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Utah Hockey Club owner Ashley Smith drops the ceremonial first puck for Clayton Keller of the Utah Hockey Club and Nick Foligno of the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the inaugural game of the Utah Hockey Club on October 08, 2024 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Wasatch Out, Outlaws Back in for Utah HC’s Potential Name

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Chase Beardsley | Last updated Jan 30, 2025 9:30 PM ET

The final three names for the Utah Hockey Club’s future name have once again changed within 24 hours of being released. Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith declared the team’s name would be decided by the community and the fans and so, after feedback, a new name has entered the final three as we get closer to the decision of the name for the newest franchise in the NHL.

Wasatch Out

After Wednesday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which was the first opportunity fans had to vote on the final three names, it was clear that one wasn’t flying well with fans. Wasatch was added to the final three after Utah and the NHL were unable to land a coexistence agreement with Yeti Coolers, who own the trademark to the word “Yeti.”

The name Wasatch mentions the iconic mountain range that runs through most of Utah including Salt Lake City. The team also said that it allowed them to use a mythic beast as the logo, which is what fans wanted with the name Yeti.

“We wanted to honor this idea that people had for a mythical snow creature like Yeti and bring a very Utah-centric approach to it,” SEG executive Mike Maughan said. “Because we have the Wasatch Mountains, because we have the Wasatch Front, we have so many different iterations or ways that we could do it. We wanted to honor the sentiment of one of those top names of the last iteration while also including a Utah-centric version of it. That’s where Wasatch came in because it’s very important to us that this represents Utah and the state of Utah.”

While Wasatch in Ute (a native tribe in Utah) means “mountain pass,” in other translations, it means something completely different and a little inappropriate. It could be a reason why the team decided to change it.

It could also be the fact that not a lot of fans loved the name Wasatch on the first day of voting for the new name. Many fans didn’t like how it wasn’t a name that was voted on by them during the first two rounds of voting. Many didn’t even know what a Wasatch was. It became such an unpopular name that some took to the streets to put up billboards that said “No one knows what a Wasatch is. Go Utah Hockey Club.”

Spotted on the way back from practice. Looks like “Wasatch” isn’t a fan favorite #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/b9bt9kMQtB
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) January 30, 2025

Outlaws In

Within 24 hours of the name going public, Utah announced it would be removing Wasatch from the final three options, replacing it with Outlaws. With the fans not happy with Wasatch and Outlaws one of the more popular choices in the fan votes, Utah announced the change on social media.

“Hey Utah hockey fans,” the team’s post said. “We listened to your feedback and dug into all the Qualtrics data from last night’s survey. For the team name, it’s clear that Outlaws should be in the mix instead of Wasatch, so we’re swapping it out. Surveys will continue at the arena Friday, Sunday and Tuesday for you to vote for the options Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club, and Utah Outlaws.”

Outlaws made it to the final six choices when they were announced in the summer. It was a well-liked name by people in the Utah community including most of The Hockey Writers Utah reporters when it unanimously came in first place in our rankings of the final six name options. It now joins Mammoth and Hockey Club as the three finalists for Utah’s future name.

Outlaws is another name that honors Utah’s unique Western history. Butch Cassidy was born in the state. Many famous westerns were filmed in the state, from older movies like Stagecoach and the Sundance Kid to newer TV shows like Westworld and Yellowstone. Many of Utah’s towns also fit the Western theme, like Moab and Park City. Quite a bit of ghost towns are littered around the state as well. There’s a lot to tie into if Utah goes forward with Outlaws.

There’s a lot that Utah could do in-arena-wise that ties into Outlaws as well. The obvious is country music, which is fitting since Shaboozey and his famous song “A Bar Song” have become staples of Utah’s early history. Luke Combs’ song “Can I Get An Outlaw” also could become a theme for the team. Cowboy hats could also be a fun addition to the rock black, mountain blue, and salt white jerseys the fans wear.

Logo-wise, it’s unclear what Utah will use as a mockup. All three name options on Wednesday were accompanied by a potential logo. Come Friday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, we’ll see if the team has a potential logo on the survey.

Some of the players and staff have taken the survey along with the Utah media. While no one shared their favorite name publically including head coach André Tourigny, everyone on the team is happy that it’s the fans who will decide the future of their team’s branding.

“I’m excited,” Tourigny said. “I like the thought process behind the three names, and I really like the fact our fans will have the opportunity to choose what they want. It will be an honor for us to have the name the fans choose.”

As of Thursday, it sounds like Mammoth is the current favorite among fans, with the hashtag “TusksUp” being posted by countless fans on social media. During Wednesday’s game, there were fans dressed up as mammoths that started mammoth chants. However, with the addition of Outlaws, it might become a tighter competition to decide Utah’s future name. In any case, it’s become clear that the Smiths are doing their best to ensure that Utah’s name and future branding is for the fans, decided by the fans.