her first game in over five years to capture the third win on the road against the New York Riveters.

Prior to the team's second season, the Whale moved to the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Connecticut.[6] This lasted one season as the Whale moved to the Terry Conners Ice Rink at Cove Island Park in Stamford, Connecticut, for the 2017–18 season.[7]

On August 20, 2018, the Whale named active player Cydney Roesler an assistant coach for the 2018–19 season making her the first player-coach in franchise history.[8]

After two seasons at Terry Conners Ice Rink, the Whale moved again to the larger Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut.[9] Former NHL enforcer Colton Orr was named as head coach for the 2019–20 season.[10] The team was eliminated in the semifinal game by the Boston Pride prior to the championship being cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following season was then delayed amidst the capacity and travel restrictions during the pandemic. The 2020–21 season eventually started on January 23, 2021, with the entire season to be played at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, without fans in attendance and teams kept in isolation. However, the Metropolitan Riveters were forced to withdraw from the two-week season on January 28 after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19.[11] The schedule was then adjusted to have the top three teams at the time play a round-robin tournament to determine playoff seeding with the Whale as the second seed. Connecticut then lost to the expansion Toronto Six 0–6 on January 31. The next day, the team forfeited their final game to the Minnesota Whitecaps and withdrew from the playoffs[12] citing concerns with increased positive cases within the bubble and protecting their players from the virus.[13] Two days later, the league suspended the season before the playoffs could commence due to several more positive tests throughout the league.[14] The league then re-scheduled the playoffs to be held at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts, with the Whale re-entered as the third seed to face the Minnesota Whitecaps, who they would have faced regardless of the outcome of the game the Whale withdrew from in Lake Placid, in a semifinal game.[15] The Whale then lost to the Whitecaps 7–0 in the semifinal game.

On May 10, 2021, the league announced it had sold the Whale to a new independent ownership group called Shared Hockey Enterprises (SHE), LLC, led by Tobin Kelly, reducing the league operated teams to three.[16][17]

Season-by-season records[]

Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Playoffs
2015–16 18 13 5 0 0 26 61 51 Lost Isobel Cup Semifinal series to Buffalo Beauts
2016–17 18 5 12 1 0 11 60 77 Lost Isobel Cup Semifinal to Boston Pride
2017–18 16 3 11 2 0 8 26 55 Lost Isobel Cup Semifinal to Metropolitan Riveters
2018–19 16 2 12 2 0 6 22 64 Lost play-in game to Metropolitan Riveters
2019–20 24 2 20 2 0 6 39 100 Lost Isobel Cup Semifinal to Boston Pride
2020–21 4 2 2 0 0 4 9 12 Lost Isobel Cup Semifinal to Minnesota Whitecaps

Team[]

Roster[]

As of October 21, 2021[18][19]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
9 United States  (A) F L 30 2017 Maple Plain, Minnesota
18 United States D R 23 2021 Trenton, Michigan
16 United States Hanna Beattie F/D L 26 2017 Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
88 United States Amanda Conway F R 25 2020 Methuen, Massachusetts
97 United States F L 25 2021 Washingtonville, New York
6 Canada Shannon Doyle (C) D R 30 2015 Baldwin, Ontario
11 United States Emily Fluke F R 29 2021 Bourne, Massachusetts
55 Canada Mariah Fujimagari G L 27 2020 Markham, Ontario
17 United States F L 24 2021 Macomb, Michigan
5 Canada D L 23 2020 Bancroft, Ontario
27 Slovakia F L 27 2021 Stratford, Connecticut
13 United States Cailey Hutchison F L 25 2021 Hicksville, New York
35 United States Abbie Ives G R 23 2020 Bedford Hills, New York
44 United States D R 28 2018 Algonac, Michigan
22 United States Kennedy Marchment RW R 26 2021 Courtice, Ontario
79 United States Rebecca Morse D L 30 2021 Westfield, New Jersey
12 United States D L 25 2021 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
7 United States F R 24 2021 Morristown, New Jersey
31 United States G L 24 2021 Reading, Massachusetts
15 United States Emma Vlasic (A) F L 25 2019 Wilmette, Illinois
24 Austria Janine Weber (A) F L 30 2019 Innsbruck, Austria
8 United States Alyssa Wohlfeiler (A) F R 32 2020 Saugus, California

Team captains[]

Alternate captains[]

Head coaches[]

  • Jake Mastel, 2015
  • Heather Linstad, 2015–2017
  • Ryan Equale, 2018–2019
  • Colton Orr, 2019–present

General managers[]

  • Chris Ardito, 2015–2016
  • Lisa Giovanelli, 2016–2017
  • Bray Ketchum, 2019–2020[20]
  • Amy Scheer, 2020–21[21]
  • Alexis Moed, 2021–present[1]

Draft history[]

Hannah Brandt from the University of Minnesota program became the first player in franchise history to be selected in the inaugural 2015 NWHL Draft.[22] Michelle Picard was the first defenseman selected in NWHL Draft history.

NWHL Draft[]

Main article: 2015 NWHL Draft

The following were the Whale's selections in the 2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015.

# Player Position Nationality College
2 Hannah Brandt Forward  United States University of Minnesota
6 Michelle Picard Defense  United States Harvard University
10 Milica McMillen Defense  United States University of Minnesota
14 Forward  United States University of Minnesota
18 Cassandra Poudrier Defense  Canada Cornell University

[22]

Main article: 2016 NWHL Draft

The following were the Whale's selections in the 2016 NWHL Draft on June 18, 2016.

# Player Position Nationality College
3 Dani Cameranesi Forward  United States University of Minnesota
7 Andie Anastos Forward  United States Boston College
11 Melissa Channell Defense  Canada University of Wisconsin
15 Paige Savage Forward  United States Northeastern University
19 Sydney Rossman Goalie  United States Quinnipiac University

[23]

Main article: 2017 NWHL Draft

The following were the Whale's selections in the 2016 NWHL Draft on August 17, 2017.

# Player Position Nationality College
5 Sam Donovan Forward  United States Brown University
9 Eden Murray Forward  Canada Yale University
13 Denisa Krizova Forward  Czech Republic Northeastern University
17 Nina Rodgers Forward  United States Boston University

[24]

Main article: 2018 NWHL Draft

The following were the Whale's selections in the 2018 NWHL Draft on December 19th and 20th, 2018.

# Player Position Nationality College
2 Melissa Samoskevich Forward  United States Quinnipiac University
7 Makenna Newkirk Forward  United States Boston College
12 Katelyn Rae Forward  Canada Merrimack College
17 Dominique Kremer Defense  United States Merrimack College
22 Maggie LaGue Defense  United States Robert Morris University
Main article: 2020 NWHL Draft

The following were the Whale's selections in the 2020 NWHL Draft on April 28th and 29th, 2020. Connecticut held the Metropolitan Riveters fifth round pick (#27 overall), as the future considerations from the trade of Maria Sorokina to the Riveters in 2019.

# Player Position Nationality College
2 Kayla Friesen Forward  Canada Clarkson University
7 Victoria Howran Defense  Canada University of New Hampshire
13 Savannah Rennie Forward  Canada Syracuse University
19 Amanda Conway Forward  United States Norwich University
25 Nicole Guagliardo Forward  United States Adrian College
27 Maddie Bishop Forward  United States Sacred Heart University

Franchise milestones and statistics leaders[]

See also: List of Connecticut Whale (PHF) records

As of the 2016-17 season:

Milestone Player Notes
First goal Jessica Koizumi October 11, 2015
First multi-point game Kelli Stack October 11, 2015
First win Jaimie Leonoff October 11, 2015
Most points Kelly Babstock 45 points (23G, 22A)

Awards and honors[]

  • , 2021 Foundation Award[25]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Bryant, Casey (June 23, 2021). "Connecticut Whale tap Alexis Moed as general manager". The Ice Garden. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Whale Brings Pro Hockey Back to the Nutmeg State". NWHL.co.
  3. ^ "Whale signs Kaleigh Fratkin, First Canadian in the NWHL". NWHL.co. July 1, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Ciambra, Rob. "Whale Names Koizumi Captain and Fratkin Assistant Captain". NWHL.co.
  5. ^ Clinton, Jared (October 7, 2015). "NWHL sells out inaugural game, Manon Rheaume to drop ceremonial puck in Buffalo". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "Whale Moves to Northford Ice Pavilion for Second Season". OurSports Central. May 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "Whale Swim Home to Stamford". OurSports Central. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  8. ^ "Cydney Roesler Named Assistant Coach". NWHL.zone. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "Danbury Arena the New Home of the Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. July 8, 2019.
  10. ^ "NHL Veteran Colton Orr, NWHL Veteran Laura Brennan to Coach Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. September 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "METROPOLITAN RIVETERS WITHDRAWN FROM NWHL SEASON". NWHL. January 28, 2021.
  12. ^ "The Connecticut Whale have withdrawn from Lake Placid". SB Nation. February 1, 2021.
  13. ^ @CTWhale_NWHL (February 3, 2021). "A statement from the Connecticut Whale" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Transcript: NWHL media availability on the suspension of the 2021 season". SB Nation. February 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "NWHL TO AWARD ISOBEL CUP IN MARCH 2021". NWHL. March 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "NWHL Announces Sale of the Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. May 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Connecticut Whale sold, bolstering women's hockey league". Greenwich Time. May 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Whale Roster". NWHL. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Eliteprospects.com - Connecticut Whale". Elite Prospects. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Connecticut Native Bray Ketchum Takes over the Whale as General Manager". OurSports Central. April 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Amy Scheer Named GM of the Connecticut Whale". NWHL. August 20, 2020.
  22. ^ a b "2015 NWHL Draft Recap". Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  23. ^ "First-round picks show how NWHL GMs view their teams". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  24. ^ "BOSTON COLLEGE'S KATIE BURT TOPS 2017 NWHL DRAFT". nwhl.zone. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  25. ^ Paul Krotz (April 28, 2021). "NWHL ANNOUNCES 2021 AWARD RECIPIENTS". NWHL. Retrieved April 29, 2021.

External links[]

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