National Women's Hockey League (2015–)
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 NWHL season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2015 |
| Commissioner | Dani Rylan |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Countries | United States |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Continent | North America |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Buffalo Beauts (1st title) |
| Most titles |
Boston Pride and Buffalo Beauts (1 each) |
| TV partner(s) |
Cheddar NESN (Boston Pride games) |
| Official website | nwhl |
The National Women's Hockey League is an American women's professional ice hockey league. Established in 2015, the league comprises four teams: the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale. The league's championship trophy is the Isobel Cup, named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, the daughter of Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, donor of the Stanley Cup.
Dani Rylan is the league's founder and commissioner.
The formation of the NWHL was announced in March 2015. The league is the first U.S women's hockey league to pay its players. Prior to the league's formation, the only current choice for top level women's hockey in North America was the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), which pays bonuses but not salaries. The league's first season ran on a salary cap of US $270,000 maximum per team and a $10,000 minimum per player. The players can also make additional revenue by way of a right to 15% of profits off any NWHL jersey sold with their name on it. The league placed its four original teams in what it considered to be the strongest traditional hockey markets: in the New York City area, Buffalo, and New England.
Commissioner Dani Rylan has never identified the league's investors, stating they preferred to remain anonymous. Canadian Joel Leonoff, CEO of Paysafe Group and father of Connecticut Whale goaltender Jaimie Leonoff, has spoken about his investment in the league, although he declined to reveal the size of his investment.
The inaugural NWHL Entry Draft took place in Boston on June 20. The league held tryout camps in various locales in Canada, along with an international player camp in Boston. In addition, due to the paid nature of the league and its placement in the Northeastern United States, the league attracted many top level United States women's national ice hockey team stars from the CWHL such as Hilary Knight and former Team USA captain Meghan Duggan, top graduating players from the NCAA, and international players. The league is recognized by USA Hockey as the top women's professional league.
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