The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), comprising four league-owned teams. Over time, some teams gained independent ownership and the number of teams grew to seven; teams during the league's final season in 2022–23 included the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force, and Toronto Six. The Isobel Cup was awarded annually to the league playoff champion.
The Metropolitan Riveters were a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
The Boston Pride were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They were one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The Pride played at Warrior Ice Arena, which is also the practice facility for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. The Pride won the inaugural Isobel Cup in 2016 and became the first professional women's ice hockey team to win three championship titles when they claimed consecutive victories in 2021 and 2022.
The Connecticut Whale were a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Simsbury, Connecticut at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which became the PHF in 2021. Their name and colors paid homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut. The team folded along with the PHF in 2023 as part of the creation of a new, unified women's league, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
Kelly Babstock is a Canadian-American ice hockey player, currently playing in the Swiss Women's League with HC Ladies Lugano. She has Ojibwe roots and is originally from Little Current on Manitoulin Island, part of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
Blake Alexis Bolden is an American ice hockey player, and scout for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). On October 11, 2015, she became the first African-American player to compete in the National Women's Hockey League. She won the 2015 Clarkson Cup with the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). In 2016, she won the Isobel Cup with the Boston Pride of the NWHL. Bolden is also a contributor and rinkside reporter for ESPN's NHL coverage.
Shiann Darkangelo is an American professional ice hockey player for PWHL Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She has played at the international level with Team USA and won gold at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship with the team. At the NCAA Division I level, she accumulated 42 points with the Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey program during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons and registered 60 points with the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. She was team captain of the Toronto Six roster that won the 2023 Isobel Cup championship.
Kaleigh Fratkin is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The second-longest tenured player and leading scorer among defenders in PHF history, she was the first Canadian player to sign a contract in the league, is a five-time PHF all-star, and is a two-time PHF Defender of the Year in 2020 and 2021. She was also a member of the Boston Pride roster that captured the 2021 and 2022 Isobel Cup, and was one of three 2023 PHF All-Star captains. Previous to the joining the NWHL, she won the Clarkson Cup in 2015 and was the first girl to play boys' midget AAA hockey in British Columbia.
Denisa Křížová is a Czech ice hockey player for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team.
Kaitlin "Katie" Burt is an American ice hockey goaltender, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters. She was selected first overall by the Boston Pride in the 2017 NWHL Draft.
Melissa Samoskevich is an American ice hockey player and director of player development and operations for the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program. She was previously an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey program. She plays for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League.
Emma Woods is a Canadian ice hockey forward. She was selected by PWHL New York in the 2023 PWHL Draft.
The 2020 NWHL Draft took place on April 28–29, 2020. The Boston Pride selected Sammy Davis with the 1st overall pick, having made a trade with the yet unnamed Toronto expansion team. Davis becomes the third Terriers hockey player to go first overall in a professional hockey draft, following Kayla Tutino in the 2016 CWHL Draft, and Rick DiPietro in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
Samantha "Sammy" Davis is an American ice hockey forward, currently playing with the PWHL Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She was drafted 1st overall in the 2020 NWHL Draft by the Boston Pride following a two-year captaincy of the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey.
The Toronto Six were a professional women's ice hockey team in Toronto, Ontario, playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They were one of two Canadian teams in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) along with the Montreal Force, 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.
The 2020–21 NWHL season was the sixth season of the National Women's Hockey League in North America. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was held in a bubble in Lake Placid, New York, from January to February 2021, with all five teams returning from the previous season, along with the Toronto Six expansion team as the first Canada-based team to play in the league. The season was suspended again due to positive cases of COVID-19 within the bubble. On March 8, 2021, the league announced that the Isobel Cup playoffs would re-commence on March 26 and 27 at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Sydney Rossman is American retired ice hockey goaltender, who played with both the Minnesota Whitecaps and the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Taylor House is an American professional ice hockey player, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with MoDo Hockey Dam. She previously played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Boston Pride and her college ice hockey career was played with the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program in the ECAC Hockey conference of the NCAA Division I.
Taylor Girard is an American professional ice hockey forward for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She was drafted first overall in the 2021 NWHL Draft.
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