SALT LAKE CITY – Smith Entertainment Group unveiled a temporary name, branding, colors, and sweaters for the Beehive State’s NHL team with the name Utah Hockey Club.
SEG revealed the Utah Hockey Club branding, colors, and uniforms on Thursday, June 13, after officially closing its deal with the NHL.
“Today is a monumental day for the state of Utah as we officially close on the establishment of a new NHL franchise,” Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith said in a statement. “The NHL has been incredible to work with throughout this process, providing us with invaluable guidance and support. We have a ton of work to do–training camp starts in less than 100 days–and could not be more excited about what’s to come.”
Utah Hockey Club will be the first name of the NHL team as the permanent nickname is still being voted on by fans.
The ink is dry! We’ve officially closed on an NHL franchise 📝
Join us on this journey 🏒#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/llDiLsuZ0S
— UtahHockeyClub (@utahhockeyclub) June 13, 2024
The club will sport sweaters with the name “Utah” on the front during the 2024-25 season. Utah HC will wear sweaters with the primary colors of rock black and salt white. The rock black jersey will feature mountain blue and salt white accents. The salt white uniform will have rock black and mountain blue highlights.
Our 2024-25 season jerseys 🏒
Inspired by our love for Utah and our passion for hockey.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/S7j4mfmejL
— UtahHockeyClub (@utahhockeyclub) June 13, 2024
The team’s initial color scheme consists of rock black, salt white, and mountain blue.
SEG is confident that the colors will be part of the team’s branding past the first season and into the future.
Coming this fall… Join us on the journey @utahhockeyclub #utahhc pic.twitter.com/aKkknd9JoH
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) June 13, 2024
The franchise also unveiled multiple logos, including one with an outline of the state of Utah. Another logo is a circle with the words “Utah Hockey Club.” The others are wordmark logos for the team.
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Mountain blue is “intentionally complementary” to the new “sky blue” introduced by the Utah Jazz as part of the NBA team’s recent rebrand.
“The selected color palette for Utah’s first NHL team is also intentionally complementary to that of the Utah Jazz – also owned by SEG – whose expanded colors were introduced last week and include a similar Sky Blue as a tertiary color,” SEG said in a statement.
Sky Blue 🤝 Mountain Blue https://t.co/69OBHJo3hC
— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) June 13, 2024
“On behalf of the Board of Governors, I am delighted to officially welcome Utah to the National Hockey League,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement on Thursday. “Congratulations to Ryan and Ashley Smith, their entire organization, the state of Utah and the fans as the Club continues its exciting march toward puck drop in October.”
Fans will be able to purchase “Utah Hockey Club” gear at the end of the month during the team’s NHL Draft party at the Delta Center on June 28. Sweaters will be available in the fall.
Earlier in June, SEG released a survey with six finalists for Utah’s permanent team nickname. “Utah Hockey Club” was among the six finalists.
The second round of fan voting opened on June 6.
After the initial survey included 20 nicknames for fans to choose from, the second phase of voting presents six options.
These are the nicknames available for fans to vote on:
Your vote 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨!
Cast your vote for your favorite name before June 20 🗳️
🔗 https://t.co/HWoeUIiVfR pic.twitter.com/PbD4NpqJAd
— UtahHockeyClub (@utahhockeyclub) June 13, 2024
According to SEG, more than 520,000 people voted in the initial survey and the six finalists featured in the second round “were resounding fan favorites” that made up 60 percent of the vote.
RELATED: Trademarks Filed For Multiple ‘Utah Hockey Club’ Logos
The second round of voting is open until June 20 at 11:59 p.m. (MT) on NHLinUtah.com.
On June 1, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office received multiple trademark applications with logos with the words “Utah Hockey Club.” The same logos were unveiled as part of Utah’s NHL team branding.
Team owner Ryan Smith previously announced that the team would be called “Utah” rather than “Salt Lake City” or “Salt Lake.” The team will sport “Utah” on its sweaters during Year 1 as a franchise.
Last week, I told our NHL players why they’ll love Utah. Today, they’re here to see for themselves.
Come to the Delta Center at 4pm today to help us welcome our new team to Utah! Free JDawgs, incredible giveaways, and get to know the players. Big things ahead! pic.twitter.com/dXx6nc4AI5
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 24, 2024
During the next year, SEG will work with Doubleday & Cartwright, an acclaimed creative consultancy and design studio, to create the team’s logo, mascot, colors, and other branding elements.
SEG said it will unveil the name and branding before the 2025-26 season.
Kyle Ireland is a Utah Hockey Club Insider for KSLSports.com. Follow him on X (@kyleireland), Threads (@kyleirelandksl), and Instagram (@kyleirelandksl).
