2015-16 NWHL season

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 Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.

The season included an outdoor game played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts in conjunction with the 2016 NHL Winter Classic which was called the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic. The game was unfortunately marred by an injury suffered by Boston Pride player Denna Laing who stepped on a stick and crashed head first into the boards. It was later announced that Laing had suffered a severe spinal cord injury and had limited movement of her arms and no feeling in her legs.

League business

 * July 2015: The NWHL Foundation hosted a Canadian Training Camp Series in four different Canadian cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor).
 * Late July 2015: A training camp for European players took place at Ristuccia Memorial Arena outside Boston on July 23, hosted by Boston Pride head coach Bobby Jay. Players from Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Japan attended.

NWHL Draft
The 2015 NWHL Draft took place on June 22, 2015. A draft lottery was held and the New York Riveters earned the first pick overall, selecting Alexandra Carpenter of the Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey program.

Scoring leaders

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

All-star game
The 1st NWHL All-Star Game was held January 24, 2016 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, the home of the Beauts.

Awards and honors

 * Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Most Valuable Player
 * Hilary Knight, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Scoring Champion
 * Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Perseverance Award
 * Denna Laing, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Foundation Award
 * Gigi Marvin, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award
 * Brittany Ott, Boston Pride, 2016 NWHL Goaltender of the Year