The 2015–16 NWHL season was 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). 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.

All-star game

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

Regular season

Standings

Schedule

All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00).

Regular season Date Time Visitor Score Home OT Notes Gamesheet October 11 1:30 New York 1–4 Connecticut 3:30 Boston 4–1 Buffalo October 18 3:30 Connecticut 5–2 Buffalo 8:00 Boston 7–1 New York October 25 3:30 Boston 5–3 Buffalo 7:00 Connecticut 3–1 New York November 15 3:30 Connecticut 3–2 Buffalo 7:00 Boston 2–3 New York November 22 3:00 New York 3–2 Boston 3:30 Connecticut 7–6 Buffalo SO November 29 3:00 Connecticut 4–3 Boston 7:00 Buffalo 3–1 New York December 5 7:00 Buffalo 6–7 Boston December 6 3:30 New York 1–4 Boston 4:30 Buffalo 2–3 Connecticut SO December 13 6:30 Connecticut 4–3 New York SO December 20 3:00 Buffalo 0–1 Boston December 27 3:30 New York 7–3 Buffalo 4:30 Boston 2–1 Connecticut January 3 3:00 Buffalo 4–3 Boston OT 7:00 Connecticut 6–1 New York January 9 7:30 New York 3–4 Connecticut January 10 3:00 New York 1–8 Boston 6:00 Buffalo 3–5 Connecticut January 17 3:00 Connecticut 1–4 Boston 7:00 Buffalo 6–5 New York SO January 31 3:30 New York 2–4 Buffalo 6:00 Boston 5–2 Connecticut February 6 6:00 Boston 6–1 New York February 7 12:00 Buffalo 2–3 Connecticut OT February 14 2:00 Buffalo 3–4 New York SO 3:00 Connecticut 2–4 Boston February 21 1:30 Boston 5–3 Connecticut 3:30 New York 1–5 Buffalo February 28 3:30 Boston 3–2 Buffalo 6:00 New York 2–4 Connecticut March 4 7:00 New York 0–6 Boston 7:10 Buffalo 0–3 Connecticut March 5 7:30 Buffalo 4–1 Connecticut 8:00 New York 4–7 Boston March 6 6:00 Buffalo 4–3 Connecticut March 11 7:30 Buffalo 3–4 Boston OT March 12 7:30 Boston 3–1 Buffalo

Playoffs

Statistics

Scoring leaders The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season. Player Team 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 October 11, 2015 First Canadian to score a goal Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale October 11, 2015 First European to log an assist Lyudmila Belyakova New York Riveters October 11, 2015 First multi-goal game Hilary Knight (2 goals) Boston Pride October 11, 2015 First multi-point game Kelli Stack (3 points) Connecticut Whale October 11, 2015 First multi-point game by a defenseman Kacey Bellamy (2 points) Boston Pride October 11, 2015 First goaltending win Jaimie Leonoff Connecticut Whale October 11, 2015 First American-born goaltender to win a regular season game Brittany Ott Boston Pride October 11, 2015 First African-American player to compete in the NWHL Blake Bolden Boston Pride October 11, 2015 First hat trick Brianna Decker Boston Pride October 25, 2015 First international goaltender to win a regular season game Nana Fujimoto New York Riveters November 15, 2015 First shootout goal Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale November 22, 2015 First European to score a goal Yekaterina Smolentseva Connecticut Whale December 13, 2015 First shutout game Brittany Ott Boston Pride December 20, 2015

Awards and honors Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Most Valuable Player Hilary Knight, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Scoring Champion Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Perseverance Award Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Foundation Award Gigi Marvin, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award Brittany Ott, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Goaltender of the Year

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. It was not clear that the players felt themselves bound by the decisions made in the draft. 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 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.

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.

= 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 Alex Carpenter F New York Riveters Boston College (HEA) 2 Hannah Brandt F Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA) 3 Kendall Coyne F Boston Pride Northeastern (HEA) 4 Courtney Burke D Buffalo Beauts University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 5 Haley Skarupa F New York Riveters Boston College (HEA) 6 Michelle Picard D Connecticut Whale Harvard University (ECAC) 7 Emerance Maschmeyer G Boston Pride Harvard University (ECAC) 8 Sarah Lefort F Buffalo Beauts Boston University (HEA) 9 Erin Ambrose D New York Riveters Clarkson University (ECAC) 10 Milica McMillen D Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA) 11 Lexi Bender D Boston Pride Boston College (HEA) 12 Amanda Leveille G Buffalo Beauts University of Minnesota (WCHA) 13 Dana Trivigno F New York Riveters Boston College (HEA) 14 Maryanne Menefee F Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA) 15 Miye D'Oench F Boston Pride Harvard University (ECAC) 16 Emily Janiga F Buffalo Beauts Mercyhurst College (CHA) 17 Kimberly Newell G New York Riveters Princeton University (ECAC) 18 Cassandra Poudrier D Connecticut Whale Cornell University (ECAC) 19 Shannon MacAulay F Boston Pride Clarkson University (ECAC) 20 Jenna Dingeldein F Buffalo Beauts Mercyhurst College (CHA)

Free agency Date Player Team June 11, 2015 Janine Weber New York Riveters June 23, 2015 Amanda Pelkey Boston Pride June 25, 2015 Shiann Darkangelo Connecticut Whale June 25, 2015 Sam Faber Connecticut Whale June 25, 2015 Chelsea Laden Connecticut Whale June 26, 2015 Celeste Brown New York Riveters June 30, 2015 Kiira Dosdall New York Riveters June 30, 2015 Morgan Fritz-Ward New York Riveters July 1, 2015 Kaleigh Fratkin Connecticut Whale July 1, 2015 Brianne McLaughlin Buffalo Beauts July 2, 2015 Blake Bolden Boston Pride July 2, 2015 Jillian Dempsey Boston Pride July 2, 2015 Alyssa Gagliardi Boston Pride July 6, 2015 Emily Field Boston Pride July 6, 2015 Jordan Smelker Boston Pride July 9, 2015 Jessica Koizumi Connecticut Whale July 9, 2015 Devon Skeats Buffalo Beauts July 9, 2015 Danielle Ward Connecticut Whale July 9, 2015 Erin Zach Buffalo Beauts July 10, 2015 Beth Hanrahan New York Riveters July 10, 2015 Brittany Ott Boston Pride July 13, 2015 Lindsay Grigg Buffalo Beauts July 13, 2015 Kelly McDonald Buffalo Beauts July 14, 2015 Madison Packer New York Riveters July 17, 2015 Micaela Long Connecticut Whale July 17, 2015 Nicole Stock Connecticut Whale July 24, 2015 Kelly Cooke Boston Pride July 24, 2015 Marissa Gedman Boston Pride July 25, 2015 Lyudmila Belyakova New York Riveters July 26, 2015 Ashley Johnston New York RivetersJuly 26, 2015Tara Tomimoto Connecticut Whale July 26, 2015 Jaimie Leonoff Connecticut Whale July 26, 2015 Shenae Lundberg New York Riveters July 27, 2015 Nana Fujimoto New York Riveters July 31, 2015 Corinne Buie Boston Pride July 31, 2015 Elena Orlando New York Riveters August 3, 2015 Meghan Fardelmann New York Riveters August 3, 2015 Lauren Slebodnick Boston Pride August 4, 2015 Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale August 6, 2015 Harrison Browne Buffalo Beauts August 6, 2015 Kimberly Sass Buffalo Beauts August 7, 2015 Shelby Bram Buffalo Beauts August 7, 2015 Tatiana Rafter Buffalo Beauts August 11, 2015 Paige Harrington Buffalo Beauts August 11, 2015 Rachel Llanes Boston Pride August 11, 2015 Amanda Makela Buffalo Beauts August 11, 2015 Jenny Scrivens New York Riveters August 11, 2015 Hayley Williams Buffalo Beauts August 13, 2015 Brittney Dougherty Connecticut Whale August 13, 2015 Shannon Doyle Connecticut Whale August 15, 2015 Gabie Figueroa New York Riveters August 15, 2015 Kourtney Kunichika Buffalo Beauts August 15, 2015 Yekaterina Smolentseva Connecticut Whale August 16, 2015 Brooke Ammerman New York Riveters August 17, 2015 Jessica Fickel Buffalo Beauts August 17, 2015 Kelsie Fralick Boston Pride August 17, 2015 Bray Ketchum New York Riveters August 18, 2015 Erin Barley-Maloney New York Riveters August 18, 2015 Molly Engstrom Connecticut Whale August 18, 2015 Zoe Hickel Boston Pride August 18, 2015 Hannah McGowan Buffalo Beauts September 22, 2015 Kacey Bellamy Boston Pride September 23, 2015 Brianna Decker Boston Pride September 23, 2015 Gigi Marvin Boston Pride September 24, 2015 Lindsay Berman Connecticut Whale September 24, 2015 Jordan Brickner Connecticut Whale September 24, 2015 Sydney Kidd New York Riveters September 24, 2015 Emily Pfalzer Buffalo Beauts September 24, 2015 Kelli Stack Connecticut Whale September 24, 2015 Alyssa Wohlfeiler Connecticut Whale September 25, 2015 Megan Bozek Buffalo Beauts September 25, 2015 Meghan Duggan Buffalo Beauts September 25, 2015 Hilary Knight Boston Pride

Trades To New York Riveters

Chelsea Laden To Connecticut Whale

Shenae Lundberg

References

Gamesheets

External links