The Canadian Women's Hockey League was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league eventually expanded into Alberta, as well as teams in China and the United States throughout its tenure. The league discontinued operations May 1, 2019, after 12 seasons of operations. For most of its existence, it was the highest level women's hockey league in North America while registered as an amateur association. The National Women's Hockey League was launched as a rival organization, while also paying its players, but with both leagues competing for the same talent. The CWHL began paying its players a stipend during its last two seasons before it folded.
On August 12, the Canadian Women's Hockey League hosted the 2010 CWHL Draft. The event was held at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto at 7:00pm. The first overall selection was former Ohio State hockey player and Olympic gold medallist Tessa Bonhomme. Former Olympic gold medallist Cheryl Pounder was Master of Ceremonies at the draft.
The Worcester Blades were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and played their home games at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The team began play in the 2010–11 CWHL season as the Boston Blades where they won the Clarkson Cup twice, in 2013 and 2015.
The 2011–12 CWHL season was the fifth in league history. Regular season play begun on October 22, 2011, as the defending champion Montreal Stars host the Brampton Thunder. The league expanded from five teams to six as Team Alberta (CWHL) joined the league for competitive play. The 2012 Clarkson Cup in Niagara Falls was also contested between the Stars and Thunder, with Montreal winning its second consecutive title.
The 2011 CWHL Draft was held on July 21, 2011 in Mississauga. The Montreal Stars had the first pick overall and selected Meghan Agosta from Mercyhurst College.
The Calgary Inferno was a women's ice hockey team that joined the Canadian Women's Hockey League for the 2011–12 season. The team played its home games at Joan Snyder at WinSport Canada in Calgary, Alberta. After two seasons without an official name, in 2013 the team picked a moniker drawing from Calgary's National Hockey League franchise, the Calgary Flames, with whom they had a partnership. For the 2013-14 it was announced that all Inferno home-games will be streamed live by PCSN.tv.
The 2013 CWHL Draft was held in August 2013. Jessica Wong became the first visible minority selected with the first pick overall. Wong was also part of another unique piece of draft history. Her teammate from the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, Katie Wilson, was picked second overall. It marked the first time that two NCAA teammates were selected first and second overall.
The 2014 CWHL Draft was held on August 19, 2014. With the first pick overall, the Brampton Thunder selected Laura Fortino from the Canadian National Women's Team. The defending Clarkson Cup champion Toronto Furies had the second pick overall, and selected Megan Bozek. 2014 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Jamie Lee Rattray was selected in the second round by Brampton. Erica Howe, who played with Rattray with the Clarkson Golden Knights was the first goaltender selected in the draft, 16th overall to Brampton.
The 2014–15 CWHL season was the eighth in league history. The Boston Blades captured the 2015 Clarkson Cup in a 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Stars.
The 2015 CWHL Draft was held on August 23, 2015. With the first pick overall, the Brampton Thunder selected Sarah Edney from the Harvard Crimson. Selecting second overall, the Toronto Furies picked Emily Fulton from the Cornell Big Red. Marie-Philip Poulin went third overall to the Montreal Stars, while the Calgary Inferno opted for Brianne Jenner. The defending Clarkson Cup champion Boston Blades had the fifth pick overall and selected Kristina Brown from Boston College.
The 2015–16 CWHL season is the ninth season of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL).
The 2016 draft for the Canadian Women's Hockey League took place on August 21, 2016. Players must register before midnight on August 1, 2016 and pay an entry fee of CDN $150.
The 2016–17 CWHL season is the tenth in the history of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Opening weekend took place on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16, with a pair of series taking place in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Furies hosted the Boston Blades in the first Heritage Game of the season. The 2016 Commissioners Trophy winning Canadiennes de Montreal took on the Brampton Thunder during opening weekend. The defending Clarkson Cup champion Calgary Inferno played their first game of the season on October 22, as they hosted the Brampton Thunder. Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre will be the host venue for the Clarkson Cup finals for the second consecutive year.
The 3rd Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game took place on February 12, 2017, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event featured three 20-minute periods, and 34 players were named as participants Jess Jones and Jillian Saulnier both scored a hat trick, becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.
The 2017–18 CWHL season is the 11th season of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. This is also the first season in which the teams pay their players a salary. It would also prove to be the final full season in which Brenda Andress served as commissioner of the league, tendering her resignation on July 18, 2019.
The 2017 CWHL draft was the eighth in the history of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. It took place on August 20, 2017, marking the first time that the Draft involved Kunlun Red Star WIH, one of two expansion teams in the league, who are also joined by the Vanke Rays.
Courtney Turner is a women's ice hockey player. She played with the Union Dutchwomen ice hockey and amassed 28 career points while with the college program. She was selected first overall in the 2017 CWHL Draft by the Boston Blades, the second straight year that the club held the first pick in the draft.
The 2018 CWHL Draft, the ninth and final in league history, took place on August 26. It marked the first and only draft Jayna Hefford served as CWHL commissioner. The CWHL indicated that general managers were authorized to "pre-sign" their first and second round selections before the draft. The window for pre-signing expired on August 17. Lauren Williams, a Canadian player and alumna of the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program, was the first pick overall in the draft. Long after this draft, the CWHL discontinued operations on May 1, 2019, having announced its intention on March 31.
Lauren Williams is a Canadian professional women's ice hockey player with the PWHPA. An alumna of the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program, Williams was the first pick overall in the 2018 CWHL Draft by the Blades.
The Toronto Six is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are the only Canadian team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and the first expansion team to join the league since the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in 2019. The team was founded in 2020 with their inaugural regular season held in Lake Placid, New York, followed by the Isobel Cup playoffs in Brighton, Massachusetts.
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