The PWHL has unveiled the nicknames and logos for its four incoming expansion teams. More details here.
As we’ve said before at HockeySpy.ca, we’re no fans of the singular nickname trend that keeps spreading through pro sports. Think Wild, Lightning, Mammoth, Fleet, Frost and Charge.
Apparently, nobody in Detroit or Hamilton asked us. Get ready for the Detroit Clutch and the Hamilton Havoc.
WTF? Clutch? Were the Detroit Alternators and Detroit Crankshafts already taken?
As for Hamilton, havoc can mean devastation or great confusion and disorder. Put us down for devastation, with a healthy dose of confusion. The only thing saving the Havoc from complete ridicule is that Hamilton’s new AHL team somehow came up with an even dumber name, the Hamilton Hammers.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sea Lions went with an animal that gets around on flippers. Good luck finding skates for those. And a vanguard is an army unit that goes in ahead of the main force, so at least the Vegas Vanguards sound like they’ll have a decent forecheck. The fact they then included a fox on their logo baffles many. Unless foxes are known to excel at forechecking.
The good news is that fans get used to just about any nickname. Give it enough time and the name just sounds like the team. After all, if an expansion club unveiled Maple Leafs, Blue Jackets or Hurricanes today, we’d probably bust a gut laughing. And if it were the Leafs, we’d spend the next week arguing about the spelling. Some still insist Maple Leaves is more appropriate.
