(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah hockey fans dress up as mammoth's as they celebrate Utah Hockey Club's first inaugural NHL season with a win at the Delta Center against the Chicago Blackhawks in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
It is a big conference week for Kyle Finneman at work. Early Wednesday morning, he held the meeting door open as 80 of his colleagues shuffled out. Then, his phone started to buzz.
It was news about the name of Utah’s NHL team, which he has been loyally following since its inception just over a year ago.
“I saw it posted and I couldn’t believe it,” Finneman.
It was a feeling many fans had as the organization unveiled its permanent identity. After 13 months of waiting, voting and sifting through the rumors, Utahns finally had confirmation — they are the Mammoth.
“Everybody was reacting as soon as the team social account posted the video and Ryan Smith retweeted it,” said fan Brian Bolnick. “I’ve had a very hard time getting away from my phone ever since.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Utah Mammoth banner is raised outside Delta Center in Salt Lake City on May 7, 2025. Smith Entertainment Group has announced that the Mammoth will be the new name for the former Utah Hockey Club.
Utah Mammoth — along with its branding, various logo marks and jerseys — were released to the public. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. After Smith Entertainment Group ran into trademark troubles with the potential “Utah Yeti” name, fans pivoted and adopted Mammoth as their No. 1 choice.
And it showed in the polls. Among the 850,000 reported votes, SEG officials said Mammoth was the clear winner.
Utah hockey fan Keegan Wright was not able to cast his vote in person during the last round of surveys, but he made sure to influence those who could.
“I told all my friends that were going, ‘If you’re not voting for Mammoth, you better not talk to me again,’” Wright said.
It seems his friends pulled through. And now, Wright will get to wear a jersey with the logo he wanted on it.
“They look so good. From when I first saw the pointy-headed mammoth in the fan renderings, I didn’t love it,” Wright said. “But seeing it combined with everything else — the state of Utah alternate logo, the ‘U’ secondary logo — they’re all so good. I couldn’t ask for much better.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Smith Entertainment Group co-founders Ryan and Ashley Smith announce the new name for Salt Lake City's NHL team, Utah Mammoth, in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
The historical aspect of mammoths in Utah drew a lot of people in, too. Mammoth fossils have been found around the state, including the famous Huntington Mammoth, which was the first to have its genome sequenced.
“I think once they presented Mammoth as an actual option, I was all in for it,” said Ashley Brewer, who attended a majority of Utah games this season. “I’ve always been a big fan of Utah’s natural history, pre-history and then Veggie with his dino mask. I was like, ‘Mammoth would be so perfect.’ So I’m elated. I’m so excited.”
Fans are wasting no time getting Mammoth merchandise to represent the new chapter — and foreseeable future — of their team. The first round of hats, hoodies and T-shirts was at the Delta Center team store Wednesday afternoon, while online shopping will start May 14. Wright thought about his 2-year-old daughter and how she will never know anything different from the Utah Mammoth.
“She will have some Utah Hockey Club gear from when she was really small, but all of her future stuff will be Mammoth. I’m really excited to see the merchandise they do for kids,” Wright said. “It now feels so much more real. As much as it felt real being in the Delta Center this year, watching them play. It now feels like we have a real identity for this team that we can carry through generations.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Smith Entertainment Group co-founders Ryan and Ashley Smith and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announce the new name for Salt Lake City's NHL team, Utah Mammoth, in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
The main thing fans were happy about, though, was that they were included.
Some were initially skeptical when Smith promised that the public would pick the name of the team.
“At the end of the day, when you’re a billionaire, you get to do what you want. So, to take the saying of what people want always speaks volumes,” Finneman said. “It’s nice to be heard. That’s all anyone wants as a fan is to be heard. He could’ve done whatever. Sometimes the easy answer is the community answer.”
Brewer, who, along with a small group of Utah hockey devotees, was invited to sit in on Wednesday’s name news conference at Delta Center, felt the same way.
“I think Ryan has just shown from the get-go how committed he is to the team and also just the stuff he’s done for the fans. To feel like we’re a part of it — it just feels really special,” Brewer said. “I’m excited to help as a fan kind of develop our culture, especially now that we have this identity.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah hockey fans celebrate Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural win over the Chicago Blackhawks in their first NHL season in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
The people of Utah embraced their NHL franchise when it was just “Utah Hockey Club.” They created traditions, uplifted the players and sold out Delta Center nightly. They are ready for season two, this time, with a clear brand.
“The community here has obviously blossomed a ton since the team arrived and I think it is going to exponentially grow even more now that we actually have an identity,” Bolnick said.
“I feel like all of us are kind of woven into that jersey. It is awesome to know that we all got to play a part in that. I really appreciate what Ryan and Ashley and the SEG group are doing for Utah as a whole, but especially the hockey community.”
Love it — 50%
Like it — 23.1%
Hate it — 15.4%
Indifferent — 11.5%
• “It’s unique, fierce, and cool. I’m absolutely on board.”
• “Roaming grazers … Not sure about that.”
• “I love how they incorporated the snowy mountains into the Mammoth’s head.”
• “Turned out to be a blessing in disguise that the Yeti folks weren’t going to play along. Mammoth is much better with the tie-in to local history. The logo is OK, I think it will grow on me.”
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