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Mammoth vs. Outlaws: Utah's hockey identity up for grabs

When professional hockey was announced to be coming to Utah last spring, it gave Utahns something new they could embrace together.

They had the players, the arena, the jerseys, but one element was missing: an identity.

Though sports are meant to bring people together— and the Utah Hockey Club certainly has — a civil war of sorts has broken out amongst fans on what to name the team.

Ryan Smith, a BYU graduate and owner of the Utah Hockey Club, has always insisted that this was going to be Utah's team. This is why he wanted the public to be the ones to name it through a series of online votes.

What started out as 20 name options, including a wide variety like Utah Blizzard and Utah Venom, dwindled down to six. There appeared to be one name dominating the polls, one that most gravitated towards: the Utah Yeti.

Many fans had already started to dress up like Yetis to the home games and prematurely address the team as such, but to the devastation of thousands, due to a trademark issue with the YETI outdoor recreational brand, Ryan Smith had to remove the name as an option — putting an abrupt end to Yeti sightings at the Delta Center.

Now, only three options remain: the Utah Mammoth, the Utah Outlaws, or continuing with the Utah Hockey Club. A survey sent out to BYU students, along with a series of interviews, attempted to see what name those on campus favored.

The survey indicated that the Mammoth moniker was the top choice as 60% of voters had it as their favorite. Outlaws gathered 36% while Hockey Club was by far the least popular with only 4% of the votes.

While the Hockey Club is fighting on the ice as the playoffs approach this April, the battle off the ice is clearly between two names: Mammoth and Outlaws.

Brett Gowen, a public relations student from Riverton, Utah, someone who's trying to get more into hockey now that he has a local team to support, spoke highly of the Mammoth name.

"It's a name everyone can get behind, it would look good on a jersey and would make for a cool-looking mascot," Gowen said. "I would feel more confident getting behind the team and repping their merch."

While most seem supportive of Mammoth, others, like Ken Triggs, a BYU student from Eagle Mountain, are content on the name being anything else.

"I feel like they picked a random snow creature that would sound cool with hockey and ice, at least make it plural so it's not just a singular Mammoth," said Triggs. "I feel Outlaws is kind of cool because of the Wild West aspect, but it's mostly just out of spite for Mammoth."

Fans attending the last four Utah Hockey Club home games at the Delta Center, the final one happening on Feb. 4, have been able to vote on which name will be crowned the winner.

Those that had the opportunity to vote got to see renderings of the Mammoth, Outlaw, or Yeti logo which would represent the team if Hockey Club were to win.

Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman recently said on the 32 Thoughts podcast that he's heard rumors suggesting that the new name, logo, and jersey will be revealed when Utah makes its first pick in the upcoming draft. Though this hasn't been confirmed, that would mean the hockey world will get its first look of Utah's hockey identity around the end of June.

Until then, the only guarantee is that professional hockey has found a home in Utah, and the one thing all fans can agree on is hoping to see the team climb its way into a playoff spot in its inaugural season.