At long last, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced its individual team names and branding ahead of the 2024/25 season, its second in the league. These have been anticipated for quite some time, with the teams even going so far as playing the first season in an unbranded form, going solely by the names of their cities and regions.
With announcements on Good Morning America in the United States and Breakfast Television in Canada, the league made sure the whole continent knew what was up, insuring a running start to anticipation for what projects to be another big year for the league.
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With a slow drip of teasers over the past few days, there was much debate over what the final names of the teams would end up being. Most noteworthy in the conversation as to whether the six teams would stick with their originally trademarked names from last year, which did not get much love when originally leaked.
While there are some similarities between the leaked names and the final ones, we will ultimately get none of the Boston Wicked, Minnesota Superior, Montreal Echo, New York Sound, Ottawa Alert, or Toronto Torch.
Instead, we get:
- Boston Fleet, with a nod to the Hartford Whalers and Connecticut Whale’s naval themes and designs, opting more for Celtics green than Bruins yellow.
- Minnesota Frost, who have retained the purple associated with their championship win last year, the Vikings, and Prince, rather than the Wild’s green and red.
- Montreal Victoire, who have opted for the most classic-looking insignia of the bunch, while maintaining the city’s iconic bleu, blanc, et rouge colour scheme. They also recently announced that their primary home venue will be Place Bell this year, the same rink as the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
- New York Sirens, who stick with the noise theme from the initial Sound name and maintain the oxidized green colour of the Statue of Liberty.
- Ottawa Charge, who look somewhere in between the Calgary Flames and Cleveland Cavaliers. While the logo is aesthetically nice, the similarities have drawn the most criticism of the six out of the gate.
- The Toronto Sceptres, who teased a regal theme all week and, true to their previous Torch idea, have gone for the item in hand rather than the headpiece or the job description. A touch of gold to match their primary blue brings together a sharp overall look, even if the name catches you off guard at first. Like Montreal, they’re also getting an arena upgrade, moving into Coca-Cola Coliseum with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and the eventual WNBA expansion team.
For me, the names will take a little bit of getting used to, but the logos and branding are a big win out of the gate. All of the marks are simple yet appealing, relatively easy to recreate, and should look good on merchandise and uniforms as those roll out.
PWHL Betting Odds For 2024/25
| Team | bet365 | bet99 | betway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Sceptres odds | +225 | +225 | +200 |
| Minnesota Frost odds | +350 | +350 | +300 |
| Boston Fleet odds | +450 | +450 | +400 |
| Victoire de Montreal odds | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| New York Sirens odds | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Ottawa Charge odds | +850 | +850 | +800 |
Of course, there are also hockey games to be played, and several of Canada’s top sportsbooks are already carrying PWHL Betting odds for 2024/25.
Currently, it’s the Sceptres leading the way across the board, after finishing first overall in the regular season and bolstering their roster further over the summer. They made the biggest free agent signing of the offseason, adding 25-year-old Toronto native and former Toronto Six (PHF) star Darryl Watts from the Ottawa Charge, and expect to maintain most of their veteran core.
Trailing just behind them are the defending champion Minnesota Frost, who beat Toronto in a come-from-behind semi-final series before defeating Boston in the final. The fourth-ranked Victoire might be worth keeping an eye on here – while last season was a bit of a disappointment, it’s hard to rule out a team with Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Erin Ambrose on it.
You can learn more about your betting options on our PWHL betting page, which will be updated throughout the year.
