Utah NHL team reveals team names to be decided by fan vote

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Liam McCormick
April 24, 2024 (10:50)

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Since news of the Coyotes relocation to Utah became official, it's become a mad race for Utah to actually create their hockey team - beginning with their name.

The Utah ownership group, headed by Ryan Smith, has filed trademarks for eight potential team names. The names are: Utah Mammoth, Utah Ice, Utah Yetis, Utah Venom, Utah Fury, Utah, Blizzard, Utah Outlaws, and the leading choice so far, Utah Hockey Club.

Earlier in the process of relocation, Smith stressed the importance of not rushing into a team name, and instead using Utah Hockey Club as a temporary placeholder as they finish their branding. Instead, some hockey fans have taken to the name already, and now Utah Hockey Club will be considered in a bracket-challenge system to potentially determine the name of the team.

It's extremely exciting to see how quickly the relocation process has developed, and great sight for the NHL to abandon the arena-less Coyotes for an enthusiastic market in Utah. Along with the Coyotes young up and coming roster, Utah could actually be a quality team sooner rather than later. It seems the ownership group is aware of that, as they're expected to be very active in free agency this summer, potentially eyeing big names like Steven Stamkos or Sam Reinhart to be the face of the new franchise. Earlier today, the Coyotes players arrived in Utah for the first time to a great reception from the new fanbase.

In the coming weeks before free agency, we should learn more and more about the Utah team, in their team building activities both off the ice and on the ice.