PWHL Press Conferences | Names & Logos Announced! Six Team Captains Speak

Amy Scheer, SVP, Business Operations / Kanan Bhatt-Shah, VP, Brand this morning we unveiled the official identities for all six pwl teams we have Boston Fleet Minnesota Frost Montreal Victa New York cens Ottawa charge and the Toronto scepter and so for today's press conference our first segment will be with Amy Shear senior vice president of business operations for the pwhl and Conan bot Shaw vice president of brand and marketing for the pwhl then later on we'll be joined by the captains of each team Amy and Conan congratulations exciting day can you first share with the group tell us about the process of getting here today sure so first of all thank you everybody for for joining us today we're we're obviously truly grateful for all that you do to cover the league um so thank you for joining us today which we think is a pretty Monumental day for our league and uh the next evolution of of our growth as we head into year number two but um you know I think this this project was truly a labor of love you know I think everybody here probably under understand sort of context of building out a team name and a logo uh where most teams uh take 18 months to do one logo one team name um and we decided that we were going to do six in nine months and so uh here we arrived today which with uh with six logos and team names that we're really happy with and thrilled with the work uh from a process perspective uh this started from day one um we really started collecting insights and feedback from our general managers from our players uh and of course over the course of the season from our fans uh in numerous different ways and so a lot of uh Discovery uh to put us down the right path and I think um once Conan started uh in November the process really started to take off and and accelerate um and then Conan really took over the day-to-day of this process so I think Conan's probably the best person to maybe take us through what that process looked like Conan hi everyone um thank you so much and really excited um to Echo Amy really thrilled um to to share the names today uh so essentially um once I joined uh I think the first um the first thing that we were really staring down was uh a very compressed timeline um and understanding that Jersey artwork uh was really the driving factor of this because we wanted to make sure that um to would have jerseys uh ready for the start of the season to um to reflect the updated identities so working back from a from a May um due date of artwork we knew we had to work very quickly uh very efficiently uh but also be really intentional and strategic um so the first um one of the first tasks was engaging um flower shop which is a creative agency out of um out of New York and um they joined the team we worked in lock step together sort of of um they worked as an extension of our team um and one of the first things that we set out to do just knowing that we had all of this great input um coales from this discovery phase um was set a number of criteria to ensure that the names um there were there was a lot of ideation around a lot of different names um we're very fortunate to have passionate fans players staff um and also very lucky to have started our inaugural season where we were able to really start to see some of the um personalities and identities uh start to take shape and M those as well so four criteria um the first really being does the name Inspire pride of place so does It capture the soul of the city um the community um and and the people um the second being fan connection so will the name resonate with fans does it feel strong confident powerful those were all really important attributes that we wanted to make sure um the name um the name head and then um identity possibilities so how do we we go beyond just a name um and make it really mean something um I think for us it's really um it's the the fans and the players and the communities that are going to imbue meaning in these names and we wanted to make sure they had enough Rich territory from which to work off of um so visual identity um just activations ways in which this name could really come to life in Arena um and in the community and come alive and then the last piece um was just uh legal uh I don't mean to minimize it but a name that would be ownable to us so not just distinctive and Timeless but also ownable um and ensuring that it was something that would um that is that something that wasn't already trademarked so those were sort of the criteria and then from there we had a lot of names that we considered um and we're thrilled to have the names that um we unveil today nothing was delayed um there was never a plan for jerseys to be released as part of this launch uh the jerse launch will be sometime either at the end of October beginning of November um so those our jerseys are still in production um so we thought the time to reveal them would be a little bit later when we actually have our jerseys in hand I think one of the most fortunate things for us is that um while we were doing this process and uh you know developing these names and these identities um our first season was underway right and so we had the luxury to be able to um experience you know what fans experienced at games and get sentiments um from across the board and really use those um to to help crystallize this so it was really wonderful just to be able to have be able to mine insights in that way um and we started to see these identities really come to life on and off the ice and our fans um expressing themselves and and what they their hopes and dreams were for their teams um and so quite frankly we were lucky to be able to um to be able to fold those pieces in I think even before we you know one of the criteria for considering the names was really how will this name come to life visually in a really authentic way that captures the essence of the city and the communities in which um in which the team is in right and so that visual piece was something that was very it wasn't siloed from the name that was something that was very much Upstream um when it came to design it was really about taking a lot of and um folding them into um the design work so uh cultural influences um Heritage uh nodding to the name in the actual visual identity uh color one important piece around color was it was very important for us to maintain the primary colors of um of the teams from season 1 into season two and Beyond um just to sure that our fans could continue to sport their season 1 merch proudly um there's a lot of equity built up in those colors and we were excited to retain them so also as part of the visual Identity Design um understanding color theory and how the existing colors could work with an updated pette that ties the name and the identity Al together I don't think they were brand new um or the other ones necessarily being old I think over the course of the last nine months we went through hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of names and those were six of them that were in the queue uh that just didn't make the final cut and so I don't know that there's any new versus old um they're all part of a singular process that got us to today so the beginning of the discovery process uh general managers players were brought in to provide their own insights and and um kind of bring to the table their thoughts on names so they were that was part of the discovery process that happened early on um we had a small internal group within the league that was part of this process um for for reasons in terms of um I think that you can imagine the group was very small and very tight uh we didn't want names to leak we didn't want anything to get out and so we had a small internal group that was part of the process of understanding um what the criteria was and ultimately part of the process of taking these names putting them through intellectual property in both Canada and the US once we had names that passed through that we as a team uh reviewed the names we all had our opinions um everything was shown to our Board of Billy Jean King Alana Claus Stan Caston and Royce Cohen and uh they ultimately signed off on everything that we've done um but it was a a small group uh from the league level that ultimately was part of the decision-making process the phf names were were not an option I think uh launching a new league um we wanted to build equity in what we were building as the pwhl and so the determination was made uh for us to set out with six new names for our teams uh that would be part of our own history and create our own history we didn't have uh what you would traditionally like a fan vote or a poll or something like that around the names um I think it was really important for us to be able to go deep in really understanding fans connections to their communities and their and their cities right and so for us what what ended up being extremely valuable were um in-depth conversations that we had with fans in each market um but then part and parcel with that it was really interesting as the season um went underway to also look on social and and see um you know what fans were saying what they were thinking our YouTube chat when we were streaming uh games were also really interesting um I mean fans were constantly dropping names in there um and adding commentary around what they might like about it or not and so also being able to listen to those conversations um that were happening in real time um were helpful as well we went through hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of names I I can't sit here and tell you how many many were specific to Montreal but in general we went through more names than I can count to um I think the challenge in picking a name out is that it has to pass through intellectual property in both Canada and the United States and so with different laws rules regulations in both countries it certainly presents a bit of a challenge um I think we all loved the name vikto we we purposely decided that there would be no Anglican version that we wanted to just keep it in French um but I think we saw that name we all loved it we felt it really um talk to the essence of Montreal as a city to the people of the city their expectations for championships given their Rich history and sports and so uh I think it was one of those names that when it hit you you felt immediately good about it um you I don't know Conan if you have anything to add but uh it was one of those names like some of the names you you got it just smiled I think for me that was surely one of them I would agree and I think it was very important for us to have um have an name that felt relevant and felt that level of connection um for fans in Montreal specifically and so um yeah I think instantly I mean even just thinking about the first time that we that we thought about that name and the name came up uh puts a smile on our faces there's not meant to be a translation um we purposely wanted their name to be in French regardless of where they play they are the VTO uh and they are the vikto in Quebec they are the vikto in Toronto New York Boston wherever they play um it was an intentional decision uh we wanted to represent um you know Montreal and Quebec as best we can and that is through the French language and that's their name um it again Conan talked about uh keeping the primary color from year one and so that's that teal green uh so that was our starting point um you know it's it's kind of interesting both the liberty and Gotham have that color in their palette I don't think all of the greens are the same but we all have something in that green palette it and I I I don't think it was intentional but it's certainly nice to have that tie into the two other women's teams that we share the city with um and then when you start to think about what goes with teal uh you know the color palette starts to form itself um you know it's it's it's like red you know certain colors just go together and uh I think for teal blue and orange work really well we added gray in to add some more depth and dimension but um it's it's really a to the Statue of Liberty you know really one of the great symbols of New York City without using that in our symbolism yeah I think um the only other things I would add is uh obviously we wanted a color palette that would um work well together and uh feel modern feel um like it reflected the city is exhilarating kind of sights and sounds that inspired the name and this pette does that um the blue uh you know this deep dark blue uh meant to evoke the city's iconic night skyline and this Orange um you know it's it's taxis construction zones just all the things that are in the city that you don't even um you don't even notice because you're so used to them and so um it's really a combination of all pieces well I think the NHL are wonderful partners for us as a matter of fact I'm sitting in the NHL offices right now uh they are wonderful partners for us we talk to them all the time about many things um there were certain names where we might have needed a coexistence agreement uh and we talked to the NHL around the potential names where we might have had to work together uh and that was actually the only place where we asked for their input uh around the names they're they're wonderful Partners in everything we do I think for this one we had to set our own course and our own path and uh we did when we launch what the jerseys look like you will immediately be able to buy replica jerseys and you will be able to buy them with player names on them as well uh I don't believe this year we are going to have authentic jerseys for sale given the compressed timeline um I'm happy that the players will have jerseys to wear for the games uh I think in year three we'll probably start to see where we come out with an Authentics program listen I think in life no matter what you do you will never please everyone what I can say is is that as a league we are very confident in our process in the discovery and the feedback that we took from all of our different constituents uh so coming here today we did a very thorough a very thoughtful a very buttoned up process and so as I sit here I am very confident that we did things the right way uh all 16 te names we love we think the logos came out great um the color palettes are wonderful and so people will have their opinion and and they should right like uh we welcome everybody's feedback in everybody's thoughts but in terms of how we handle it I there's nothing to handle um you know the next phase for us is honestly is is waiting to see our fans bring these logos to life in the arena um and and how they start to take on our brand and and really bring it to life it's we've done our part now it's up to the fans to do their part so I don't think any of us are sitting here concerned about backlash you know understanding that we know that we did things the right way yeah I think we've got an entire league and team staff who cannot wait for puck drop this year uh a lot of lofty expectations for us I think coming off of year one but that's the type of pressure and stress that we all relish and why we do this job and so we are all being thoughtful about how we approach season two um and we're ready to roll we've got our buildings uh just about in order we're working on our broadcast deals and so season two is going to bring a lot of excitement right uh we know the play is going to be great fast physical I think the in Arena experience will be elevated now that we have these Brands to Rally around um the merch will continue to come out um and so fans can engage and be excited about their team names and so a lot of great stuff ahead um U you know we still have a couple months to work on some things but we're we're ready to go and feel really great about where we are sure um I can't speak I think goes to the earlier question I can't speak to how many weather related names exactly we went through um there were many many many names um and I I wouldn't say that they were necessarily all weather related either but um I think for for frost you know that was a name that quite honestly it came up um from several different kind of areas uh that was a name that kept kind of coming up um and and we heard was very very popular um and had a lot of residents and so I think for us it was one that we right out of the gate took um very ser iously and were really enthusiastic about and excited by and um Wanted to really think about how we built um an identity around that and and the storytelling that makes sense for for Minnesota and and connects in an emotional way um and speaks speaks to the people so uh I think we all have a lot of heart for frost um and that was one that throughout the process um we we felt very strongly about as we like to say we love all of our children equally um but Boston um I can definitely speak to that so I think in terms of the name Fleet um just the strong Maritime history and Heritage there you think about old irides um uh the Charlestown uh Navy yard just a strong Legacy of of Maritime history and building and I think we really wanted to combine that with um the spirit of the people the spirit of bostonians right and and New England um this this resilience this Unity this togetherness um and that spirit and so for us it was really about Fleet in such a beautiful way encompasses both of those things and brings it to life um and then the logo was meant to in terms of waves of resilience um this the be sideways anchor um bring all of those elements together as well yeah we had our our group chat Marie-Philip Poulin / Blayre Turnbull / Brianne Jenner blowing up for sure um I think our our guesses were a little bit off but everyone's really excited about this and and I think in hindsight seeing that the photo was Gabby she charges the net quite a bit so it's pretty fitting um but yeah we're all really excited obviously this is a great day and I think really really special for our fans as well yeah I think it's awesome I think the league did a great job and picking our name um obviously the teaser that was dropped last week kind of indicated that it might have something to do with the queen um and I didn't see too many people guess uh scepter so I think there's a lot of tie-ins to the city a lot of of tians to our team identity and how we want to play and perform on the ice so overall I think it's a very fitting name and one that our city will really Embrace yeah I think it's another sort of tie into the city a lot of Toronto sports teams are blue and white and tmu are our home facility for last season they have yellow as well so um yeah there's definitely a lot of tie-ins with our our logos and the colors and the City of Toronto uh we spikes for fore [Music] yeah obviously very excited such an exciting day here today to have six new names six new logos uh obviously our league works so hard for us to make it happen for us here in Montreal obviously that VI like I mentioned a little bit it's going to be a mindset obviously the six team we all want to win you want to be competitive and for us in all yes it's on our Jersey but I don't think it changed what we were last year uh every day you want to perform you want to bring out your best and just going to be what our team's going to Rally around what the city is going to Rally around what our fans going to be all about and obviously it's a league that's very competitive and for us uh really love the logo really love the name uh everybody's gonna ride around when you come to the rank it's going to be in a jumbo J it's going to be everywhere it's going to be on t-shirts sweaters so uh obviously it's all new to all of us obviously if you look at the logo it's so detailed uh obviously the m in there the Flor with the wings uh there's a lot that goes beyond it and I hope people realize uh what it's all about and how much word it's been put behind to make sure that Montreal go represent uh what's all about yeah I think they they do their due diligence here obviously and Quebec French is is very important and being able to see Victor in b language is something that I think they did a lot of research and it is important and I think people are going to see from the French side to the English side that it's all one and we all in this together and obviously there's no separation I think we we all work for this logo this name and at the end of the day uh the city The Province going to Rally around our team and be exciting for it I think it's really exciting for our fan bases um you know I think to see you know our jerseys and the stands like we're going see this year I think it's um you know it's just the next step forward for our league and obviously you know we had an amazing first season but now to have you know team identities and I know you know specifically ours in Ottawa is um you know it's not just a nod to the city and you know being the the center of government but it's a nod to our fans as well and I hope our fans realize that and embrace that um you know the electric energy that they brought in in in our first season is a big part of our identity so um I think it's just going to continue to carry the momentum of this league forward and like like who said a very exciting day yeah I think similar thoughts to Brienne um it's a super exciting day not only for the players to finally be able to say that we play on the scepter um you know it's a lot easier to say than pwhl Toronto so that's a plus for us but I think in terms of um where the League's at and and how successful it was last year without any names or logos um thinking to what the future holds now for all the teams and the franchises um to have names and to have logos and potentially mascots and so many different things for the fans to Rally behind and I think uh like what Brienne said um these team names and our logos and colors they represent more than just our team they represent our cities and our fans and um all the support that we had in one and I hope um everybody feels that and everyone is super eager and excited to support uh the league moving forward now that we have names and logos and everything like that obviously it's very exciting we're actually just talking about it with Danny and blo before I would say I think for me if I look at the logo I think something with the wings I think something that'll be exciting to come to uh to Montreal but obviously uh anything at this point uh is just so fun I think the excitement of today every logo every names um it's exciting we've been waiting for that moment obviously last year was unbelievable uh with the pwhl some different Market but now we literally have logos names and obviously mascot's gonna come it's going to be all new to us and it's gonna be exciting right Amy she's laughing over there but H it's gonna be fun we'll see what's gonna Hilary Knight / Kendall Coyne-Schofield / Micah Zandee-Hart happen just so ecstatic um obviously Year One you have to build a a culture and in some in somewhat of an identity um and now to have logos and names I'm really excited for our group of individuals that gears up together but super excited for the fans to to have that strong identity in Boston and obviously a lot of thought that went into each team name and each logo and just really excited for puck drop this year and for people to Rally around all this amazing movement that's going on in the pwhl yeah it's an exciting day a historical day and uh pwl history and hockey history sport history uh excited for the fan base in Minnesota excited for the league and excited for hockey fans around the world uh that can now um you know associate a team name and a logo uh with the the greatest uh women's professional hockey league in the world yeah it's uh just such an exciting day I've been around some players in the league today some of my teammates and all other teams and obviously getting a lot of text messages from family and fans and everything and people are just excited it's just bringing more more hype to the league people are excited for the season and like Kendall and Hillary have both said to to give both us as players but also the fans just something to root for and something to feel a part of uh in these team names and logos is just super exciting people are excited I think um you know whenever you go into a huddle and uh you're cheering for something it's nice to to be able to name it and so now to have that identity and have that more purposefulness um you know being in Boston and the thoughtfulness that went behind the design and the names uh can we can really attach ourselves to as well as fans and so I think people are really excited and really eager to get to puck drop for season two yeah I think um everyone's been obviously the the suspense was building all last week after uh the pwhl posted that it was going to be announced today and I think everyone was waiting for it and so far everyone that I've talked to has just been really excited to dive into the logos and I think for all of us players especially and and the fans just to find out the why behind it and be able to kind of build that identity out behind the logos and really feel you know why it's a part of the city why it's important um I think that's something that um we can really get behind build off um what Hillary and Micah said I think uh excitement I think you know the excitement of you know thinking about a couple months from now um you know seeing fans in Minnesota walking around with Minnesota Frost jerseys on and um you filling the the Excel Energy Center with with purple just as they did last year but now with uh taking it a step further with the identity with the logo of the frost and just a such a strong bold intense logo um that I think a lot of people are very excited about uh including the players and so um yeah I think the word that comes to mind is excitement we were not involved in the process what what's your opinion of the name I I love it um I know the leagues kept the league kept this under wraps pretty well so uh recently um and so it it's funny when all the teasers were getting released it was uh really trying to figure out what's what's the name going to be for each City so um you know the league did a really good job of keeping this buttoned up and um you know we're obviously the leaders of our team so we're here with with this awesome merch but um yeah we we were really not necessarily involved in this process but I think uh they did an awesome job of being able to um you know really put thought behind each City and with great purpose and meaningfulness for um people to really feel a part of these names and identities yeah I think that's a great question I'm obviously not not sure if there was intention behind that or not but I think the fact that we're all kind of repping a a different version of this teal is is pretty cool obviously in women Sports we're we're all one right now we're all kind of feeding off each other and the support and energy and the kind of um what how much everyone's watching women's sports it's helping every sport not just one so um it's great to be a part of that and especially in New York just the what sport means in the city of New York and the history of sport in the city it's it's cool to feel like we're kind of tied to some of the other teams in a way and I'm sure fans feel the same Sometimes the best things in life you have to wait the longest for of course um you know you do your best to work within a group and keep things tight and uh you know we had people sign a lot of ndas as we look to build out merch and everything that we needed to get done for today videos produced Graphics produced and so uh our our lawyers were pumping out ndas every day but um glad we got to today and we were able to make the announcement and um appreciate the support of our players and our fans uh while we went through this process yeah um well I absolutely love sort of just off the bat it's it's an anchor within the bee right um and so it's got that movement that motion forward um you know the waves in there sort of it really just embodies that Relentless passionate sort of attitude um of what uh it means to be a part of that City and represent that City on the professional level and um also the anchor with like the nod to to all the the um Heritage there uh but yeah it's it's really cool um to be able to have something that you feel embodies the city to this to this extent um so really excited and and happy and the color scheme is so unique as well and it's definitely going to set us apart which is awesome you know I think it's tough whenever you launch something uh people are like oh I don't know if I like it right there's always sort of a mixed bag of of reactions but um I think people really attached to this and I think um it just goes to show that there was a lot of thought behind it and um you know the other ones didn't stick and that's why we're the Boston Fleet and we have this color scheme and it's going to be uh incredible like I I cannot wait to play in front of um our fan base because it's truly special when when you're in our Arena and you're just going to see this sea of green different types of green and different Hues and um yeah it's it's going to be truly something special Jason we'll be back at songus this year we're working on some other options that quite honestly we're just not really to address right now um if we have other venue announcements I promise you we will make that announcement but not quite there yet