The new Utah NHL team released the next round of voting for their eventual name on Thursday. The process is down to six potential options: the Utah Outlaws, Utah Yeti, Utah HC, Utah Venom, Utah Blizzard, and Utah Mammoth.
Ryan Smith, the franchise’s owner, previously stated that they had narrowed their search down to four names but the methodology behind the team’s second survey has seemingly extended that to six.
“More than 520,000 fans participated in the first phase of our multi-step process to help name Utah’s NHL team, and there were six names that were resounding fan favorites – accounting for 60% of the total vote,” the Qualtrics survey reads. “Now, it’s time for round two, and we just decided to go ahead and include all six of those options in this second voting pool to see which ones will come out on top as fans continue narrowing it down.”
The second round of voting will be open until June 20. Unlike the first survey, the team has limited fans to voting solely for their top preference on the list. Each fan can only vote one time.
Current plans remain for the team to stay unnamed for the 2024-25 season, wearing jerseys with the name “UTAH,” before assuming their eventual name in the fall of 2025. The team says they will announce the final steps of the name selection process in the coming months.
If previous unaffiliated polling done by KSL, a Salt Lake City news station, remains accurate, Utah Yeti is the early favorite. Their results also showed Outlaws polling second and Mammoth and Blizzard tied for third.
Uyte LLC, which previously filed to trademark the series of potential team names, has recently registered eight trademark applications for logos reading “Utah” or “Utah Hockey Club” with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The applications offer an initial glimpse at what the team’s temporary branding for the 2024-25 season could look like. Each design uses combinations of a black, white, and light blue color scheme.
