PWHL unveils four expansion teams, including San Jose Sea Lions

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has named its first California franchise the San Jose Sea Lions, one of four expansion teams joining the league as it grows from eight teams to 12. The team’s logo features a sea lion rising from waves against a setting-sun backdrop, with coastal blue, sunset orange, tidal navy and sea mist as its colors; it will play home games at SAP Center. The name also honors the San Francisco Sea Lions of the West Coast Negro Baseball Association, whose 1946 roster included Toni Stone, the first woman to play regularly in a major men’s professional baseball league. The other new teams are the Detroit Clutch, Hamilton Havoc and Las Vegas Vanguards. The Sea Lions are scheduled to make their debut against the Minnesota Frost on Dec. 5, though the expansion teams will initially wear jerseys displaying their city names rather than their new branding.