By Stephen Laroche
Ahead of its sophomore campaign in 2024-25, the Professional Women’s Hockey League gave its ever-growing legion of fans even more to cheer about as each member club adopted new identities and proudly wore jerseys bearing new logos.
It was a radical change for all six teams – in their debut season, these talented players took the ice wearing sweaters that featured only the name of their city. The reason for this was simple, as there was not enough time between the creation of the PWHL and the first puck drop to complete individual team branding and have the jerseys ready in time. Because card photos featured images from the previous season, collectors had to wait for cards releases featuring players in their new jerseys. Some subsequent Upper Deck e-Pack releases have provided a sneak peek on cardboard, and more cards in the future will have the new branding on them.
Let’s take a look at each team’s jerseys and the story behind them:
Boston Fleet
For their first season, Boston’s PWHL entry donned green and black jerseys. When it came time to decide on a logo, the maritime traditions of New England were drawn upon as inspiration as they were dubbed the Fleet. The club’s branding has a letter “B”, which also resembles an anchor – but some fans also can see a stylistic nod to the logo for the old Hartford Whalers club that played in the NHL from 1979-80 to 1996-97.
Minnesota Frost
During the first two seasons, the Minnesota Frost have claimed consecutive Walter Cups while wearing their purple jerseys. Choosing the team’s nickname was natural due to the state’s love of ice and the logo is an “F” featuring simulated icicles at the bottom. When the logo was unveiled, the team stated that the design was meant to convey a “sense of competitive intensity and fierceness” – and the team’s on-ice success has lived up to that concept thus far.
Montreal Victoire
The city of Montreal has a long tradition of fine hockey clubs, most notably the NHL’s Canadiens, and the Victoire aim to build upon it by not only in name – but with on-ice success as well. In their first season, Montreal wore jerseys similar to the rest of the league, but their chosen colors were burgundy, black, and beige. The club dominated regular season play in 2023-24 and finished second overall last season proudly wearing a logo which not only shows their chosen name – but also a fleur-de-lis to pay tribute to their home province of Quebec.
New York Sirens
Starting out with turquoise and black jerseys, New York was a perfect venue for one of the PWHL’s Inaugural Six clubs to play in. As the moment arrived to give the team a logo and name, the vibrancy of the sights and sounds of the Big Apple played a key part in the choice of Sirens and they also added orange to their color scheme.
Ottawa Charge
The Ottawa Charge showed dramatic improvement in 2024-25 as they made it all the way to the Walter Cup Final after missing the playoffs the year before. Two seasons ago, the team unveiled a color scheme of red, storm grey, and white. The club’s nickname is a direct nod to the city of Ottawa’s bilingual motto of “Advance-Ottawa-En Avant”, while the logo added for their second year on the ice incorporates both an “O” and a “C”.
Toronto Sceptres
Blue is a color associated with most professional sports teams in Toronto, and the Sceptres made sure to include it as part of their jersey’s base design along with black and white accents. The team’s logo has stylized initials, which brings yellow into their look as well. When choosing the name of Sceptres, it was reported that it was a reference to one of Toronto’s nicknames – the Queen City.
More Teams on the Way
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the PWHL is expanding out west and has added two new clubs in Vancouver and Seattle. Identities for either club have yet to be announced. These teams are expected to begin a strong rivalry due to their geographic proximity and have assembled their rosters following the expansion and amateur drafts.
