PWHL Boston, PWHL Montreal and PWHL Toronto are no more. The PWHL will begin its second season with a brand new look.
The league’s six inaugural teams have new names: Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Victoire de Montreal, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres.
The women’s hockey league opted for a relatively bland branding for its inaugural season, sticking with basic jerseys with just the team name on the front. Now, the new names come with a host of makeovers to logos, colors, fonts and merchandise.
(Re)introducing the inaugural six, as you’ve never seen them before:
Boston Fleet
Frost in Minnesota
Montreal victory
Mermaids of New York
Ottawa Charge
Toronto Scepters image.twitter.com/oMTyeTbecL— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) September 9, 2024
It was a busy first year for the PWHL, which launched last summer and began play in January. The Minnesota PWHL, now known as the Minnesota Frost, won the inaugural Walter Cup in May, defeating Boston for the historic victory.
As a result of the quick turnaround, the PWHL opted for basic branding, which received a lukewarm reception from fans despite assurances that it was temporary. All six teams retained their primary colors from the inaugural season with the new branding, though they also added new secondary colors.
There was also backlash after a number of PWHL trademark names were leaked to the U.S. Patent and Trade Office last fall. None of those names, which included unconventional possibilities like the Toronto Torch, Ottawa Alert and Boston Wicked, were selected for the new brand.
Notably, the league also stayed away from the former names of the now-defunct Premier Hockey League, which included popular teams such as the Toronto Six, Metropolitan Riveters and Boston Pride. The PWHL, which was formed after the dissolution of the PHF and CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League), has actively attempted to distance itself from previous iterations, with PWHL Vice President Amy Sheer saying that the league wanted to “create our own history.”
The PWHL did not consider any of the former PHF names (Six, Riveters, etc.) for its teams.
“By launching a new league, we wanted to create equity in what we were building as the PWHL. Create our own history.” – Amy Sheer, PWHL Vice President image.twitter.com/mgjhI6cqFG
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 9, 2024
Even with a neutral brand, the league had solid success in its first year, boasting a talented group of players and unique league structures, including a creative draft order format.
Throughout that time, the PWHL was polling fans and teams before settling on the new branding. New team jerseys will be released later this fall and the 2025 season will begin in January with all six teams showing off their new designs.