Connecticut Whale (PHF)
The Connecticut Whale is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. It is one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). Its name and colors are an homage to the former NHL and WHA franchise known as the Hartford Whalers. History. For their first season, the Whale played home games in Stamford, Connecticut at Chelsea Piers. Chris Ardito was hired as the first general manager in franchise history, while Jake Mastel and Lisa Giovanelli coached the team. The team is  the second professional hockey team to bear the Connecticut Whale name, following the American Hockey League team previously and currently known as the Hartford Wolf Pack. Among their off-season acquisitions, the Whale signed Kaleigh Fratkin to a contract on July 1, 2015. She was the first Canadian player to sign a contract in the NWHL. The team made its debut in the 2015–16 season. Jessica Koizumi was named first team captain in franchise history. The first game in NWHL history was a sell out on October 11, 2015 between the New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale. The Whale prevailed  by a 4–1 tally as Jessica Koizumi scored the first goal in both franchise and NWHL history. In the same game, Kelli Stack had one goal and two assists, becoming the first player to record a multi-point performance. Whale goaltender Jaimie Leonoff was credited the win, capturing the game's First Star. Stack was recognized as the Second Star, and Kelly Babstock, who became the first Canadian-born player to score a goal in an NWHL regular season game, was acknowledged as the Third Star. The Whale won their first three games in franchise history with three different goalies . In the first game, the Whale prevailed with Jaimie Leonoff, while former Quinnipiac goaltender Chelsea Laden captured the second win, and Nicole Stock played her first game in over five years to capture the third win on the road against the New York Riveters. Prior to the team's second season, the Whale moved to the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Connecticut. This lasted one season as the Whale moved to the Terry Conners Ice Rink at Cove Island Park in Stamford, Connecticut, for the 2017–18 season. On August 20, 2018, the Whale named active player Cydney Roesler an assistant  coach for the 2018–19 season making her the first player-coach in franchise history. After two seasons at Terry Conners Ice Rink, the Whale moved again to the larger Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut. Former NHL enforcer Colton Orr was named as head coach for the 2019–20 season. The team was eliminated in the semifinal game by the Boston Pride prior to the championship being cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season was then delayed amidst the capacity and travel restrictions during the pandemic. The 2020–21 season eventually started on January 23, 2021, with the entire season to  be played at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, without fans in attendance and teams kept in isolation. However, the Metropolitan Riveters were forced to withdraw from the two-week season on January 28 after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19. The schedule was then adjusted to have the top three teams at the time play a round-robin tournament to determine playoff seeding with the Whale as the second seed. Connecticut then lost to the expansion Toronto Six 0–6 on January 31. The next day, the team forfeited their final game to the Minnesota  Whitecaps and withdrew from the playoffs citing concerns with increased positive cases within the bubble and protecting their players from the virus. Two days later, the league suspended the season before the playoffs could commence due to several more positive tests throughout the league. The league then re-scheduled the playoffs to be held at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts, with the Whale re-entered as the third seed to face the Minnesota Whitecaps, who they would have faced regardless of the outcome of the game the Whale withdrew from in Lake Placid, in a semifinal game. The Whale  then lost to the Whitecaps 7–0 in the semifinal game. On May 10, 2021, the league announced it had sold the Whale to a new independent ownership group called Shared Hockey Enterprises (SHE), LLC, led by Tobin Kelly, reducing the league operated teams to three. Draft history. Hannah Brandt from the University of Minnesota program became the first player in franchise history to be selected in the inaugural 2015 NWHL Draft. Michelle Picard was the first defenseman selected in NWHL Draft history. NWHL Draft. The following were the Whale's selections in the 2015 NWHL Draft on June 20, 2015 . The following were the Whale's selections in the 2016 NWHL Draft on June 18, 2016. The following were the Whale's selections in the 2016 NWHL Draft on August 17, 2017. The following were the Whale's selections in the 2018 NWHL Draft on December 19th and 20th, 2018. The following were the Whale's selections in the 2020 NWHL Draft on April 28th and 29th, 2020. Connecticut held the Metropolitan Riveters fifth round pick (#27 overall), as the future considerations from the trade of Maria Sorokina to the Riveters in 2019.