Elliotte Friedman Reveals His Take On The Utah Hockey Club's Next Name
The top NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed his take on the Utah Hockey Club's next name after a massive trademark issue forced the owners to abandon the "Yeti" idea.
Until recently, it truly looked like the Utah Hockey Club would be called the "Yeti" next season, after it was determined by fans' vote that the team's official name would be confirmed after their first season in the NHL.
Unfortunately for the team and its fans, the Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the Utah Jazz and the Utah HC, couldn't get it trademarked.
Indeed, it was rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office because of a "likelihood of confusion" with the Yeti Cooler Company and both sides weren't able to come to a coexistence agreement.
This forced the organization to announce another voting process, with three names being suggested: the Utah Hockey Club, the Utah Wasatch, and the Utah Mammoth.
Per Chris Johnston:
Mike Maughan, executive of the Smith Entertainment Group, commented:
"The voting at this stage of the process will only be done in-arena. We're doing that because this time we're including names and potential logos with them. Because of the logos, we're doing this only in-arena and not showing those publicly so that we can protect those images."
"[The Smiths] view this as a really exciting opportunity to do something that has never been done in the history of professional sports, which involves fans to this level and go with them through this entire process as we seek to name a team together. That's what we're very excited about.
They are very community-focused and community-oriented people, and we're excited to be able to announce this next stage of the process where we'll be working with everybody on the naming of the team."
"We have faith in the community to do this respectfully."
"[The Smiths] view this as a really exciting opportunity to do something that has never been done in the history of professional sports, which involves fans to this level and go with them through this entire process as we seek to name a team together. That's what we're very excited about.
They are very community-focused and community-oriented people, and we're excited to be able to announce this next stage of the process where we'll be working with everybody on the naming of the team."
"We have faith in the community to do this respectfully."
Elliotte Friedman, whose views are respected all across the hockey community, shared his take on his favorite name, saying the Utah HC idea is growing on him:
"The «Hockey Club» idea is growing on me, although I might be in the minority (podcast listeners were displeased with my take on this one). But we'll see how the Utahns feel. Their team, their vote."
Fans going to see the Utah HC at their next four home games will be able to vote for the name.
I have to say that I agree with Friedman: I'm not a fan of Mammoth and Wasatch, so by elimination, I'd vote for Utah HC.
What's your take on all this?
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