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Utah Hockey Club fans cheer after a goal as the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
A recent filing in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office might indicate where Smith Entertainment Group is headed with a permanent name for the Utah Hockey Club.
A lawyer handling the trademark process obtained a three-month extension Feb. 4 to clarify what appear to be minor issues in the team’s application for the name Utah Mammoth. The trademark office last Nov. 5 found “no conflicting marks” that would preclude the use of Mammoth.
Under the law, the team had three months from the Nov. 5 date to respond to the office’s “nonfinal action” on the name or seek a three-month extension. Had neither of those things happened, the trademark office would consider the application abandoned.
The team also filed applications for Utah Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club, for which the trademark office found no conflicts in nonfinal actions issued Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively, but sought some clarification on both. The deadline to respond or seek an extension is three months from those dates.
So it appears Mammoth, Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club remain in play, though it will be interesting to see what the team does as the deadlines on the Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club applications approach in early April.
Utahns weigh in on hockey team name
Mammoth, Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club emerged as the finalists after several rounds of fan voting online last year and at the Delta Center during four home games in late January and early February.
Fans on social media overwhelmingly prefer Mammoth, based on surveys local reporters conducted online. Mammoth received about 70% of the vote across the board. Outlaws came in next at 25%, with Utah Hockey Club lagging at 5%.
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Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) takes his position before an NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
A statewide Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll in February found Utahns slightly favor Outlaws over Utah Hockey Club with Mammoth coming in third. None of the three received a majority.
That survey found 37% like Outlaws and, perhaps surprisingly, 34% chose Utah Hockey Club and 29% opted for Mammoth.
The social media and Deseret News/Hinckley Institute polls reached different audiences. It’s likely those who voted in the online survey are hockey fans, while the Deseret News poll queried Utahns across the state, fans or not.
When will Utah Hockey Club choose a name?
SEG has not given a specific date for revealing the team’s name.
Chris Armstrong, president of hockey operations, told the Deseret News earlier that the team will continue to involve the community in the final stages of the naming and branding process and is on track to announce a permanent name and identity before the 2025-26 season.
The team filed trademark applications for more than a dozen names last year, whittling the list to six — Utah Blizzard, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti.
Blizzard, Venom and Yeti all hit a wall in the trademark office.
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The Utah Jazz bear waves a Utah Hockey Club flag while celebrating with players on the ice after Utah’s 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild during an NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Why not Yeti?
Among those, Yeti or Yetis seemed to have risen to the top as the preferred choice, but the team was not able to secure trademark rights to those names because they are proprietary to the Yeti outdoor brand. Utah could have used the name, but would not have been able to sell shirts, hoodies, cups or a number of other items.
The office also issued refusals for the names Blizzard and Venom on the same basis.
NHL.com reported back in early December that deadlines for decisions on the permanent brand identity are approaching. Creating a new NHL jersey is about an 18-month process, including design, trademark clearance, materials procurement and production of game and retail versions. Utah was able to expedite the jerseys and fan gear for the current season.
Armstrong told the league website that the team is “deep” in the jersey design process for next season, which goes along with brand identity.
“I’d say we’re getting close to needing to make some decisions,” Armstrong said. “I’d say early in the new year. Everybody’s tried their best to work flexibly — or away from hard and fast deadlines — because it is a complicated process, especially on the (intellectual property) side. Just making sure we’ve got everything lined up and buttoned up before we make any firm decisions.”
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