Utah Hockey Club unveils surprising finalists for nickname search

Cross Yeti or Yetis off the list of new nicknames for the Utah Hockey Club. 

Although Yeti seemed like the perfect moniker for the expansion team, it's scrapping it after a copyright disagreement with YETI, the drink, cooler and clothing company. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently sided with YETI and rejected the name. 

"As fans will see, one name is not on the list: Yeti, which was also one of the top six names included in the most recent survey round," the team said in a statement on Wednesday. "[A Smith Entertainment Group] executive shared that it explored every avenue to make Yeti work but that YETI COOLERS, LLC was ultimately unwilling to agree to a co-existence agreement. SEG has confirmed it is no longer pursuing Yeti as a potential name for the team." 

Wasatch is the nickname that has replaced Yeti, and its logo still features a snow monster. The Wasatch Mountain range near Salt Lake City inspired the name. The other options are Mammoth and Hockey Club. 

Fans will vote on names on tablets throughout the Delta Center at Utah's next four home games. This may not be the last fan vote, as the team plans to unveil its name before the 2025-26 season starts. 

SEG executive Mike Maughan doesn't expect to run into any more copyright issues. 

"We have an incredible team, and we are very confident we have a clear path to those names," Maughan said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "We have strategies to approach each of them and feel that we're on solid ground as we continue forward."

Fans will probably be disappointed that Yeti is no longer an option due to a silly copyright dispute. Yeti was considered the favorite among the team's new nicknames.