A NEW ERA OF HOCKEY BEGINS

After an inaugural season full of promise and passion, the PWHL Toronto squad is unveiling a new identity that draws on heritage to represent the team’s bright future: the Sceptres are here to forge their own legacy.

On January 1, hockey fans piled into Mattamy Athletic Center to witness history—the PHWL’s first-ever game—and excitedly cheer on a Toronto team who immediately captured the heart of the city. From the first puck drop, the hockey-mad city’s faith was rewarded with a home team that, while without a traditional nickname, was anything but anonymous. The players skated with power and purpose, wielded their sticks with authority, and eventually took their place atop the league with the best regular season record, ascending through excellence and effort.

Now, the team that established a personality and character worthy of hockey empowerment has a name that embodies that spirit.

Meet the Toronto Sceptres.

The sceptre has historically been a symbol of leadership and empowerment across continents and cultures—and that’s just what the Sceptres name will be for the team. “It’s about a group of strong, empowered women,” says Jayna Hefford, the league’s Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, Hockey Hall of Famer and five-time Olympic medalist. “When you have sceptres, you’re empowered—it’s your turn to rise and take your place.”

When Hefford and Toronto’s star forward Natalie Spooner revealed that long-awaited name on morning TV earlier today, the moment was made more special by unveiling the Sceptres in Breakfast Television’s Toronto studios. Announcing the team names was a milestone for the entire league. “It gives us another moment to be really proud about who we are, what we stand for, and the work we’re doing,” Amy Scheer, the league's Senior Vice President of Business Operations, says. “As our league evolves, there will be more big moments, but this one, to me, is a game changer because your identity means everything.”

Beyond the name, Toronto introduced fans to a complete brand and visual identity designed to propel the Sceptres into their second season and beyond: a vibrant colourway built around an iconic blue and a bold yet polished yellow; a strong, elegant wordmark with a timeless font; and a striking multi-element logo in which an orb sits atop an overlapping T and S, uniting to form the shape of a sceptre.

The effect is a name that honors Toronto’s bright future. The team has worked to wield its power on merit, much like the city, which has built itself into Canada’s business and cultural center. And Sceptres is plural, a nod to the squad’s team-first ethos and the many vibrant elements and communities that make up present-day Toronto. Those connections are no coincidence. “Our fans have an emotional connection to the place they call home,” says Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the VP of Brand and Marketing, who spearheaded the naming initiative. “The heart of our efforts was to capture the soul of Toronto – its diversity, strong cultural presence and exciting future – and its people.”

That doesn’t happen overnight. The league embarked on an intensive naming and identity process with the New York-based creative agency Flower Shop. Although the project spanned less than a year, it was completed in less than half the time taken by most professional sports teams. “We knew the importance of it. We felt it,” explains Flower Shop’s co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Alastair Merry. “We had a deadline, but we took the time, care, and craft to get this right.”

Naming inspiration launched with the Toronto team in action, the on-ice wizardry of Spooner, who led all players in goals and points and hoisted the league’s Billie Jean King trophy as MVP, and Kristen Campbell’s deft work in the crease, which earned her goalie of the year. Equally important were the ardent supporters in the stands. The crowd’s roar coupled with fans who articulated their passions and connection to the team in a series of interviews. City libraries also served as a wealth of knowledge, with hundreds of team names used in Toronto cataloged and analyzed, the hits and misses of the city’s professional sports franchises, past and present, examined. Insights gathered from players, staff and leadership in the League’s early days were folded in.

From this, a robust list of strong name possibilities was born. “The name generation approach was quality, not quantity. There were strict criteria to hit,” says Merry. The name had to embody Toronto’s presence and influence, it had to be timeless (not merely timely), and it had to connect fans with the team and city on an emotional level.

The legal and copyright minefields claimed a surprising number of options, as numerous novel and unused names turned out to be trademarked. But every name got due consideration and Sceptres was the leading choice, shining through the clearance process with a strong presence befitting its team.

Exploring how the name would come alive visually on everything from the team’s jerseys (launching closer to the start of the season) to billboards was an exercise in endless creative possibilities. Evoking a tangible item, the Sceptres name lent itself to a strong emblem. To visualize the name, the design utilized the symbol as a launching pad for a very modern, metaphorical representation of the sceptre. It’s drawn with beveling and ironwork to convey a sense of three dimensions. That, in turn, gave it the potential to be kinetic—animated on a jumbotron, in advertising spots, and on screens. As Scheer says, “I could just see so many ways that the sceptre can be brought to life.” At first, that would come from the team and league, but also the fans. “I hope they like it as much as we do,” she adds. “I can’t wait to see little kids holding mini sceptres.”

For some involved, the true sign of success will be seen when fans turn out in jerseys and other merchandise. It will be a more emotional moment for others—the first time they hear the raucous home crowd chant “Sceptres.” Darwin Murray, Director of Team Business Operations, believes the players and fans will embrace and make the name their own as the team’s second season gets underway. “Toronto Sceptres reflects the city’s status as a crown jewel of Canada – a place of grandeur, leadership and rich heritage,” says Murray. “For our players, I believe the team identity will inspire a sense of prestige and responsibility, while for fans, it will evoke a deep sense of loyalty and pride in supporting a team that represents Toronto’s renowned hockey legacy.”  

Something else stands out to Hefford, who lives in Toronto but can’t endorse one specific team herself. She expected the team would inspire her daughters, and it did. The surprise was its impact on her young son, who, along with his friends, embraced the PWHL with the same zeal they did the NHL and clamored for new team jerseys. “If you wear women’s sports gear, it doesn’t matter what sport, it says something,” Hefford explains. “When I can see him and his buddies and boys running around the city in the Sceptres gear, that’ll be a signal that the future is going to be different.”

It already is. Starting today. As the Sceptres, Toronto’s team is ready to forge its own legacy.