A hater’s guide to the PWHL logos
Hockey Friday with The Ice Garden, Sept. 13, 2024
It’s Hockey Friday with Angelica Rodriguez and I have to be honest: my colleague Alyssa Turner at The Ice Garden was the one who clued me in to the fact that Bauer, the first official jersey sponsor of The PWHL, was a little messy in the drafts a full day before the PWHL announced its teams’ new names and branding. The Daily Hive Toronto’s Adam Laskaris tweeted screenshots of the brand’s apparel pages with drafts of what presumably the finalists for each team name were — and I was fully engulfed in my day job with no idea until it came time to write about them. Now, with the actual names and branding live and in color, I really don’t know how to feel.
Continue reading with a subscription to The IX
Get unlimited access to our exclusive coverage of a varitety of women’s sports, including our premium newsletter by subscribing today!
Already a member?
Login
Actually, I do: I feel like these could have been way, way better.
I’m not a marketing expert, so don’t take my word for it, of course — but I have been a fan of multiple sports for multiple decades at this point, and as a fan I can usually pinpoint what sounds halfway decent and what sounds like another round at the drawing board.
The IX Newsletter: Six different women’s sports in your inbox every week!
Subscribe now and join us, just $6 a month or $60 a year. It’s the women’s sports media network we all wished for, and now it’s here!
PWHL logos and alternatives
Going team by team, let’s take a look at what we got and what could have been.
Boston Fleet
It is NOT the Wicked, which I am grateful for. That’s just way too on the nose and what you would find when you read, like, a bad hockey romance. I also think the logo is kind of cool, though generic (like most of these).
What we almost got: Wicked, Emeralds, Blitz
I still get irrationally irritated at the first one, so we will bypass that. But the other two?! Honestly, not terrible. I keep saying “Boston Blitz” to the tune of “Ballroom Blitz” though.
Minnesota Frost
Say it with me… Baaaaaaaasic. Sorry. Frost? That’s the best you could do? I know Brad Frost is a college hockey institution unto himself at this point, but now it just begs the question of when we can expect to see him behind the bench for the PWHL. Also, Minnesota is cold. In case you didn’t know. I will say, props for keeping the purple, though.
What we almost got: Superior, Marmots
Superior to what? Also… Marmots??? MARMOTS???? THESE things?? Not intimidating at all.
Montreal Victoire
Of the six names and logos, I sincerely enjoy this one. It is a little odd, but it’s French, at least — and the crest really gives me an old-school, sort of WHA-like vibe. With the team colors in place, I can see this being really quite clean and good. I will say, they’re kinda setting themselves up with the name, though. The Victory of Montreal? You best be winning the Walter Cup next year, and the year after that, and the year after…
What we almost got: Echo, Lumieres, Metro
Talk about a huge win with not choosing these ones. Lumieres? Okay Disney. Metro? Yawn. Echo? No thanks.
New York Sirens
The name isn’t that bad. I can see the nautical sort of aspect with the teal (still my absolute favorite color scheme in the PWHL), but the logo… come on now. This is the Stussy ‘S’ revamped. (I just learned it was called that. Don’t yell at me, I didn’t make it. But I DID draw it all over my folder in first grade.) It’s just oddly formatted, like… is the ‘S’ itself a siren? Is there an echo coming over from Montreal? Can I expect a teal-suited superhero to swoop in at any moment? I am uncertain.
What we almost got: Sound, Rush, Odyssey
I might be off with this take but please bare with me… Odyssey goes CRAZY. But not in a hockey team kind of way, just in like a holy moly that’s a crazy sounding name. Anyways, Rush isn’t doing much for me, unless the name would’ve brought up a Big Time Rush partnership. Sound is SO bad. Like what kind of sound??? Is it loud??? Quiet??? Ultimately, I think out of all the names the one they picked — Sirens — was the best.
Want women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!
Here at The IX, we’re collaborating with The Ice Garden to bring you Hockey Friday. And if you want the women’s hockey goodness 24/7? Well, you should subscribe to The Ice Garden now!
Ottawa Charge
This is the least inspired logo of the six, and that is a shame because I think we could have gotten fairly creative. (Then again, all of these fall victim to lackluster execution so am I surprised?)
What we almost got: Alert, Advance, Guard
Woof. Alright so a lot of these stink. The PWHL seems to have treated Ottawa the same way I treated every single assignment in college — last minute and rushed. I will say, I was a bit disappointed they didn’t go with Alert due to the significance behind the previous Ottawa Alert women’s team.
Toronto Sceptres
It’s different! So it’s got that going for it. I honestly get caduceus vibes from the logo, though, which considering Natalie Spooner’s premature exit from the playoffs due to a major knee injury… well, let’s not try to invite that kind of energy back to Coca-Cola Coliseum, please.
What we almost got: Tempests, Torch, Sentinels
How did they not go with Toronto Tempests? Honestly. I think Monarchs would have been really good here too, even though in this household we don’t subscribe to a monarchy (the imagery is pretty legit though).
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
| Wednesdays: Basketball |
| By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The Next |
| Thursdays: Golf |
| By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX |
| Fridays: Hockey |
| By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |
