Trademark filings hint at 6 possible PWHL team names

The new Professional Women's Hockey League has filed trademark applications for six possible team names.

Applications to trademark Toronto Torch, Montreal Echo, Ottawa Alert, Minnesota Superior, Boston Wicked and New York Sound were all filed by PWHL Holdings, LLC on Wednesday, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's database. The trademark applications were first reported by DetroitHockey.net.

The league hasn't yet announced team names for its first six franchises, and the trademark applications don't necessarily mean these will ultimately be the names the league chooses.

PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten told CBC Sports earlier this month that teams will have names by January 2024, when the league is expected to begin play, but team logos are less certain.

"I don't know about logos," Kasten said at the time. "But we'll see. We might. We might surprise everyone. Or we might not surprise everyone. We're just not ready to announce anything yet but when we are, we will."

The PWHL unveiled a league logo earlier this week that includes a stylized W, representing women, with two sticks crossed and a puck to create the visual of a faceoff.

"This element was chosen to illustrate a new beginning in women's hockey, in the same way a faceoff takes place at the beginning of every game," the PWHL said in a news release.

While the PWHL's logo is purple, a colour chosen because it "signifies power and is often associated with ambition, both symbolic of PWHL players and the league's formation," each team is using a version of the logo with a unique colour — blue for Toronto, red for Ottawa and maroon for Montreal.

At least one of the possible team names has a storied history in Canadian women's hockey.

The