The name of Utah's new NHL franchise is at least partially in the hands of the people.
Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday that the process to name the team has officially begun with the launch of an online survey for fans to participate.
Qualtrics, the company founded by franchise owner Ryan Smith that made him a billionaire, will lead the investigation process. The process will take place in multiple parts, with the first part starting on Wednesday and running until May 22nd.
There are 20 team name choices in the survey, and fans are encouraged to select up to four favorites. The list of 20 teams was compiled through a Qualtrics study that Smith published online days before reports surfaced that the Arizona Coyotes could move to Utah.
The fine print of the study says, “The final name of the team will always be at the sole discretion of SEG.”
Here are the 20 team name choices to vote on:
- utah glacier
- utah mammoth
- caribou, utah
- Utah powder
- utah squall
- utah ice
- Utah HC
- Utah Freeze
- Utah Frost
- utah hive
- Utah Swarm
- utah mountaineers
- Utah Venom
- canyons in utah
- Utah yeti
- utah black diamonds
- Utah Outlaw
- Utah Fury
- Utah Blast
- utah blizzard
“Utah's NHL team is a community asset and we want the community to have a say in the team's name,” Smith said in a statement. “Less than three weeks after the NHL awarded us the franchise, Utah State has shown up for this team, giving our fans a rare opportunity to name the team they support. It's only natural that you get it.''
Smith has previously hinted at allowing hockey fans to choose a new team name, including during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last month.
“We're doing a bracket, and I think we're going to go all the way down to about No. 8 and the fans will vote on this,” Smith told McAfee.
Once a name is finalized, it will be announced during the team's first season. SEG will work with New York City firm Doubleday & Cartwright on the logo and branding (as Smith previously indicated).
Doubleday & Cartwright has worked with major league sports teams and large corporations such as Nike and Apple.
Due to the time-consuming process, the team will not establish a new brand for its first season in Salt Lake City, which begins in the fall.
The team wears sweaters (jerseys) that simply say “Utah,” and all branding also says “Utah.” There is no logo, mascot, or other official color scheme.
The team's new logo, branding and colorway won't be introduced until shortly before the start of the 2025-26 NHL season.
It's common for teams to let the community they represent choose a team name when they arrive, but surveys provide guardrails so it's not total freedom.
“This study uses randomization, geographic location, progressive discrete choice analysis, ballot box stuffing prevention, and encrypted data collection and storage to ensure fair, accurate, and unbiased results. “Best practice research methodologies will be adopted to ensure this,” Wednesday's announcement said. “Backend analytics also includes deduplication and best practice statistical techniques to ensure data integrity.”
