Blizzard, Mammoth, Yeti among 6 finalists in fan vote for Utah's NHL team name
The final phase of voting will take place 'in the coming months,' according to the team
Utah's NHL franchise will be called the Blizzard, Hockey Club, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom or Yeti, according to the team.
Following the first round of fan voting that ended May 22, the NHL in Utah (formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes) revealed the list of six team names that was pared down from the original 20.
Over 520,000 votes were cast during the first phase of voting. The second round of fan voting will run through June 20 until 11:59 p.m. MT.
The team said final steps in the voting process will be announced "in the coming months."
Once an official team nickname has been selected, the team will then "work diligently over the next year" on designing a logo, mascot and colors. When NHL Utah takes the ice for the 2024-25 season, it will wear jerseys with its chosen colors but without a nickname. Only "UTAH" will appear on the jerseys for the first season.
The nickname and other branding will be revealed before the 2025-26 NHL season.
If some recent digging by Utah Jazz beat writer Ryan Miller is any indication, blue, black and white will be part of the color scheme.
Applications for trademarks have been filed for eight logos for the Utah Hockey Club (including the one that circulated last week).
It looks like the branding for the inaugural season is coming together. pic.twitter.com/tGqNAObAqp— Ryan Miller (@millerjryan) June 3, 2024
In April, the NHL's Board of Governors approved the $1.2 billion sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Ryan Smith, a billionaire who co-founded Qualtrics and also owns the Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake. The Coyotes had originally relocated from Winnipeg in 1996.
As part of the sale agreement, if former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo can secure a new arena in Arizona within five years, he can pay back the $1.2 billion and will be awarded an expansion franchise.
