2016–17 NWHL season
| 2016–17 NWHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Women's Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
The 2016–17 NWHL season is the second season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League.
All four teams from the inaugural season will return for this season: the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale. No expansion teams have been added.
Off-season
Arenas
During the off-season the Connecticut Whale moved to Northford Ice Pavilion in North Branford, Connecticut and the defending champion Boston Pride moved to the new Warrior Ice Arena in the Boston neighborhood of Brighton.
On August 1, 2016, it was announced that the New York Riveters moved to the Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, New Jersey, situated within the Prudential Center. The facility was the site of the first-ever Isobel Cup Finals and shall be the site of the Riveters' home games during the 2016–17 New York Riveters season.[1]
With the changes in arenas, it left the Buffalo Beauts, playing their second season at HarborCenter, as the sole team not to change arenas.
NWHL Draft
The 2016 NWHL Draft took place on June 18, 2016 and it was the second in league history. Defender Kelsey Koelzer of Princeton was selected first overall by the New York Riveters.[2]
News and notes
- August 2, 2016: The league announced a partnership with You Can Play, which will also see each team feature an ambassador.[3]
- August 4, 2016: The league announced that all four inaugural season jersey designs would be retired.[4] All four teams enter the upcoming season with new jersey designs, that shall be voted upon by fans online.
- October 7, 2016: Buffalo Beauts player Hailey Browne became the first transgender athlete in professional North American team sports, asking to be referred to by the name Harrison Browne.[5]
- November 17, 2016: Part way into the league's second season, the NWHL informed its players that they would all be getting up to a 50% pay cut. The league claims the pay cut is needed in order to sustain the longevity of the league. This dropped the league player minimums to $5,000 per player.[6]
References
- ↑ "New York Riveters leave Brooklyn for Newark". Today’s Slapshot. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ↑ "Kelsey Koelzer Taken First Overall". princetontigers.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
- ↑ "NWHL partners with You Can Play". You Can Play Project. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ "NWHL retires inaugural season jersey designs". NWHL.zone. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ↑ "NWHL player Harrison Browne comes out as a transgender man". ESPN. 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ "NWHL HIT WITH BAD NEWS". The Fourth Period. November 18, 2016.