The PWHL is skating full force towards the league’s inaugural season, and the potential team names for its founding six franchises have just hit the ice, thanks to recent trademark filings.

On Wednesday, PWHL Holdings, LLC, the driving force behind the league, submitted applications for “Toronto Torch,” “Montreal Echo,” “Ottawa Alert,” “Minnesota Superior,” “Boston Wicked,” and “New York Sound” to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic reported, who credited detroithockey.net for breaking the news.

The trademarks have been filed under the category of “Entertainment in the nature of hockey games; Organization of ice hockey games.”

The names follow in the footsteps of previous professional women’s hockey franchises such as 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.

It’s important to note that trademark applications are not a definitive confirmation of the team names. These could be just a glimpse of the options on the table, with potentially more to come in the future. The sports world has witnessed similar scenarios with the launch of NHL teams like the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, where multiple team names were trademarked before the final identities were unveiled.

The PWHL also unveiled its new logo for Tuesday, which features a stylized ‘W’ to highlight women, and crossed hockey sticks and a puck. The logo was created by Baltimore’s Younts Design Inc., which has worked with MLB teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Speaking of the Dodgers, their owner, Mark Walter, is also a key financial player for the new women’s hockey league.

The first puck drop for the PWHL is set for January 2024, with training camps for the league slated to start Nov. 15.