James | What Should Utah’s Hockey Team’s Name Be?

From Wikipedia

Intro

The Arizona coyotes, an NHL franchise since 1996, recently sold their rights to the Utah expansion team becoming defunct. Members of the Central Division in the Western Conference, the Coyotes are set to move to Salt Lake City during the 2024-35 season prompting a new name, logo, and identity. The final 6 options were released and include the Utah Blizzard, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom, and Utah Yeti. Here is my take on how the new team should approach their new identity and my rankings of the possible names from worst to best.

*Disclaimer: I wrote this article before the organization had decided to go with the name the Utah Hockey Club. I believe they chose this name in order to give them more time to decide on a long term name, logo, and jerseys. This is a smart move long term despite some people not loving the name right now. 

Pre-Research Name Rankings:

1. Utah Yetis

2. Utah Outlaws 

3. Utah Mammoth

4. Utah Blizzard

5. Utah Venom

6. Utah Hockey Club

Post-Research Name Rankings:

6. Utah Hockey Club: Comes across as bland and unoriginal. If the owners decide to go down this route (which I doubt they do), then the team needs to move back to Arizona. They would have a lackluster logo, no mascot, and no true team identity. It reminds me of a soccer team and/or the Washington Football Team. It does not connect with fans at all and is overall a letdown. The team would suffer low merch sales as well. The only upside that comes with this choice is that the owners could go with any color scheme they choose. 

5. Utah Venom: While yes this idea is unique, it does not fit the overall hockey “vibe.” Utah is home to the Triple A affiliate of the Angels the Salt Lake Bees so the Venom would resonate with locals. I’m not completely opposed to this idea as snakes and other venomous animals have been used in professional sports before (as seen in the Arizona Diamondbacks and Charolette Hornets). The Venom could go down the bee/hornet or spider route, but I think the best one would be the snake route. With a snake you could have cool uniforms using a scale style print on jerseys plus the goalie helmets could be elite. Snakes also are the most intimidating of the options and offer the most upside. This one is not a bad option by any stretch of my imagination, but I feel like Utah can choose a more wintery and unique option. 

4. Utah Mammoth: Honestly the top four was extremely hard for me to decide. The mammoth offer a lot of pros. They are a pretty unique team name while also fitting perfectly within the climate and culture of Utah. The Smiths (who own the team) have commented recently on the Pat McAffee show that the mammoths are in the running. They offer a less intimidating mascot, but this means that it is more kid friendly. I imagine the on ice mascot being similar to that of the Arkansas Razorbacks mascot with the tusks which could be pretty awesome. I did a bit of research on if any other pro teams are named the mammoths and found that Colorado’s pro lacrosse team is named the Mammoths and I gotta say they have a pretty cool logo. This opens the door for the owners to go all in on the logo and take their time crafting a statement piece of a logo to anchor their franchise on. Mammoths were native to Utah and this name choice is a very safe one overall. 

3. Utah Yeti: I was very high on this name going into the rankings, but it fell which shocked me. It is a mythical style mascot similar to the Seattle Kraken. However, the yeti is normally a legend from the Himalayan Mountains not the Rocky Mountains. The name “Utah Yeti(s)” rolls off the tongue well and I think the marketing team/owners could create a very unique logo that is intimidating. While they can have an intimidating logo, they can also have a furry mascot similar to that of the Philadelphia Flyers that can become a fan favorite. The social media team can create cool graphics using the Yeti which can help grow the team’s fanbase and recognition as it tries to make its mark on the league. 

2. Utah Blizzards: Originally in my 4 spot, the Blizzards have grown on me. I think it resonates with the state of Utah well because of their climate and ski culture. We’ve seen natural disaster team names work before like with the Colorado Avalanche (NHL)  and Seattle Storm (WNBA). One of my fears with this team is the fact that the Avalanche are right next door in Colorado and the Blizzard would struggle with having their own identity. Some people might say “James what about a mascot?” In my opinion they could use the yeti as their on ice mascot just like how other teams use mascots that differ from their name. With this name, the team could do cool visuals for their pre/in/post game helping hype up the fans and use state of the art technology in Delta Arena. This also applies for their social media. The Blizzard were also the most voted team name in a large local newspaper Deseret News, receiving 25% of the total vote. The Blizzards is a good, unique, and possibly intimidating name for the new franchise.

1. Utah Outlaws: Ok. Some might completely disagree with me, but I think this name has it all. It has an intimidation factor, connects with the state, and is unique. I’ve seen some mock designs for a possible logo on Instagram and I like the idea of an Outlaw. It’s different than a team like the Dallas Cowboys and the owners/designers can choose a logo that is completely unique to them. The outlaws can also go in any color scheme (basically). The on ice mascot and visuals/effects during games can be great if the owners can perfect it. The social media team can takeoff because it offers so many different options plus the outlaw is the perfect antihero. The Coyotes are also division rivals with the Chicago Blackhawks. Choosing the Outlaws as the new name/mascot can offer a cowboys versus Indians rivalry which is easy to market in my opinion. Famous outlaw Butch Cassidy was born in Utah and you could name/dedicate the mascot after him (Butch the Outlaw). Choosing the Outlaws would be a grandslam for this organization and help grow this team into a true NHL franchise. 

Conclusion: