© Rob Gray-Imagn ImagesLate last night/early morning, the Utah Hockey Club had an alleged leak for their next team name.
As I reported in the very early hours of the morning, Utah changed their YouTube channel's username from "Hockey Club" to "Mammoth," before turning the whole page dark.
This quickly caught on across social media and had the internet very excited about the new name possibility. However, as today winds down, there still hasn’t been any official news surrounding it.
This morning on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman spoke on the leak and had this to say: “It’s possible the Mammoth might have been leaked accidentally. I’ll say this, I’ve watched enough X-Files episodes over the years to not believe in coincidences. And sometimes when I see this stuff, I wonder if it’s done on purpose to push the mystery or the engagement. However, I’m now looking at the YouTube page and it’s changed. It’s like down.”
Additionally, earlier today, Greg Wyshynski from ESPN reported that Utah has not yet confirmed that “Mammoth” will be their team name.
In his report, he mentioned that Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said “Progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”
He would go on to say this regarding the alleged leak. “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”
Wyshynski also reported that a source told ESPN that the new name and logo could come before the 2025 NHL Draft in June.
If that turns out to be true, Utah fans would know their official team name within the next two months.
It’ll be an interesting next few weeks regarding Utah’s team name. At this time, all signs point to it being “Mammoth,” however, as Friedman said, this could have been strategic.
