Owners, front office determined to build on buzz surrounding franchise; outdoor game could be in future
With a nickname, logos and everything that goes with a permanent brand identity now officially a part of who they are, the excitement being felt around the Utah Mammoth is palpable as they forge ahead to the promise of even bigger moments and more exciting times.
“This is our mission to continue to help build these marks, our representation,” Mammoth co-owner Ryan Smith said during a press conference announcing the official team name for Utah’s NHL franchise and introducing the logos associated with it. “They will be iconic out in the world.”
Smith was joined by his wife and fellow co-owner, Ashley Smith, along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at the press conference at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday to announce and discuss the new team name and brand identity chosen after four rounds of surveys and nearly 1 million fan votes.
The naming of the team comes less than 13 months since the NHL established a new franchise on April 18, 2024, when Utah purchased the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes.
“From the second we announced the franchise to the players arriving at the airport and bombarding the airport, and filling the arena when we welcomed the team, and then game after game, win or loss, the energy was so exhilarating and a lot of fun to be a part of,” Ashley Smith said. “It’s the icing on the cake that those same fans chose the Mammoth. We are excited and Utah should be proud because we get to go build a culture around this strong identity.”
Bettman and the Smiths sat together at a dais in front of the room. In the crowd were many state and local politicians and council members, including Utah governor Spencer Cox and his wife, Utah first lady Abby Cox, Utah state senator Daniel McCay and Salt Lake County mayor Jenny Wilson.
Mammoth president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong, general manager Bill Armstrong, coach Andre Tourigny and four players — forwards Dylan Guenther and Jack McBain, and defensemen Olli Maatta and Ian Cole — were in attendance. Lauri Markkanen, who plays for the NBA’s Utah Jazz, which is also owned and operated by Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), was seated with the Mammoth players and hockey executives.
“I look out here and at some phase of this process we have been working with pretty much every single person in this room, so it’s pretty special,” Ryan Smith said. “If I think about the last 13 months, we’ve had a chance to show a new audience, a new world and an entirely new community how we roll.”
The executives at the dais talked about the process to getting to this point, with Bettman praising the Smiths, who own and operate SEG, for what he called a “mind blowing” first year and their ability to multitask through it all.
In that time, SEG has brought the team to Utah, built a fanbase, created a temporary brand identity with Utah Hockey Club and a color scheme that will remain with the Mammoth, opened a temporary practice site while beginning construction on a permanent facility, played a full season with 41 home sellouts, created innovative designs to renovate Delta Center into a state-of-the-art dual sports venue and began construction on the multiphase process, and created a permanent brand identity they revealed Wednesday.
“It is unbelievable what they have been able to accomplish,” Bettman said. “You [Ryan and Ashley Smith] deserve incredible kudos for something that most people not only couldn’t envision doing but could never execute the way you are.”
Ryan Smith said the best part about the process to come up with Mammoth was that it chosen by the fans.
Mammoth finished ahead of Utah Hockey Club and Utah Outlaws.
“Every single night we were doing the voting, Mammoth just started running away with it,” Ryan Smith said. “If it was horse racing, because I just watched the Kentucky Derby, it was like pulling away.”
Ashley Smith said the reaction to the name when it was announced, including from the Mammoth players, elevated her level of excitement for what’s ahead.
“I just think everyone can feel it,” she said. “Watching that [hype] video [announcing the Mammoth], if we are not all just total Mammoth fans, right — if we were given the vote again right now, no matter what everyone previously voted in this room, you would vote Mammoth.”
Ryan Smith said that by the time of the press conference, which was 11 a.m. MT, three hours after the team officially revealed the name and everything associated with the branding of it, the rallying cry #TusksUp had been used more than 10,000 times on social media.
“It’s going to be how we’re known,” Ryan Smith said. “This whole thing has come together, but this entire identity has been chosen by our community. I don’t think people thought we would actually go for it, but we did and we landed in a spot that we’re pretty excited about and we know that the community wanted, because they chose it.”
Next for the Mammoth will be continuing to build the team into a Stanley Cup Playoff contender after Utah (38-31-13) finished seven points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference this season. On Monday, it moved up 10 spots in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery to get the No. 4 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. The first round will be held June 27 at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).
Off the ice, there are bigger events being planned, with Bettman saying the NHL already has done a site visit for an outdoor game that could be played at Rice Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah football team.
“I believe that we can pull all the things together that need to be pulled together,” Bettman said. “Just up the road a little bit, there’s a nice stadium. We have to schedule these things in advance, but it’s on our radar.”
