PWHL reveals names, logos for all 6 franchises ahead of second season | CBC Sports

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 Victoire name pays tribute to the team’s French-Canadian home, with the logo featuring a blue “M” for Montreal and a fleur-de-lis, a national symbol of Quebec.

League executives said they purposely decided to keep the name in French, without an English translation.

“Really love the logo, really love the name,” Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin said, adding she found out about the name Sunday night. “When you come to the rink, it’s going to be on the jumbotron. It’s going to be everywhere. It’s going to be on T-shirts, sweaters.

“Such an exciting day here today to have six new names, six new logos.”

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.

“We heard loud and clear from the get-go that fans wanted traditional kind of nicknames and logos,” said PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, who led the naming process. “We wanted to move mountains and do whatever it took to give them that and names and logos that felt like they were evocative of their communities.”

WATCH | ‘We wanted the names to be bold, strong and confident,’ says PWHL exec Hefford:

This past May, 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. The regular season will increase to 30 games from 24.

“Daunting for sure, but an absolute labour 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.”

Hundreds of possible names

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 colour 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.
• The Sirens are an ode to the New York’s vibrant sights and sounds, and alluding to the goal horn, while the logo features the angular design of the letters “NY” to portray the Big Apple’s skyline.
• The Ottawa Charge reflects the Canadian capital’s motto, “Advance — Ottawa — En Avant,” with a logo featuring a large unfinished letter “O,” that also resembles the letter “C.”
• The Sceptres, the PWHL said, “embody Toronto’s regal history and commanding presence,” and reflect the Ontario capital also being known as the Queen City. The logo features a large scepter with the letters “T” and “S” incorporated into the handle.

“It’s a super-exciting day not only for the players to finally be able to say that we play on the Sceptres. It’s a lot easier to say than ‘PWHL Toronto,'” Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull said. “But I think in terms of where the league’s at, and how successful it was last year without any names or logos to thinking what the future holds now.”

League worked with creative agency Flower Shop

Added Boston captain Hilary Knight: “To now have an identity and have that much more purposefulness, being in Boston and the thoughtfulness that went behind the design and names, we can really attach to as well as fans. Whenever you go into a huddle and you’re cheering for something, it’s nice to be able to name it.”

The PWHL worked with New York City-based creative agency Flower Shop to assist in the process. Scheer and Bhatt-Shaw also bounced ideas off a group of PWHL employees, who would vote on potential names, and the two spent last season consulting with fans to get a feel for each market.

WATCH: What to expect in PWHL’s 2nd season:

What’s in store for the PWHL’s second year?

The league’s inaugural season is done and the PWHL’s 2024 draft has wrapped up. Now teams are preparing for next season.

Proud and connected as they are of each name and logo, both are aware their choices will spur debate, and criticism among fans.

“Everybody’s going to sit behind their computers and they’re going to type good, bad and ugly. And that’s OK,” Scheer said. “I feel the process we went through was very thorough. We feel very confident that we’ve got six great names that are bold, they’re confident, they’re strong, competitive and, I think, they resonate with the markets that they’re in.”

She took exception when informed the Fleet “B” logo could also resemble a “W” when turned on its side in what some might perceive as an homage to the NHL’s former Hartford Whalers.

“That `B’ is a sideways anchor and only a sideways anchor,” Scheer said.

Jerseys will be released in late October or early November.

The PWHL, a first-of-its-kind women’s league with deep-pocketed investors, shattered women’s hockey attendance records in a short-notice first year.