WELLESLEY, Mass. -- It appears PWHL fans can lower their pitchforks for the time being, as it's now been confirmed that each team will reveal a unique identity at some point in the near future.
*drum roll please*
PWHL Boston will become the... well, we don't know yet.
It's been a mad dash for the PWHL to get things up and running, as they've been all hands on deck trying to get things off the ground in a timely manner. It seems, though, they've lacked in giving fans something to really dig their teeth into.
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The PWHL released official team colors and uniforms, but those are set to change prior to games, which are scheduled to begin in January.
"The jerseys that were released were not the real jerseys,” PWHL senior vice president Jayna Hefford told NESN.com on Thursday. “I think they're gonna look very good when they get released. Those were obviously quick made replicas and they're not exactly to the standard of what our jerseys will be. I think people will be pleasantly surprised with the jerseys."
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It's not going to be easy getting people to buy in without much of an individual team identity, but the league is focused on establishing its own brand first.
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“The team names are an ongoing process. If you look, a lot of (professional) teams have two years to build a brand. I think the way I look at it is we need to spend a lot of time building the PWHL brand. People need to know about the league first and foremost, we're a single entity, and we should take take our time determining what the team identities are."
"What does it mean to this market? What does it mean to the fans? We're working everything really urgently, but at the same time, I think we've all realized we should take a deep breath and we should make sure that we do also get things right, as much as we want to work at a rapid pace. I think it's a combination of the two."
The league has some time to get its ducks in a row, as a preseason evaluation camp in Utica, New York is next on the schedule. They'll then have about a month until the whole thing starts.
Featured image via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images