PWHL’s potential team names for original 6 franchises revealed through trademark

Potential names for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s original six franchises have been revealed.

Applications for Toronto Torch, Montreal Echo, Ottawa Alert, Minnesota Superior, Boston Wicked and New York Sound were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by PWHL Holdings, LLC on Wednesday. DetroitHockey.net was the first to report the filings on Thursday morning.

PWHL Holdings previously filed trademarks for the league name and logos.

It should be noted that trademark applications don’t necessarily mean that these will be the team names when puck drops for the PWHL’s inaugural season in January 2024. And that the league has yet to officially announce its team names and logos.

These names follow previous women’s hockey franchises over the last decade like the Toronto Furies, Toronto Six, Montreal Force, Les Canadiennes de Montréal, Boston Blades, Boston Pride, Minnesota Whitecaps, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Calgary Inferno, Markham Thunder and Buffalo Beauts.

According to a news release in June, the new league “acquired assets of the PHF,” though it is unclear what assets or intellectual property — like team names and logos — were purchased and might be used in the PWHL.

The PWHL officially revealed it’s league logo on Tuesday afternoon with “a stylized ‘W’ to highlight women, and crossed hockey sticks and a puck that nestle perfectly within the middle of the letterform.”

“We love the prominence of the ‘W’ used in a clean and strong design that celebrates PWHL trailblazers and their legacy across women’s sports,” said Stan Kasten, PWHL Advisory Board member and Los Angeles Dodgers president, in a news release. “When people see the logo, they will recognize how it represents women and immediately know it’s about hockey. The ‘W’ symbol speaks for itself but offers versatility to fit nicely when used inside our PWHL lettering.”

The logo is made up of six distinct pieces, to portray the six players on the ice for each team, and the league’s first six teams. The branding was created by Younts Design Inc., a creative studio has the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies.

What’s happening with the PWHL?

Training camps for the upcoming season are set to begin on Nov. 15 with 184 players, according to the league, named to training camp rosters across the league’s six markets.

The camp attendees consist of the league’s 18 initial free-agent signings, 88 players who were selected in the PWHL Draft — draftees Tatum Skaggs (Boston) and Minttu Tuominen (Minnesota) are not reporting to camp — and 78 undrafted free agents invited from the draft eligibility list. Teams were permitted to bring a minimum of 28 players and up to a maximum of 35 players to camps.

Many players who were drafted have yet to officially sign contracts with their…