The Professional Women's Hockey League has given Detroit's newest franchise its identity. The team will be known as the Detroit Clutch, completing another major step for one of the league's four expansion teams entering its fourth season.
The announcement gives Detroit a brand that matches the city it will represent. The unveiling leaned into automotive imagery and messaging tied to Motor City, including a social media tease that said, "start your engines." The formal announcement added, "We honor the roads that brought us here. But the road ahead is ours to create."
Detroit was awarded one of the four expansion teams in 2026, and the franchise has already started to take shape around familiar leadership. Manon Rhéaume was named the general manager, while Josh Sciba was named coach. That gives the new club an established hockey voice as it prepares for its first season.
The team also showed off its inaugural season uniforms in 2026, with black and white as the main colors and gray and red as trim colors. The team name and logo are expected to be included in the uniforms for the 2027 season, giving the new identity a more complete rollout once the club is fully underway.
When Detroit begins play
Detroit will open its inaugural season on Dec. 6 on the road against PWHL Las Vegas. The first home game comes six days later, when the team hosts the New York Sirens at Little Caesers Arena for its home opener on Dec. 12.
For fans in Detroit, the name reveal is the clearest sign yet that the expansion franchise is moving from concept to reality. The logo, colors and leadership are now in place, and the schedule gives the club a specific starting point as it gets ready for its first games. For more on the early roster picture, Josh Sciba talks PWHL Detroit roster ahead of 2026-27 campaign - and Steve Yzerman-style patience is already the point.
