Since 2016, the year of its inaugural season (which was then known as the NWHL), the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) grants several annual awards to players in the league, including Most Valuable Player, Goaltender of the Year, Best Defender, Rookie of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Denna Laing Award (formerly the Perseverance Award), Foundation Award, Offensive Player of the Year (formerly the Leading Scorer Award), and the Fans' Three Stars of the Season. The award for Most Valuable Player is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. [1] Nominees for the Foundation Award are chosen by the Players Association and voted on by fans. Other awards are voted on a panel of journalists.
For the 2022–23 season, the league established a new Rookie of the Year award to be given to "the top first-year player who has joined the league immediately following their collegiate career". [1] This was in contrast to the existing Newcomer of the Year award, which was from then on to be awarded to "the top first-year player who has joined the league with prior professional experience". [1] The league also announced the new Outstanding Player of the Year award, to be voted on by members of the Premier Hockey Federation Players' Association, as well as the renaming of the Leading Scorer award to Offensive Player of the Year. [1]
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Brianna Decker [2] | Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | Brianna Decker | Boston Pride |
| 2017–18 | Alexa Gruschow | Metropolitan Riveters |
| 2018–19 | Maddie Elia | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2019–20 | Jillian Dempsey | Boston Pride |
| Allie Thunstrom | Minnesota Whitecaps | |
| 2020–21 | Mikyla Grant-Mentis [3] | Toronto Six |
| 2021–22 | Kennedy Marchment [4] | Connecticut Whale |
| 2022–23 | Loren Gabel [5] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | Loren Gabel [5] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Hilary Knight [2] | Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | Brianna Decker | Boston Pride |
| 2017–18 | Alexa Gruschow | Metropolitan Riveters |
| 2018–19 | Hayley Scamurra | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2019–20 | Jillian Dempsey | Boston Pride |
| 2022–23 | Loren Gabel [5] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Brittany Ott [2] | Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | Katie Fitzgerald [6] | New York Riveters |
| 2017–18 | Amanda Leveille [7] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2018–19 | Shannon Szabados [8] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2019–20 | Lovisa Selander | Boston Pride |
| 2020–21 | Amanda Leveille [3] | Minnesota Whitecaps |
| 2021–22 | Elaine Chuli [4] | Toronto Six |
| 2022–23 | Corinne Schroeder [9] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Gigi Marvin [2] | Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | Megan Bozek [6] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2017–18 | Courtney Burke [7] | Metropolitan Riveters |
| 2018–19 | Blake Bolden [8] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2019–20 | Kaleigh Fratkin | Boston Pride |
| 2020–21 | Kaleigh Fratkin [3] | Boston Pride |
| 2021–22 | Dominique Kremer [4] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2022–23 | Kali Flanagan [10] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | Corinne Schroeder [9] | Boston Pride |
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Denna Laing [2] | Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | Ashley Johnston [6] | New York Riveters |
| 2017–18 | Jillian Dempsey [7] | Boston Pride |
| 2018–19 | Jillian Dempsey [8] | Boston Pride |
| 2020–21 | Saroya Tinker [3] | Metropolitan Riveters |
| 2021–22 | Elena Orlando [4] | Buffalo Beauts |
| 2022–23 | Lauren Kelly [11] | Boston Pride |
Jillian T. Dempsey is an American ice hockey player who currently captains the Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She currently holds the all-time PHF records for games played, goals, assists, and points, and has won both the Clarkson Cup and the Isobel Cup.
The Premier Hockey Federation, abbreviated 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, abbreviated NWHL, at which time it comprised four league-owned teams. Over time, some teams gained independent ownership and the number of teams grew to seven: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and Toronto Six.
The 2015–16 NWHL season is 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.
The Metropolitan Riveters are 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 are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League. The Pride play at Warrior Ice Arena, which is also the practice facility for the Boston Bruins of the NHL. They 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 are a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They play 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. Their name and colors pay homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut.
The Buffalo Beauts are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They play in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
The 2015–16 Boston Pride season was the first in franchise history and participated in the National Women's Hockey League's inaugural season.
Denna Christine Laing is an American former professional ice hockey player. She last played for the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) until a career-ending injury. At the collegiate level, she accumulated 77 points while competing for the Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey program from 2010 to 2014. She was also the captain her junior and senior year.
Denisa Křížová is a Czech ice hockey player for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and a member of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team.
The Premier Hockey Federation Players' Association is a representative body for professional ice hockey players in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The association was founded in 2015.
Samantha "Sammy" Davis is an American ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Boston Pride of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). 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 is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are 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. They won the 2023 Isobel Cup on 26 March, 2023, their first in franchise history.
Carly Jackson is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Toronto Six. She was drafted in the first round, 3rd overall by the Buffalo Beauts in the 2020 NWHL Draft.
Mikyla Grant-Mentis is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She is the all-time leading scorer of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team. In 2021, she became the first black player to win the PHF's Most Valuable Player award.
Elena Orlando is an American ice hockey defenseman. She most recently played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Buffalo Beauts during the 2021–22 season. Having played in the PHF since its inaugural 2015–16 season, she was one of five players to have recorded more than 100 regular season games played at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season.
The 2021–22 PHF season was the seventh season of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), which was known as the National Women's Hockey League during the previous six seasons, in North America. After mostly playing in a bubble environment the previous season due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the PHF commenced the 2021–22 season with a normal travel-based schedule.
The 2021–22 Minnesota Whitecaps season was the team's fourth year as a member of the Premier Hockey Federation. They play their home games at TRIA Rink, the practice facility for the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Whitecaps opened the season on the weekend of November 6–7 in Boston playing against the Pride, dropping their first two games. Their first home game, on November 20th, 2021 led to their first win of the season, also against the Pride.
The 2022–23 PHF season was the eighth ice hockey season of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) – known as the National Women's Hockey League during its first six seasons (2015–2021).
The 2022–23 Boston Pride season is the eighth ice hockey season in Boston Pride franchise history. A charter team of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), the 2022–23 season also marks the team's eighth season in the league. The two-time defending Isobel Cup champions, the franchise will attempt to become the first to capture three Cup championships in a row.
