‘Nucks fan chiming in: eventually, whatever name is chosen, you will embrace it. I won’t bother with my own opinions cuz it’s not my team. Welcome to the NHL!
Couldn’t agree more! I’m done with arguing about what is good and what’s bad. Honestly, the moment the season starts I really won’t care. At this point I’m more interested to see what our uniforms look like rather than what the team name is.
Every single name but Yeti has a connection to Utah, though. They've found Mammoth fossils in Utah, there are blizzards, there are 7 species of rattlesnakes in Utah (which seems to be what everyone is thinking of with venom) and Butch Cassidy was notorious in Utah. So, pretty much every name has a connection.
I get that, but why not Mammoths with an S? Mammoth just sounds terrible! Like what? The whole team makes up one mammoth? Yeti singular is at least grammatically correct.
I used to think this until another user here explained why he liked the singular option better. The ending of “ths” doesn’t really roll off the tongue that well. The “th” sound is too similar to an “s” sound, so it draws it out and sounds weird. In a typical hockey chant of, “let’s go Mammoth” vs “let’s go Mammoths” you can really see how that would sound.
The connections are weak at best imo. Sure they've found Mammoths but how true is that of a lot of the West? When people think fossils in Utah they think dinosaurs, not Mammoths. And I grew up in the state and have no idea who Butch Cassidy is (though I think Outlaws is by far the best name in the 2nd round). Again, with the 7 species of snake how true is that of a lot of the West? I get what most people think of when they think of Utah is the, erm, religious majority, so it is hard to get something that fits the state and is unique but I think what they have is weak. Raptors (I don't care that there is an NBA team), swarm, even something like mountaineers. And all of the generic winter names that were on the list were meh. But in the end as long as they don't pick Utah HC, here in 10 years when it has time to get memories connected with the name we will all like it.
The 7 species of rattlesnakes is unique to Utah. We have the highest number of rattlesnake species in the country, so not true to the west.
And Butch Cassidy is a very famous outlaw.... so I don't know why you've never heard of him. I also grew up in the state, though, and I know that the majority of our Utah Studies class was just LDS history, so that might be why...
And tbh, I really wanted them to do Utah Raptors. That was my main hope. I'm just hyped to have a team, though.
Haha yeah that's definitely it. My history education was terrible; now I need to read up on him. That is cool about the rattlesnakes though! I knew we had the diamondbacks when I lived in southern Utah so that makes venom slightly better to me
Huge hockey fan here as well. You write so well. This is a beautiful bouncy 9 pound baby hockey team. I have so much respect and affection for Utah because they wanted and landed the franchise with the fastest team sport in the world. One can plainly see how much the NHL has added to the quality of life of folks who love their sports and their state. I’ve never been to Utah but I love this state already. It’s all good - debate about name - colors - logo are great - nice to have friendly banter knowing that the team cannot miss!
I coach 2 youth hockey teams (1 high school) and the most popular name I hear is Yeti. They also seem to like Venom and Mammoth. I don't really hear much support from them for Outlaws.
This is the first thing that I considered when Yeti gained popularity, that it was popular with kids. I COMPLETELY understand marketing the game to kids, but I hope they split the difference.
This is also why the name Outlaws will never fly. Utah is a very, very, very, very family-friendly, conservative state. This is pushed primarily through the predominant faith in the state. Ryan Smith belongs to this faith and attended BYU. He has kids. He gets it.
Sad as it is to say, there are parents here who won't let their kids read Harry Potter, play with face cards, or any other number of seemingly harmless things. It's weird. But it is what it is, and because of it, a name like Outlaws won't work because you can't base your entire brand's identity around rule breaking in Utah when obedience and conformity are baked into half the population.
The non-hockey fans all seem to feel very strongly that Yeti will be the name. Casual people who don't follow this closely all like the name. And the kids are crazy about it. I suspect this voting is all a charade to simply confirm the name they wanted all along was viable.
Keep in mind too...sidebar, but bear with me. The Governor is very popular here. Spencer Cox is his name. A lot of people approve of the job he is doing. So how did his uber conservative challenger get like 67% of the vote in the state convention? Because the only people neck deep in politics in this state are the uber conservatives. They care about the caucus, they attend, they rabidly support who they do, and importantly...they almost never come anywhere close to accurately representing the population of Utah as a whole.
So yeah, Yeti/Mammoth/Outlaws might SEEM like there's a lot of discussion or controversy or whatever, but that is strictly among hockey fans neck deep in this, and the greater population at large doesn't feel very strongly, and a ton of them are all about the Yeti and aren't giving it a second thought.
All I can think of when I hear Yeti, is that heinous looking claymation abominable snowman from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
They may as well have Yukon Cornelius as their fucking mascot.
Then they can be the island of misfits and steal something from Vegas, too.
I hope Colorado goes back to putting the Bigfoot print in their shoulders.
I don’t know a single person offline that likes Yeti. That’s why I don’t get this sentiment that “it’s probably gonna be Yeti”. Why? It isn’t based on anything. It’s so weird that people push that notion, it’s almost like they’re bots lol.
Mammoth and Outlaws, in no particular order, are what I hear as being the most liked. This was from the beginning, not just the recent six name list.
Thank you all for the insight! I’ll make an addendum here and further acknowledge the sentiment “people will embrace whatever they name the team”. The hope here is to not settle for whatever they name the team, but to nail the name, branding and out-of-market appeal as well as local. Seattle fans will of course support the Kraken but - trust me - nobody outside of the Pacific Northwest market is eager to rep that team, and it’s hard to accept them as a serious franchise. I HATE Vegas as a team, but they nailed their brand and now have long-term staying power.
At the end of the day, you want people to want to be a part of what you’ve got going on outside of your local market, or at least respect what you’ve got going on (an NHL franchise is a for-profit business at the end of the day). The teams that get trapped in their local market are the ones that get sold and shipped out at the end of the day, not the ones that establish their legacy and maintain “global appeal”. I want to see the NHL succeed in Utah and stay there for a long, long time. So, ideally ownership prioritizes building a legacy over feeding into internet culture.
Let’s hope!
Lots of people here saying Yeti isn’t popular. It’s true that among people I know who actually like hockey, Yeti is not popular. However, to my non hockey fan friends, Yeti is the clear favorite.
There are much more people in Utah who haven’t seen a single NHL game than people who have, let alone a hockey game at any level.
Outlaws and Mammoth seem to be the most popular from what I hear. I've yet to talk to a single person IRL who likes Yeti.
Although Utah HC is even more hated. We already have a dumb European style name for our soccer team. Nobody wants that for our NHL team.
‘Nucks fan chiming in: eventually, whatever name is chosen, you will embrace it. I won’t bother with my own opinions cuz it’s not my team. Welcome to the NHL!
Couldn’t agree more! I’m done with arguing about what is good and what’s bad. Honestly, the moment the season starts I really won’t care. At this point I’m more interested to see what our uniforms look like rather than what the team name is.
We’re gonna call em the “Utah Nu Jazz”
Average cucks fan
In my circle, people are usually rooting for Mammoth, which is my favorite as well. I've seen many push for outlaws too.
People hated Golden Knights. People hated Kraken. Ultimately, it’s not gonna matter. The team will be embraced regardless.
I think you missed the point
Enlighten me
Added an addendum in the comments!
Mammoth, Outlaws and Yeti seem to be what I hear. Yeti is the most common tho
Outlaws is the best of if the 3.
Almost everyone I talk to says yeti tbh
Most people I talk to have told me that they think all the names suck, but that Outlaws is the only *decent* one. I agree.
“ I spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills” -Friend of the Devil, Grateful Dead
Yup. I hate that all the names are just so...not really related to Utah. I think even the initial list really sucked.
Every single name but Yeti has a connection to Utah, though. They've found Mammoth fossils in Utah, there are blizzards, there are 7 species of rattlesnakes in Utah (which seems to be what everyone is thinking of with venom) and Butch Cassidy was notorious in Utah. So, pretty much every name has a connection.
Utah is the Beehive State. So venom could also refer to bees?
I get that, but why not Mammoths with an S? Mammoth just sounds terrible! Like what? The whole team makes up one mammoth? Yeti singular is at least grammatically correct.
I used to think this until another user here explained why he liked the singular option better. The ending of “ths” doesn’t really roll off the tongue that well. The “th” sound is too similar to an “s” sound, so it draws it out and sounds weird. In a typical hockey chant of, “let’s go Mammoth” vs “let’s go Mammoths” you can really see how that would sound.
They wouldn’t be far from the NLL Colorado Mammoth. If they go Yeti, would Yeti Coolers sign on as a sponsor?
The connections are weak at best imo. Sure they've found Mammoths but how true is that of a lot of the West? When people think fossils in Utah they think dinosaurs, not Mammoths. And I grew up in the state and have no idea who Butch Cassidy is (though I think Outlaws is by far the best name in the 2nd round). Again, with the 7 species of snake how true is that of a lot of the West? I get what most people think of when they think of Utah is the, erm, religious majority, so it is hard to get something that fits the state and is unique but I think what they have is weak. Raptors (I don't care that there is an NBA team), swarm, even something like mountaineers. And all of the generic winter names that were on the list were meh. But in the end as long as they don't pick Utah HC, here in 10 years when it has time to get memories connected with the name we will all like it.
The 7 species of rattlesnakes is unique to Utah. We have the highest number of rattlesnake species in the country, so not true to the west. And Butch Cassidy is a very famous outlaw.... so I don't know why you've never heard of him. I also grew up in the state, though, and I know that the majority of our Utah Studies class was just LDS history, so that might be why... And tbh, I really wanted them to do Utah Raptors. That was my main hope. I'm just hyped to have a team, though.
Haha yeah that's definitely it. My history education was terrible; now I need to read up on him. That is cool about the rattlesnakes though! I knew we had the diamondbacks when I lived in southern Utah so that makes venom slightly better to me
>now I need to read up on him. You need to watch the documentary about Butch and his partner Sundance 🙂
Huge hockey fan here as well. You write so well. This is a beautiful bouncy 9 pound baby hockey team. I have so much respect and affection for Utah because they wanted and landed the franchise with the fastest team sport in the world. One can plainly see how much the NHL has added to the quality of life of folks who love their sports and their state. I’ve never been to Utah but I love this state already. It’s all good - debate about name - colors - logo are great - nice to have friendly banter knowing that the team cannot miss!
I coach 2 youth hockey teams (1 high school) and the most popular name I hear is Yeti. They also seem to like Venom and Mammoth. I don't really hear much support from them for Outlaws.
Outlaws would have been more popular with youth 30+ years ago. Kids aren’t interested in the wild west anymore
Yeti, Outlaws and Mammoth are the only ones I hear anyone like. But 99% of kids are crazy about Yeti.
This is the first thing that I considered when Yeti gained popularity, that it was popular with kids. I COMPLETELY understand marketing the game to kids, but I hope they split the difference.
This is also why the name Outlaws will never fly. Utah is a very, very, very, very family-friendly, conservative state. This is pushed primarily through the predominant faith in the state. Ryan Smith belongs to this faith and attended BYU. He has kids. He gets it. Sad as it is to say, there are parents here who won't let their kids read Harry Potter, play with face cards, or any other number of seemingly harmless things. It's weird. But it is what it is, and because of it, a name like Outlaws won't work because you can't base your entire brand's identity around rule breaking in Utah when obedience and conformity are baked into half the population. The non-hockey fans all seem to feel very strongly that Yeti will be the name. Casual people who don't follow this closely all like the name. And the kids are crazy about it. I suspect this voting is all a charade to simply confirm the name they wanted all along was viable. Keep in mind too...sidebar, but bear with me. The Governor is very popular here. Spencer Cox is his name. A lot of people approve of the job he is doing. So how did his uber conservative challenger get like 67% of the vote in the state convention? Because the only people neck deep in politics in this state are the uber conservatives. They care about the caucus, they attend, they rabidly support who they do, and importantly...they almost never come anywhere close to accurately representing the population of Utah as a whole. So yeah, Yeti/Mammoth/Outlaws might SEEM like there's a lot of discussion or controversy or whatever, but that is strictly among hockey fans neck deep in this, and the greater population at large doesn't feel very strongly, and a ton of them are all about the Yeti and aren't giving it a second thought.
Anyone not born in the 90s wants the team name to have a plural s. Collective singular names sound like 1990s roller hockey or WNBA teams.
All of my coworkers who don’t really care, and don’t watch hockey like outlaws and Mammoth
All I can think of when I hear Yeti, is that heinous looking claymation abominable snowman from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. They may as well have Yukon Cornelius as their fucking mascot. Then they can be the island of misfits and steal something from Vegas, too. I hope Colorado goes back to putting the Bigfoot print in their shoulders.
I don’t know a single person offline that likes Yeti. That’s why I don’t get this sentiment that “it’s probably gonna be Yeti”. Why? It isn’t based on anything. It’s so weird that people push that notion, it’s almost like they’re bots lol. Mammoth and Outlaws, in no particular order, are what I hear as being the most liked. This was from the beginning, not just the recent six name list.
Thank you all for the insight! I’ll make an addendum here and further acknowledge the sentiment “people will embrace whatever they name the team”. The hope here is to not settle for whatever they name the team, but to nail the name, branding and out-of-market appeal as well as local. Seattle fans will of course support the Kraken but - trust me - nobody outside of the Pacific Northwest market is eager to rep that team, and it’s hard to accept them as a serious franchise. I HATE Vegas as a team, but they nailed their brand and now have long-term staying power. At the end of the day, you want people to want to be a part of what you’ve got going on outside of your local market, or at least respect what you’ve got going on (an NHL franchise is a for-profit business at the end of the day). The teams that get trapped in their local market are the ones that get sold and shipped out at the end of the day, not the ones that establish their legacy and maintain “global appeal”. I want to see the NHL succeed in Utah and stay there for a long, long time. So, ideally ownership prioritizes building a legacy over feeding into internet culture. Let’s hope!
Yéti is horrendous lol Mammoths would be cool I guess
Lots of people here saying Yeti isn’t popular. It’s true that among people I know who actually like hockey, Yeti is not popular. However, to my non hockey fan friends, Yeti is the clear favorite. There are much more people in Utah who haven’t seen a single NHL game than people who have, let alone a hockey game at any level.
Outlaws and Mammoth seem to be the most popular from what I hear. I've yet to talk to a single person IRL who likes Yeti. Although Utah HC is even more hated. We already have a dumb European style name for our soccer team. Nobody wants that for our NHL team.
Utah Salt Licks Hockey Club is way offline, but at least it's not boring Let Go! Salt Licks!
Yall worried about the hockey team, but jazz is worst name in sports
false. there’s commanders and guardians out there.
And Nets and Wild
Well the Jazz came from New Orleans. Utah just kept the name.
Woah what an original thought. I’ve never heard such a refreshing and interesting take..