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2016–17 NWHL season
League	National Women's Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
2016 draft
Top draft pick	Kelsey Koelzer
Picked by	New York Riveters
Regular season
Season champions	Boston Pride
Season MVP	Brianna Decker
Top scorer	Brianna Decker
Isobel Cup
Champions	Buffalo Beauts
Runners-up	Boston Pride
Finals MVP	Brianne McLaughlin
NWHL seasons
← 2015–162017–18 →

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 returned for this season: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, and New York Riveters.

League business

Team locations

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 from Brooklyn to the Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, New Jersey, situated within the Prudential Center as the New Jersey Devils practice arena. The facility was the site of the first Isobel Cup finals the previous season.

With the changes in arenas, it left the Buffalo Beauts, playing their second season at Harborcenter, as the sole team not to change arenas.

League news

• August 2, 2016: The league announced a partnership with You Can Play, which also saw each team feature an ambassador.
• August 4, 2016: The league announced that all four inaugural season jersey designs would be retired and replaced with new designs voted upon by fans.
• 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. As the hormone treatments involved with gender transition violate anti-doping regulations, Browne would remain fully biologically female during his playing career. Browne initially retired at the end of the season to with plans to start a full transition, but returned to play for the Metropolitan Riveters the following season.
• 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. Five weeks later, in an attempt to partially compensate for the salary rollback, the league introduced an incentive program where players from the home team split the revenue generated by tickets sold in excess of 500 after each game.
• February 3, 2017: The league announced that the season and playoffs would be shortened to accommodate for the players' participation in the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship and preparations for the 2018 Olympic teams. The season was originally set to end on April 16, following a three-week break for the World Championships. The regular season was instead scheduled to end on March 12 and then followed by a single-game Isobel Cup playoff semifinals and final to be held March 17–19.

All-star game

The 2nd NWHL All-Star Game was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first NWHL game to be played outside of its four markets. Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman were named as All-Star captains. Kessel would go on to score the first hat trick in NWHL All-Star history.

Regular season

Standings

Playoffs

Statistics

Scoring leaders

• The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season.

Awards and honors

• Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2017 NWHL Most Valuable Player
• Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2017 NWHL Scoring Champion
• Ashley Johnston, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Denna Laing Perseverance Award
• Megan Bozek, Buffalo Beauts, 2017 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Katie Fitzgerald, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Goaltender of the Year

Transactions

Draft

The 2016 NWHL Draft took place on June 18, 2016, and was the second in league history. Defender Kelsey Koelzer of Princeton was selected first overall by the New York Riveters.

Rd	P	Player (Pos)	Team	Nationality	Former team
1	1	Kelsey Koelzer (D)	New York Riveters	United States	Princeton University (ECAC)
1	2	Lee Stecklein (D)	Buffalo Beauts	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
1	3	Dani Cameranesi (F)	Connecticut Whale	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
1	4	Ann-Renee Desbiens (G)	Boston Pride	Canada	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
2	5	Sydney Daniels (F)	New York Riveters	United States	Harvard University (ECAC)
2	6	Cayley Mercer (F)	Buffalo Beauts	Canada	Clarkson University (ECAC)
2	7	Andie Anastos (F)	Connecticut Whale	United States	Boston College (Hockey East)
2	8	Sarah Nurse (F)	Boston Pride	Canada	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
3	9	Jenny Ryan (D)	New York Riveters	United States	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
3	10	Hayley Scamurra (F)	Buffalo Beauts	United States	Northeastern University (HEA)
3	11	Mellissa Channell (D)	Connecticut Whale	Canada	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
3	12	Ashleigh Brykaliuk (F)	Boston Pride	Canada	University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)
4	13	Sydney McKibbon (F)	New York Riveters	Canada	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
4	14	Emma Woods (F)	Buffalo Beauts	Canada	Quinnipiac University (ECAC)
4	15	Paige Savage (F)	Connecticut Whale	United States	Northeastern (HEA)
4	16	Halli Krzyzaniak (D)	Boston Pride	Canada	University of North Dakota (ECAC)
5	17	Amy Menke (F)	New York Riveters	United States	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
5	18	Maddie Elia (F)	Buffalo Beauts	United States	Boston University (HEA)
5	19	Sydney Rossman (G)	Connecticut Whale	United States	Quinnipiac University (ECAC)
5	20	Lara Stalder (F)	Boston Pride	Switzerland	University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)

Free agency

Trades

Retired

References

1. "New York Riveters leave Brooklyn for Newark". Today’s Slapshot. August 1, 2016. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
2. "NWHL partners with You Can Play". You Can Play Project. August 1, 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
3. "NWHL retires inaugural season jersey designs". NWHL.zone. August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
4. "NWHL player Harrison Browne comes out as a transgender man". ESPN. October 7, 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
5. "NWHL HIT WITH BAD NEWS". The Fourth Period. November 18, 2016. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
6. "NWHL players to receive attendance bonuses". Excelle Sports. December 23, 2016. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
7. "NWHL to complete playoffs before world championships". ESPN. February 3, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
8. "Kelsey Koelzer Taken First Overall". princetontigers.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
9. "First-round picks show how NWHL GMs view their teams". Sports Illustrated. June 19, 2016. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
10. "Bastock re-sign with CTW". Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
11. ^ "Fritz-Ward and Packer re-sign with NYR". Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
12. "Harrington re-sign with BUF". Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
13. ^ "Johnston and Dosdall re-sign with NYR". Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
14. "Smelker re-sign with BOS". Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
15. "Dempsey re-sign with BOS". Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
16. "Gagliardi re-sign with BOS". Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
17. "Ketchum re-sign wit NYR". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
18. "2015 Draft Pick Leveille Signs With Beauts". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
19. "D'Oench Signs With Riveters After Trade From Boston". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
20. "Sam Faber Re-Signs With Whale". Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
21. ^ "Fratkin and Leonoff Join New York Roster". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
22. "Amanda Kessel Joins NWHL With Riveters". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
23. "Pride Add Third Round Pick Lexi Bender". Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
24. "Former Olympian Lisa Chesson Signs With Buffalo". Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
25. "Whale Adds Undrafted BC Defenseman Johnson". Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
26. ^ "Roesler, Connery, and Kosta Join Connecticut Whale". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
27. "Beauts Return Points Leader With Steadman". Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
28. "Shelby Bram Returns to Beauts for Second Season". Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
29. "Fourth Overall Pick Burke Chooses Riveters". Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
30. ^ "Linemates Skeats and Browne Return to Beauts". Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
31. "Inaugural Season Captain Koizumi Returns to Whale". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
32. "Whale Returns Goaltender Lundberg". Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
33. ^ "Beauts Add Forwards Kunichika and Janiga". Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
34. "Skarupa and Picard Trade". Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
35. "Trivigno and Brandt Trade". Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
36. "Carpenter and D'Oench Trade". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
37. "Jenny Scrivens retires; opting for family over 'dream job'". ca.sports.yahoo.com. May 11, 2016. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2023.

External links

• NWHL website

• 2016–17 NWHL season
• 2016–17 in American ice hockey by league