Toronto Sceptres' Natalie Spooner speaks to the media to unveil the PWHL team's new name and logo on Monday.Paige Taylor White/The Canadian Press
After playing its debut season with no team names, the Professional Women’s Hockey League has unveiled the long-awaited identities and logos for its six teams.
In its inaugural year, the teams were known solely by their location – Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York, Minnesota and Boston. Each PWHL club will keep the colours it wore in the kickoff season, but now the teams will also have distinct identities for players and fans to embrace.
The teams have been named the Toronto Sceptres, Montréal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens.
This image released by the PWHL on Sept. 9 shows the new logos for the league's six hockey teams.The Associated Press
The new team jerseys, created in collaboration with Bauer, will be unveiled in late October or early November, closer to the start of the 2024-25 season. But the PWHL immediately put team gear and accessories on sale to fans on its official team shop.
Amy Scheer, PWHL senior vice-president of business operations, called Monday “a monumental day for our league, and the next evolution of our growth.” She said although it was a fast process, it was rigorous. The league worked with New York-based creative agency Flower Shop to develop the identities, which are inspired by the places in which the teams play.
The ‘Sceptres’ embody Toronto’s regal history and commanding presence, reflected in the moniker Queen City and iconic places such as Queen Street. The team, which is moving this season to the Coca-Cola Coliseum, keeps the royal blue colour and adds the ornamented sceptre, a symbol of power in courts and palaces.
“See how successful it was last year without any names or logos, thinking to what the future holds now for all the teams and the franchises to have names, logos and potentially mascots,” said Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull. “So many different things for the fans to rally behind.”
‘Victoire’ is a nod to Montreal’s competitive spirit. In burgundy, it incorporates the Goddess of Victory. A hidden ‘M’ within the wings pays homage to the city. It also integrates a fleur-de-lis, a symbol of Quebec.
Montreal superstar Marie-Philip Poulin said ‘Victoire’ will be a mindset: “It’s going to be everywhere, on the jumbotron, on T-shirts, sweaters.”
‘Charge’ pays tribute to Ottawa, inspired by the capital city’s motto ‘Advance-Ottawa-En Avant.’ The logo, in red, features a monogram ‘O’ that conveys energy and movement.
‘Fleet’ pays homage to Boston’s maritime history, incorporating a letter ‘B’ in the team’s primary deep green colour with an anchor.
‘Frost’ embodies Minnesota’s love for the ice, and features a stylized ‘F’ in the team’s core purple with sharp points, reminiscent of icicles.
‘Sirens’ is an ode to New York City’s unique soundscape and people as well as the blare of the goal horn after the puck goes into the net. The logo, in teal, includes the letters ‘NY’ and incorporates the city’s skyline.
“I’m getting a lot of text messages from family and fans,” said New York captain Micah Zandee-Hart. “It is bringing more hype to the league.”
Fans reacted on social media with everything from cheers to jeers, and serious to hilarious commentary. Some loved Ottawa’s Charge logo, while others joked that it looks like the logos of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Calgary Flames had a baby. Some fans remarked that Toronto’s Sceptres logo resembles the one on Taylor Swift’s cheerleading outfit in the pop star’s Shake It Off music video.
These names are different from others that diehard PWHL fans had spied on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website over the past year. There, fans had noticed trademark applications for names including Toronto Torch, Montreal Echo, Ottawa Alert, Minnesota Superior, New York Sound and Boston Wicked, which had women’s hockey enthusiasts speculating for a year about what the PWHL teams would be named.
The official names were chosen in May so jersey and merchandise production could begin, but they were kept secret. Boston star Hilary Knight said the players themselves only recently learned of the team names.
Scheer said the league considered “hundreds upon hundreds of names.” They wanted each name to have pride of place and resonate with fans. The names also needed to be available and ownable in Canada and the U.S, and not already trademarked.
The PWHL consulted a small group of fans and players during the process of choosing the names. It also closely observed its fans during the first season to mine insights that might inform possible names, including watching their comments on social media and during YouTube livestreams of the games.
“The next phase for us is waiting to see our fans bring these logos to life in the arena,” Scheer said. “We’ve done our part. Now it’s up to the fans to do their part.”
Launched on Jan. 1, 2024, the PWHL broke multiple attendance records, and established a new worldwide mark for attendance at a women’s hockey game. Fans are still awaiting the schedule for the season. Each team’s regular season will increase from 24 games to 30.