The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is entering its next season with a set of brand new uniforms for all six teams, unveiled recently to much anticipation. Following their inaugural season where teams played under placeholder names and similar jersey designs, the 2024-25 season marks a significant step in establishing individual team identities. While a sense of league-wide unity remains evident in certain design choices, the new uniforms offer a distinct look for each team, rich with character and color. Let’s break down each team’s uniform set and explore what makes them stand out.
Boston Fleet Uniforms
The Boston Fleet emerges in green, utilizing sky blue as a prominent accent color, alongside white. These colors are effectively striped along the sleeves and jersey bottoms, creating a cohesive look. Dark blue subtly enhances the logo’s shadow and is used for the pants, adding depth to the overall color scheme.
Boston stands out with its heavy reliance on stripes, setting it apart from other teams in the league. The design features a contrasting shoulder yoke, but otherwise leans into striping, hinting at potential future variations like a sky blue jersey or even a barberpole design. The numbers on the jerseys are uniquely patterned with waves, directly inspired by the interior design of the team’s logo, adding a personalized touch.
Minnesota Frost Uniforms
Minnesota Frost presents a striking combination of two shades of purple, an unusual yet visually appealing choice in sports uniforms. The purple home jersey features a white shoulder yoke, a design choice that slightly deviates from a full two-tone purple approach. The sleeve and bottom stripe patterns differ noticeably from each other, suggesting a possible indecision in final design aesthetics.
The Frost’s number design incorporates a minimalist rendition of their logo, adding a subtle, team-specific detail that enhances the uniform’s identity.
Montréal Victoire Uniforms
Montréal Victoire boasts a color scheme that is arguably the most distinctive in the league, continuing from their previous season. Uniquely, Montréal opts for a light cream or tan for their away jerseys instead of the conventional white, paired with maroon, dark blue, and subtle light blue accents. This combination, along with an angular wordmark, evokes a classic, vintage feel.
The jersey crests are notably large, featuring both the team logo and wordmark, which might be considered somewhat maximalist. Inside the jersey numbers, a fleur-de-lis pattern is embedded, celebrating Montréal’s cultural heritage. Adding to the unique details, the league logo patch on the sleeve is presented in French (“LPHF”), acknowledging the city’s linguistic identity.
New York Sirens Uniforms
The New York Sirens initially seemed to echo the WNBA’s Liberty with a turquoise and navy blue palette in previous designs. However, the 2024 uniforms feature a richer turquoise shade, complemented by orange-ish and grey accents, creating a more vibrant and appealing aesthetic. A navy blue jersey option would be a welcome addition based on this updated color scheme.
The striping patterns are consistently applied across both home and away jerseys, and both feature dark blue shoulder yokes, maintaining a unified design language. The numbers on the Sirens’ jerseys incorporate vertical lines, possibly inspired by elements within their logo design, providing a subtle yet distinctive detail.
Ottawa Charge Uniforms
Ottawa Charge’s uniforms and logo immediately draw comparisons to the Calgary Flames due to their color scheme. While grey and black accents help the red home jersey stand out, they are less prominent on the white away jersey. A dark grey shoulder yoke on the white jersey could have enhanced its visual appeal and differentiated it further from Calgary’s look.
The logo design appears to ambiguously blend ‘O’ and ‘C’ shapes, which may be intentional but lacks clear definition. The jersey numbers feature speed lines from the logo, integrating a dynamic element into the uniform.
Toronto Sceptres Uniforms
Toronto Sceptres’ uniforms share a color similarity with New York, using a conventional shade of blue, which Toronto also utilized in the previous season. The team name “Sceptres” has faced controversy due to its colonialist connotations, linked to monarchial imagery in Canada.
The combination of two shades of blue is generally well-received, but the white jersey’s design mixes these shades in a way that slightly disrupts color uniformity. Unlike the blue jersey, the white version places lighter blue sleeve stripes next to dark blue bottom stripes, creating a minor inconsistency. Toronto, along with Boston, uniquely uses gold numbers on their colored jerseys, adding a regal touch. The numbers are patterned with the top portion of the team’s logo, completing the uniform with a subtle brand element.
Final Thoughts on the PWHL New Uniforms 2024
Overall, the PWHL’s 2024-25 uniforms represent a strong step forward in establishing team identities while maintaining a cohesive league aesthetic. The use of unique color schemes and thoughtful details like number patterns adds character to each team. While some designs lean towards traditional sports uniform styles, others, like Montréal and New York, explore more distinctive visual territories. As the PWHL season approaches, these new uniforms are set to make a visually impactful statement on the ice. Fans are encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions on these fresh looks, contributing to the ongoing conversation around sports uniform design and team branding.
