Fans in the PWHL have come to love their teams, and their names, even the more unique ones. But the league has continued to ignore, and at times, actively erase historic women in hockey, particularly those who fall outside their own inner circle of league operations.

It was on display when the PWHL named their championship trophy after the Walter family, financial investors in the league with no prior history in or connection to women's hockey. And followed it by naming the league's MVP awards for Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, legendary athletes in their own sport, but the choice came at the cost of forever erasing the contributions of women who spent their entire lives fighting for women's hockey.

PWHL team names have vague connections to their markets, but for the most part, have not been geographically or historically significant. At times, like the Toronto Sceptres, the historic connections to the name have drawn criticism, not support.

From the announcements made by the Women's Professional Baseball League unveiling their team names, who are set to hit the diamond this summer in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York, it appears that recognizing historic women from the sport and their markets, while also ushering in unique brands, was not as difficult as the PWHL made it to be.

Their names, the San Francisco Firebells, New York Heights, Boston Hunters, and Los Angeles Queens were all tied directly to historic women from those markets.

In Los Angeles, the Queens were named for Lizzie Murphy. Murphy, nicknamed the 'Queen of the Diamond'  "broke barriers at a time when opportunities for women in pro sports were extremely limited, showing the world how true talent rises to the top." Murphy became the first woman to play against Major Leaguers in 1922, and even played in Major League all-star games, including taking a hit off the great Satchel Paige.

In New York, the Heights are named for civil rights leader Dorothy Height, who studied at New York University and worked in Harlem. She was a paramount figure in advocating for Black rights, women's rights, and many other intersectional issues impacting women and the Black community.

Boston will be the Hunters, named for Harriot Hunt, the first women to apply to medical school at Harvard, being denied in 1847 and 1849 by the all-male school. She went on to a renowned medical career, albeit without ever being admitted to Boston's famed school.

Finally, the San Francisco Firebells are named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who famously jumped into action alongside San Francisco firefighters to battle a blaze on Telegraph Hill, and was soon become an icon for firefighters in the city. As the WPBL said, Coit was "known for rebellious attitude and open defiance of the gender norms of the time," giving new life to her nickname, "Firebelle Lil."

When the PWHL was founded, all those from outside the league's inner circle were quickly ignored, and very little recognition has followed since. 

It could have easily come in the form of acknowleding Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld, who captained the Toronto Pats to a provincial title in 1929, and was part of Canada's "Matchless Six" who won Olympic gold for Canada in 1928, the first time women were permitted to compete in track and field at the Olympic Games. Whether it was the Roses, Thorns, or the previously used "Six," the names were there to acknowledge a historic figure.

In Ottawa it could have from from Eva Ault, 'Queen of the Ice,' or Isobel Stanley, who was the first woman in history photographed playing hockey. Stanley's historic family name sits on the NHL's championship trophy, but her role in opening doors for women by competing in Ottawa at the Rideau Rink, has been overlooked by the PWHL. She was the namesake of the Isobel Cup, and Hockey Canada's Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award, but now sits only on the pages of history.

There are opportunities remaining for the PWHL's four incoming teams, but the leadership of the WPBL is unlikely to filter over to the PWHL.

In Detroit, it could be a woman like Marguerite Norris, or many civil rights leading women like Rosa Parks, Ruth Ellis, or Sojourner Truth. 

Hamilton has the Golden Hawks, who became Canada's first ever national team, they have quintessential figures like Fran Rider and Hazel McCallion who could stem names like the Riders or Hurricanes (Hazel McCallion's nickname). Or they could look to nearby Preston where the Rivulettes and legend Hilda Ranscombe are considered perhaps the most dominant team and individual player in the history of women's hockey, or Hamilton Golden Hawks legends like Marian 'Mern' Coveny, Canada's first ever captain.

San Francisco had women's hockey during an early boom in 1916 and 1917 with teams like the Wanderers and Princess Pats facing off.

And while Las Vegas doesn't have the same level of women's hockey history, the city itself has icons that could be honoured, like the 'First Lady of Las Vegas,' Helen J. Stewart, civil rights pioneer Anna Bailey, 'The General' Anne Martin, or famed WWII pilot Peg Crockett who ran the region's only airport and opened the door to Vegas by selling the region the land now used for Harry Reid International Airport.

The Women's Professional Baseball League made a clear statement that their league would recognize women who built opportunities in their sport, and in their markets.

The PWHL has not done that, yet, instead choosing to insulate their inner circle and exclude many of the women who helped build the sport historically, and more recently over the last 40 years.

If the PWHL were wise, they could take a lesson from the upstart WPBL and work to preserve the history of women's hockey, and honor those who fought to make space and opportunities for women in the game, without money or fanfare behind them.