We are down to three.
Starting tonight, Utah’s NHL fans can vote on three potential names — and two logos — for their new team: Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and a new entry, Utah Wasatch, representing the mountain range to the north and east of Salt Lake City.
Out is “Yeti”, not a huge surprise since the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected that suggestion due to the “likelihood of confusion.”
“We engaged with the Yeti Cooler Company,” Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan said Wednesday. “They have a unique and strong trademark on ‘Yeti’ and ‘Yetis’ on clothing or other licensed gear… We were not able to come to a coexistence agreement.”
The USPTO also rejected Mammoth and Hockey Club, which is weird because the latter is so similar to many Major League Soccer team names. But Maughan said while issues in those two cases were expected, “None of them are insurmountable.”
“There are always issues, unless (you pick) a brand new name.”
The voting will be done by fans who attend Utah’s next four home games, beginning tonight (Pittsburgh) through Feb. 4 (Philadelphia). Stations will be set up around Delta Center to select a name and logo, not yet publicly revealed for copyright protection. Asked if he was worried someone would take a photo and leak details, Maughan pointed to Utah Jazz redesigns that stayed private while going through a similar process, adding, “We have faith in the community… to do this in a respectful way.”
There are only two logos instead of three because “Hockey Club” and “Wasatch” would have the same outcome: a mythical snow creature, “fierce and appropriate for an NHL team,” Maughan said.
He reiterated that the winning choices will not be announced during this season. It has been rumoured that the reveal could come when Utah makes its 2025 first-round draft pick. Maughan — with a smile — refused to make any such commitment.
Whatever the case, it is important to Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith that fans select the name and logo. “Whether this is the final part of the process or there is to be one more (vote), is to be determined,” Maughan said.
The “Hockey Club” idea is growing on me, although I might be in the minority (podcast listeners were displeased with my take on this one). But we’ll see how the Utahns feel. Their team, their vote.
