The most-talked-about aspect of the Utah Hockey Club might be its name. Why did they opt for a placeholder name, when will they have a permanent name and what will that name be?
Let’s try to answer those questions.
Why did the Utah Hockey Club choose a temporary name?
The decision to move the Arizona Coyotes to Utah became public in April, but it was not even decided privately until just before that. That’s much less time than the Seattle Kraken or Vegas Golden Knights, the other newest teams in the league, had to situate themselves.
Deciding on a name is not as simple as it sounds. It’s a process of surveys, trademarks, logo and color scheme development and a number of other things. According to NHL.com, it’s typically an 18-month process.
Ownership wanted to choose a name that resonates with the people of Utah, and they felt that using a placeholder name would give them enough time to do that. As the owner of Qualtrics, a major survey software company, Ryan Smith naturally promoted his company by conducting a series of team name surveys.
And it doesn’t hurt the team financially to sell two completely different sets of jerseys in consecutive years.
When will the Utah Hockey Club choose a permanent name?
The Utah Hockey Club has declared that it will play under its new branding at the start of the 2025-26 season, so it’s likely that they’ll announce the name between the end of the season and the draft.
Knowing that it usually takes 18 months to produce jerseys, it can be inferred that ownership has already chosen a name. It’s also likely that a logo and a jersey design have already been decided upon, though the team will keep them under strict lock and key until they are ready to make the announcement.
What will the Utah Hockey Club’s new name be?
Both general manager Bill Armstrong and star forward Clayton Keller have alluded that the team will be called the “Yeti,” which was one of the options on the team’s most recent Qualtrics survey.
It’s possible that those were just guesses. It’s even possible that neither of them is even involved in the naming process. But if you want to place a bet on the new team name, “Yeti” would probably be a smart choice.
