Overlooking the city at View Boston, Boston Fleet GM Danielle Marmer and head coach Courtney Kessel introduced assembled media to the city’s latest view: the Boston Fleet jerseys.
“Being a part of this league from the beginning as Courtney and I have…we’ve been really fortunate to be a part of a lot of amazing firsts and this is another exciting one of those,” said Marmer. “The first time we’re unveiling our jerseys with our logo on them and what better place to do it than the best view in Boston.”
Marmer walked out holding the new home jersey, featuring familiar green bases, teal accents, and white and teal striping. Kessel emerged with the away jersey, which features a white base with green and teal accents and stripes. Both jerseys have the Fleet logo at the center, three stripe groups on the bottom and four on each sleeve, which Marmer says is to emulate a wave.
“There’s so much to like about it,” said Marmer. “Boston’s a maritime city and so much of what we do and love and know about Boston has to do with the water…so to have the anchor B, to have the waves…and even the stripes on the sleeves with the different colors sort of emulating a wave, I just think they did a really nice job with the details of it.”
Kessel echoed those sentiments before naming the anchor as her favorite part, saying it is a fitting symbol for what they want to do as a team.
“I think it’s great to finally have a logo and a jersey and to bring the community in and the fans that come out and watch us,” said Kessel. “The coolest part I think is that the anchor, it really just exemplifies…our team, our resiliency, moving in the same direction. We really got to see that at the end of the year and our playoff stretch, and I think we’re just really looking forward to wearing this and getting into year two.”
No players were made available at the press conference, but Marmer said it was fun to get the texts and see the excitement on some of their faces when they saw the jerseys for the first time during the brand launch this morning.
New season, new style 💥
Early access to official replica jerseys available exclusively at https://t.co/qMCQgytKwY pic.twitter.com/mBeV1qpuDM
— Boston Fleet (@PWHL_Boston) November 7, 2024
Jerseys aside, Marmer spoke about her early expectations for the team, not shying away from saying they want to join Boston’s championship legacy.
“You’re a sports team in Boston, the expectation is that you’re winning the whole thing,” said Marmer. “We’re not afraid to say it…we made it to the final game of the final series, the Walter Cup Finals and this time we’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.”
Kessel added that she expects her team to maintain a physical presence, but hopes to see more speed and offense after finishing last offensively in the league last season.
“I continued to emphasize that game after game, let’s play physical, and I think by the end of the year we were probably one of the most physical teams,” said Kessel. “Heading into every game, I think everyone was a little bit intimidated by our physicality. So, I think we want to continue to do that and stay within the boundaries…and this year we need to put the puck in the net, so I think having a little bit more offensive mindset and figuring out how we’re going to get the puck to the middle [is important].”
With training camps less than a week away, Kessel also shared her excitement over how this season is shaping up off the ice, with ticket sales already up significantly and fans finally having a brand identity to get behind.
“I think our inaugural season took off with a boom more than anyone could have ever thought and our ticket sales are already up, our season ticket memberships are doubled,” said Kessel. “So, I think the reception of the jersey and the identity behind the Fleet and what we bring, I think it’s going in the right direction.”
On Saturday, we had an amazing morning skating with the teams of the Greater Boston Girls Hockey League for their annual Kickoff Jamboree! 🏒🥅 pic.twitter.com/JakMMxudOR
— Boston Fleet (@PWHL_Boston) November 4, 2024
She later added that a big focus for the team this season will be continuing to get better on the ice while ensuring they’re active in the community.
“Again, we saw it at the end of the year what we can do when we have a common goal we’re going toward,” said Kessel. “I think that the biggest thing from the coaching staff side is we want to be physical, we want to make an impact, but away from the rink we want to make an impact on the community…when you play in Boston, I think it’s such an important thing so not only do we want to win, but we want to make sure we’re making an impact as well.”