Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) celebrates after scoring a goal with Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92), who assisted, during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (Tess Crowley, Deseret News).
(Tess Crowley, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The timeline for Utah Hockey Club to settle on an official team name has hit a roadblock after trademark officials denied multiple club applications. Despite the delay, Utah HC says they are confident a long-term name will be chosen before the 2025-26 season.
“Since acquiring Utah’s NHL team, we have been carefully evaluating possibilities for the permanent identity of the team while working within the complicated world of trademarks and intellectual property,” Utah HC President of Operations Chris Armstrong said. “The passion of our fans has been incredible, and their input invaluable.”
Utah's NHL team is having a pretty hard time securing a new club name thanks to trademark law.
So far four potential names have been rejected:
❌ Utah Blizzard
❌ Utah Yetis
❌ Utah Venom
❌ Utah Hockey Clubhttps://t.co/tJGlZ7Uom4 pic.twitter.com/LpbCctazjq— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) January 22, 2025
Armstrong continued, “It has always been our intention to let our season one identity as Utah Hockey Club, the team’s performance, and the amazing response from our fans hold the conversation through our inaugural season. We will continue to involve the community in the final stages of the naming and branding process and are fully on track with our plans to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.”
The latest from Chris Armstrong on Utah HC’s naming process:
According to Armstrong, the team is still fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity before next season. pic.twitter.com/ByxLrTfxQf
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 23, 2025
Utah Hockey Club could fight the decision, but there are other options. In recent NHL past, the now Seattle Kraken formed a sponsorship deal with Kraken Rum instead of fighting the company for a slogan or name in court.
Utah Hockey Club games can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on the KSL Sports app or 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. Listen to Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Find KSLSports.com coverage of the Utah Hockey Club here.
Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect; give us a follow @kslsports.
Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball coverage here.