It looks like the name hunt for the Utah Hockey Club isn’t over yet. The NHL franchise is still looking for its official identity, but one thing is certain—it’s not going to be the Utah Yetis. That name for UHC was refused by the US Patents and Trademark Office, leaving both the franchise and the fans scratching their heads.

Chris Armstrong, the president of hockey operations, said, “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.” And, with fans and spectators curiously waiting for the next call, a key update just surfaced.

On March 16, Dennis Dodd of CBS took to X to break some good news about UHC’s search for a name—finally. He revealed that per sources “The Utah Hockey Club has settled on a nickname.” He, however, could not give a date as to when the club plans on revealing it. “No timeline for release at this point,” he added. That begged the question? Are they still on track to adopt a name before the next season begins? Salt Lake Tribune’s Belle Fraser says yes.

Fraser, shared a team update on X  ” PER #UtahHC: ‘We continue to work through our naming process and remain on track to announce the team name ahead of the 2025-26 season.'” Phew. But then again, what exactly made the USPTO reject the fan-favorite ‘Utah Yetis’?

Well, there wasn’t just one reason. Well, the USPTO rejected the trademark application citing possibilities of confusion with other brands like Yeti Coolers LLC being that use the moniker. Per KSL, the USPTO concluded that the ‘Utah’ in the mark “is merely descriptive of or generic for applicant’s goods” and “less significant in terms of affecting the mark’s commercial impression” compared to ‘Yetis’. Even the singular ‘Yeti’ did not make the cut as it was pointed out that because the singular and plural versions of the registered mark are almost identical in sound, appearance, meaning, and commercial impression—they are confusingly the same.

Well, the legal stuff always has to ruin the fun, right? In a last-ditch attempt, UHC officials even tried to work out a co-existence agreement in branding and merchandizing with Yeti Coolers, but even that did not work out. So, now with Yeti off the table, the team is back to square one. But will they go with one of the remaining five names, or is a new option coming?

Utah Hockey Club let fans take the call

Utah Yeti/Yetis was among the six names that were rejected by the trademark office. The others were Utah Blizzard, Utah HC, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, and Utah Venom. As far as the names Mammoth and Outlaws are concerned, the USPTO has asked for a more detailed clarification of how the team intends to use the moniker(s) in branding and merchandising—a rather simple clerical task.

And so the choices narrowed to three finalists for the 2025–26 season—Mammoth, UHC, and Wasatch. However, after backlash over the Wasatch option, they switched it with Outlaws. Finally, fans in attendance at three home games earlier this year were asked to vote on the iPads provided at the Delta Centre for choosing a name. What’s more? They also got a sneak peek into the potential logos associated with the names.

Whatever the final outcome will be, it will be the result of the community’s choice, for Utah Hockey Club president Chris  Armstrong made it very clear when he said, “We will continue to involve the community in the final stages of the naming and branding process.”