Hockey star Hilary Knight wouldn鈥檛 expect anything less.
More than a year after the circuit was founded, the Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League unveiled much-anticipated names and logos for all six franchises on Monday.
Many fans took to social media to share their love for the new looks, but others weren鈥檛 so sure.
"It's tough,鈥� said Knight, captain of the Boston Fleet. 鈥淲henever you launch something, people are like, 'Oh, I don't know if I like it,' right? There's always sort of a mixed bag of reactions.
鈥淏ut I think people are really attached to this.鈥�
The Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montr茅al Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres will take the ice as the league enters its second season.
During the inaugural campaign, teams played without nicknames, with only city names stitched across each team鈥檚 jerseys.
The Montreal Victoire鈥檚 logo 鈥� featuring a winged figure, a hidden 鈥淢鈥� and the Fleur-de-lis 鈥� received some rave reviews.
鈥淭he amount that Montreal's branding clears everybody else here is simply incredible,鈥� said hockey YouTuber Nathan Murdock, known as 鈥淕rav,鈥� on X.
The Toronto Sceptres鈥� combination of gold 鈥淭鈥� and 鈥淪鈥� initials appeared to be an Easter egg for Taylor Swift fans. Several 鈥淪wifties鈥� noticed a suspicious resemblance to the global pop star wearing a similarly branded cheerleader outfit in the music video for 鈥淪hake It Off.鈥�
Meanwhile, people questioned the originality of Ottawa鈥檚 logo. The Charge emblem 鈥� a red 鈥淥鈥� that could also be a 鈥淐鈥� with spikes trailing its side 鈥� drew comparisons to the NHL鈥檚 Calgary Flames.
鈥淚鈥檒l say this: I like Montreal and New York鈥檚 logos a lot, and Toronto鈥檚 is fine,鈥� posted Scott Wheeler, a writer at The Athletic.
鈥淭he other three 鈥� not so much. Feel for the great fans in Ottawa in particular because the Charge and its logo is, and I鈥檓 trying to be gentle, woof.鈥�
The Boston Fleet's green 鈥淏鈥� shaped like an anchor resembled the logo of the Hartford Whalers, the NHL team that folded in 1997, only turned 90 degrees.
PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer knew there would be some backlash after the announcement Monday, but took comfort in the league鈥檚 thorough process 鈥� one that included nine months of canvassing fans before identities were submitted in May.
鈥淚n life, no matter what you do, you will never please everyone,鈥� said Scheer. 鈥淲hat I can say is that as a league, we are very confident in our process, in the discovery and the feedback that we took from all of our different constituents.
鈥淧eople will have their opinion, and they should, right?鈥�
Michaela Schreiter, co-host of 鈥淪he鈥檚 Got Game鈥� on TSN Radio, saw the branding debates as a positive sign of growth for the league.
鈥淎rguing for or against new team names/logos feels like a rite of passage for sports fans,鈥� she wrote on X. 鈥淚鈥檓 so happy PWHL fans get to do this!鈥�
Dr. Cheri Bradish, an associate professor in sports marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University, agreed that no name would satisfy everyone but emphasized the importance of the teams establishing their brands.
"This is another step for women's sports, and this league in particular, developing their identity,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hich will drive more consumer engagement, and then hopefully lead to 鈥� merchandise and ultimately your revenue generation opportunity through finally putting names to the entities."
New merchandise is already on sale at the PWHL鈥檚 online store, and jerseys are expected to drop in late October or early November. The puck will drop on the second season before the new year.
While Montreal鈥檚 logo earned praise, the name 鈥淰ictoire鈥� sparked some discussion. People questioned whether phrases like 鈥渁 victory for the Victoire鈥� might sound redundant.
"Yeah, we might have to find synonyms, we're aware of that, but for us (Victoire) is a mindset,鈥� said Montreal captain Marie Philip-Poulin, a three-time Olympic gold medallist.
Scheer said the league deliberately chose to have the team name exclusively in French.
"They are the Victoire in Quebec, they are the Victoire in Toronto, New York, Boston, wherever they play,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e wanted to represent Montreal and Quebec as best we can, and that is through the French language."
Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull thought the league 鈥渄id a great job鈥� by choosing Sceptres 鈥� a name that subtly references Toronto鈥檚 鈥淨ueen City鈥� nickname and regal history.
Fans in Toronto predicted names like 鈥淭oronto Queens鈥� and 鈥淭oronto Monarchs" after watching teaser videos last week.
鈥淚 didn't see too many people guess Sceptres,鈥� Turnbull said. 鈥淭here's a lot of tie-ins to the city, a lot of tie-ins to our team identity and how we want to play and perform on the ice."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
