The PWHL unveiled six team names relatively quickly a year after its launch. Adam Proteau says the NHL's new Utah team would benefit from revealing its one name sooner.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League unveiled the six team names for its franchises Monday to fans who have waited a year for them.
The reception for the new names should prove to the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club they should move relatively quickly in deciding on a team name. The sooner Utah develops a long-term identity, the better it will be for its bottom line.
Utah HC owners Ryan and Ashley Smith have already said there won’t be a final decision on the franchise name until before the 2025-26 season. However, the Smiths have already revealed the six finallists for the team name – Yeti, Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom and the default name of the Utah HC are all still in the running after a fan vote on the matter.
Just as with the PWHL team names, there will be rampant speculation on Utah’s name until the winner is announced next year.
Is it worth the wait, or is there a clear contender already for Utah?
From our perspective – anecdotally speaking – the Yeti is far and away the best name for this new franchise.
Sure, some people will pick one of the other five names as their favorite, but in an NHL where the latest expansion franchise in Seattle was named after a mythological creature like the Kraken, it feels right to go with another colorful creature like a Yeti.
The other contenders lack that same zing, and the Utah HC is probably the worst choice of the bunch, so it's very important for Utah to get out from under that name after the first season.
Indeed, it wouldn’t hurt at all for the Smiths to reveal their choice for a team name even sooner than the end of the 2024-25 campaign. If public opinion is really that clear about the top choice, why not announce the new name at the 4 Nations Face-Off when the hockey world tunes in?
An official announcement a few months after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament wouldn’t be much more compelling. If the Smiths get a head start on the process and unveil a new team name in February rather than April, May or June, they could wind up selling much more merchandise than they would if they waited the full year to announce it.
The PWHL took its time announcing franchise names, but it was in a different situation than Utah. The women’s league was starting a new operation and had six teams to develop a brand for, so adding “PWHL” before every city as the original names was the right choice in its fledgling days. It had to develop six team identities in nine months.
Utah's NHL team, on the other hand, is just one brand that has been on the radar since the league's board of governors approved the establishment of their franchise in April. It’s been nearly five months since that happened, and again, it feels like the Yeti are going to be the choice for them. February would be 10 months since the announcement.
Utah HC still has a short amount of time to settle in, but the uncertainty surrounding their long-term team name is not ideal. They’re now locked into the Hockey Club name for the coming season, but nothing should stop them from announcing a team name mid-season, giving fans a chance to embrace the final choice sooner rather than later.
In the case of the PHWL, waiting a full year made sense. But for Utah, the writing has been on the wall for some time now.
Should Utah's NHL team be called the Yeti? Place your vote by clicking here.
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