The 13-Month Journey of the Utah Mammoth

4 rounds of fan voting. 13 months. 850,000 ballots cast by Utah hockey fans.

Last Wednesday, Utah’s NHL team revealed its new name and permanent identity — the Utah Mammoth.

It didn’t happen overnight. And it certainly didn’t happen without obstacles and IP drama… (Does anyone own a Yeti cooler?)

Here’s the full story:

How We Got Here

A brief timeline to get up to speed:

April 18, 2024: The NHL Board of Governors grants an expansion franchise to Jazz owner Ryan Smith. Smith acquired the hockey assets (including players, coaching staff and draft picks) of the Arizona Coyotes.

April 22, 2024: Smith announces the team name would be chosen via an eight-name bracket which fans would vote on via the Qualtrics platform (the company that billionaire Smith co-founded).

April 18-28, 2024: Law firm Dorsey & Whitney uses anonymous Uyte, LLC to file trademarks for several names, including Utah Blizzard, Fury, Venom, Yetis, Outlaws, Ice, and Mammoth.

October 2024 - April 25: The team played its inaugural season using the Utah Hockey Club as its temporary name (think Washington Football Team prior to becoming the Commanders). The Utah Hockey Club went 38-31-13 and missed the playoffs.

January 2025: The “Utah Yeti” and “Utah Yetis” trademark applications were refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office due to likelihood of consumer confusion to other companies, including Yeti Coolers LLC.