NWHL Whale First Team to Hit The Ice

Stamford, CT – Nearly 18 years ago the Hartford Whalers packed their bags, moved south to North Carolina and left the hockey-rich state of Connecticut void of a professional team.

The passion for the Whalers – despite being supported by a smaller base compared to other teams – was consistently palpable. Though that enthusiasm has waned over nearly two decades, a residue of passion and pride can be found throughout the region.

A throwback Whalers hat. An old green and blue t-shirt. The playing of Brass Bonanza.

Now, almost 18 years to the day the Whalers left, the NWHL is reviving professional hockey in the Nutmeg State.

Connecticut will play home to the Connecticut Whale, the first of the four teams in the newly found professional women’s league to be sold to a private ownership group (full details of that group will be announced soon).

NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan is thrilled about the first deal and the chance to rekindle elite level hockey in the state, “The NWHL is honored to help bring back professional hockey to the great state of Connecticut.”

“You’ll be hard-pressed to attend any sporting event in the Northeast and not see the old green and blue team colors that made the state so famous,” continued Rylan.

“We’re excited to pay tribute to one of the most iconic franchises in sports history and use that as the strong foundation to build a new tradition of professional hockey in Connecticut.”

While old-school Whaler fans regale tales of the old Hartford Civic Center – the building, which ultimately led to the team’s demise – new fans of the NWHL and the Whale must get used to different facility.

The newly created Chelsea Piers sports facility in Stamford, located roughly 45 minutes from New York City, will host the franchise’s practices and nine home games scheduled for the 2015 season.

“I think Connecticut is specially situated to host a women’s hockey team because of the tremendous growth in youth girl’s hockey in the area,” said newly hired Connecticut General Manager Chris Ardito.

“We are right between two major hubs in the hockey hotbed of the Northeast. People from all over can very easily come to watch a game. Connecticut is the perfect place to have a women’s team.”

Ardito is a Connecticut native himself, and like many in the state, grew up with the game. A native of Northford, Ardito is a partner and head instructor for the Connecticut Crease and the main goaltending instructor for several other teams in the area.

At the collegiate level, Ardito was an assistant coach for Southern CT State University’s men’s ice hockey team from 2009 through 2012 and currently serves as volunteer assistant coach for the Yale women’s ice hockey team.

“People can expect the Whale to be a highly competitive team that is very connected to the community,” Ardito said while explaining the mission of the newly formed club.

“We are going to have some of the top players in the world here and there will be no shortage of talent on the ice when we play, “ continued Ardito. “I personally have high expectations of on-and-off ice performance out of our players and I want the community to have the same. We will become a staple of the community.”

The franchise’s work begins in earnest this weekend as it stages the first of the Summer Training Camps presented by the NWHL Foundation.

The event will be held at Chelsea Piers from 6:30pm – 8:00pm on Saturday May 9 and 1:10 – 2:40pm on Sunday May 10.

“The women who are attending these inaugural camps are the textbook definition of today’s modern hockey player,” Rylan says of the players attending the camp.

“They are strong, confident and fearless with world-class skill. Quite simply, they are some of the best in the world at what they do. They’re hungry with unparalleled drive.”

The inaugural season for the Connecticut Whale, and the other franchises in Boston, Buffalo and New York begins in October 2015.

For all information about the Whale, and the NWHL in general, check back on NWHL.co.