Lines weaved around the Delta Center concourse.
Utah Hockey Club fans waited their turn to vote on their NHL team’s official name. The iPad stations held surveys with the final three options: Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Outlaws.
People weighed the different aesthetics, jerseys and in-game presentation associated with each potential branding and made their choice.
Which identity are fans leaning toward?
Here’s what they said last week at the arena.
Utah Outlaws
Utah Outlaws was a late addition to the name survey. Initially, Utah Wasatch was an option but after the first round of voting at Delta Center last week, fans expressed their dislike of the name, which was not included in the previous iterations of the survey.
Smith Entertainment Group listened to the feedback and swapped Wasatch for Outlaws the next day. Friday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets allowed fans a clean voting slate to recast their choice with the new option included.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans watch during the second period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
“I think they’ve done a good job at making it so the fans feel involved in the process,” said Salt Lake City resident Anna Johnson. “Particularly, I think with listening to the fans the first night and getting rid of the Wasatch name that didn’t do very well and adding the Outlaws back in. I think fans responded really well to that.”
Outlaws has ties to figures like Butch Cassidy, who robbed banks, trains and other establishments in Utah in the late 1800s and hid out in the state’s canyons. The edge that Outlaws connotes has drawn some people to the name.
“Anyone can be an Outlaw. A Mammoth doesn’t exist anymore,” said Chris, who did not share his last name. “The rest of the country has a certain image of us, maybe because of the religious preference here and all that. But we had outlaws and I think it’s good that when people think of Utah they think of outlaws. That we can be cool, we can be rugged, we can be out there.”
Chris picked Mammoth last Wednesday but came back Friday — with his family members in tow for the extra votes — to show support for Outlaws.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans react with the Utah Hockey Club to a goal during the game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
However, fans like Evan Dodd — who grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, but has lived in Utah for three years — stuck with their Mammoth vote because of the provided logo mock-ups.
“When we were here tonight, we were pretty excited to see the Outlaws logo and what that looked like,” Dodd said. “To be honest, a little disappointed. I didn’t think it was as strong as the other ones that were up for debate. We’re still for team Mammoth.”
Another fan named Corbin Blackburn said he did not mind Outlaws as a team concept but thinks the already-confirmed blue, black and white color scheme for the jerseys would not match and would better suit Mammoth branding.
Utah Mammoth
Before Outlaws was added to the mix, Mammoth was the overwhelming fan favorite based on conversation and social-media responses. While some have shifted their vote, others have stuck to the Mammoth allegiance.
Mammoths went extinct thousands of years ago but lived in Utah during the Ice Age. Remains of mammoths have been found around the state. That is something that appealed to Blackburn, who has participated in every round of team-name voting dating back to April.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans cheer after a goal during the first period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
“It was Yetis but now the only choice that sticks out to me is Mammoth,” Blackburn said. “I grew up in Moroni, Utah, which is about 15 minutes away from Fairview, Utah, which is where the most-preserved Mammoth in the world was discovered. It just kind of rings home. I went on a field trip there when I was in second grade to go see the Mammoth. It was kind of a big thing.”
For Dodd, the Mammoth logo was the one he liked the best. He also thought it more closely aligned to the winter sport.
“I think it’s interesting — it’s got pretty obvious Utah ties. Prehistoric fossils and things like that,” Dodd said. “And the cold-weather aspect of it I think makes it applicable to both Utah and to the sport of hockey.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A person walks by a Utah Hockey Club logo on the concourse during the first period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Mammoth, like Outlaws and Utah Hockey Club, was one of the top six options in the last iteration of voting. Beyond the name itself, fans are also thinking about how Mammoth could enhance the in-game experience.
“I’m probably going to vote for Mammoth,” Johnson said. “I like Outlaws, I think it’s fun. But honestly, I think it would be really funny to see a Mammoth mascot try to skate on the ice. That’s why I’m voting for Mammoth.”
Utah Hockey Club
Despite not having an official identity in the inaugural season, fans have built their own culture around the Utah Hockey Club placeholder. It has been hard, though. Accordingly, there were not many fans at Delta Center casting their vote for the name to stay the same.
“Having real branding I think is important to a team. It’s hard to build an experience and a feeling and a camaraderie around nothing,” Johnson said. “I like the name Utah Hockey Club — it puts the team at the center — but I think having a real mascot other than the Jazz Bear will really give people something to rally around and will make it a lot easier to market the team.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A new NHL Utah Hockey Club team store takes shape on the top floor of the Delta Center on Tuesday, October. 1, 2024.
The first-year jerseys and merchandise will always be part of the team — it’s history, after all. Nonetheless, it seems fans are ready to have a more traditional name like the other 31 teams in the league.
No matter what the final decision is, many people are just happy to be included in the process.
“I think this is fantastic,” said Denise Harris, who voted for Outlaws. “We’re a hockey family and we were so excited when we got the team here. To say we are part of that history and they’re taking our viewpoints into account and they’re listening — it’s like one big family. I think that’s what is making this fun.”
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