PWHL reveals names, logos for all 6 franchises ahead of second season
CBC
They are no-names no longer.
In a process nearly a year in the making, the Professional Women's Hockey League on Monday unveiled the nicknames and logos for each of its six franchises entering its second season.
There will be Victoire in Montreal, a Charge in Ottawa and the wielding of Sceptres in Toronto. For teams south of the border, there's a Fleet sailing into Boston, a Frost settling in Minnesota and Sirens in New York.
The long-anticipated names and logos arrive after time constraints — the league was founded in late June 2023 and began play on Jan. 1 — led to the PWHL spending its inaugural season referring to each team with a PWHL prefix, such as PWHL Minnesota, which won the first Walter Cup championship in May.
It was around that time when league executives Amy Scheer and Kanan Bhatt-Shaw officially signed off on the results in meeting a 10-month deadline to have the names and logos delivered to the PWHL's suppliers to be printed in time for Season 2, set to open in early December.
"Daunting for sure, but an absolute labor of love," Scheer, the league vice president of business operations, told The Associated Press. "I think anybody who has worked in sports or is a marketer or brand person would look at this as an opportunity of a lifetime."
Just don't ask them to pick a favourite.
"I love all my children equally," Scheer said with a laugh.
"I'm going to echo that," added Bhatt-Shaw, VP of brand and marketing. "In real life, I only have one child, and it feels really nice to have seven now."
Calling the process both stressful and rewarding, the two were tasked with filtering through hundreds of possible names — many of which were eliminated because the PWHL was unable to obtain rights holdings on both sides of the border — designing the logos and finding the right fit to capture the spirit of each market.
Another caveat was carrying over each team's color schemes from Year 1 for continuity so fans who purchased previous merchandise didn't look out of place.
As for the nicknames, Scheer and Bhatt-Shaw believe they speak for themselves.
—The Fleet represents Boston's maritime tradition, with a logo featuring a forward-leaning "B" in the shape of an anchor.
—The Minnesota Frost, the PWHL said, "embodies the State of Hockey's deep-rooted love for the ice," with the "F" logo featuring sharp icicle-like points.
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