(L-R) Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller of the yet to be named NHL Utah hockey team speak during a news conference at the Delta Center on April 24, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The NHL has allowed the sale of the Arizona Coyotes and the team will relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – With the new NHL season drawing near, Clayton Keller and the Utah Hockey Club headed to Las Vegas to participate in the NHL Player Media Tour. While sharing his overall thoughts about the club’s inaugural season, Keller shared what the team’s name might be.
“It sounds like it’s going to be the Yeti, but I don’t know,” Keller told NHL.com at the NHL North American Players Media Tour on Wednesday. “We’ll see what happens. Whatever they choose, I think it’ll be a good one.
Dropping the name Yeti, Keller becomes yet another member of the organization to share that the name is heading in that direction. However, an official name has yet to be announced, and the club has also yet to specify whether or not there will be another fan vote.
But for now, Yeti appears to be the most popular amongst fans and the organization.
Related: Utah Hockey Club’s Clayton Keller Spotted with “A” On New Sweater
In addition to commenting on the club’s potential name, Keller also spoke about the additions that Utah made over the summer, namely defensemen like Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and Ian Cole. For a team that’s four years into their rebuild and significantly struggled to keep the puck out of their own net, these acquisitions should raise the team’s ceiling as they look to compete for a playoff spot this year.
“Our core guys have developed, a good coach in the locker room,” Keller told NHL.com. “We have a lot of young players who are coming in and are ready to take that next step. We’ve done a good job of helping them and guiding them in the right direction. And adding guys like Marino and Sergachev who have had playoff success is really going to help.”
“The playoffs are definitely on our minds for sure,” He added.
With training camp set to begin next week, Utah will officially begin preparations for the new season and see if these defensive players can raise their ceiling or not.
Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first regular season game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Click here for the full schedule.
