The Smith Entertainment Group has narrowed the possible names for Utah’s NHL team to six. How does it match up with what Utahns want to see emblazoned on the sweaters?
The top three in a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll were among SEG’s finalists, but the other three were way down on the list, including one that finished dead last in the survey.
Blizzard with 25%, Yeti with 20% and Outlaws with 15% garnered the most support in the poll of 889 Utahns conducted June 4-7 by HarrisX. The survey included all 20 potential names SEG floated in its own online survey. Respondents were asked to pick three. The company announced the final six, which it said received a combined 60% of the total votes from 520,000 fans, while the Deseret News poll was out in the field.
Also making SEG’s six were Mammoth, Venom and Utah Hockey Club or Utah HC. In the Deseret News poll, Venom came in at 9%, Mammoth at 6% and Utah HC at 3%, lowest among the 20 possible names. Utahns’ top six, according to the poll, included Mountaineers, Fury and Black Diamonds.
And because public opinions polls typically gather demographic information from respondents, we thought it would be fun to see how preferences for the possible names break out according to political persuasion, religion, age and gender.
A news conference Ryan and Ashley Smith and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman held in April to announce the purchase and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah drew Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, Democratic Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, University of Utah President Taylor Randall, BYU President Shane Reese, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy in the church.
“I’ve never seen so many Republicans and Democrats and religious leaders and education leaders all on the same page before,” Ryan Smith quipped at the event.
So, what page are Democrats and Republicans on when it comes to naming the hockey team? Turns out they’re not too far apart.
Blizzard was the most popular choice among Democrats and Republicans in the Deseret News poll, though slightly more Republicans than Democrats favored that name. Yeti came in second among Republicans, while Democrats preferred Mountaineers as a second choice. Those not affiliated with a party ranked Blizzard and Yeti one-two.
Liberals ranked Yeti the highest, with Blizzard and Mountaineers tied for a close second. Conservatives and moderates preferred Blizzard.
Likely Joe Biden and Donald Trump voters also found some common ground in their otherwise bitter divide when it comes to names for the club. Both had Blizzard at the top followed by Yeti.
But among Latter-day Saints, Yeti had a slight edge over Blizzard. The two names were flip-flopped among those who identified as Christian or another religion. Agnostics/atheists were an outlier among all demographic groups. Outlaws and Mountaineers were their favorites.
Younger people in the poll were nearly evenly split between Blizzard and Yeti, while those over age 35 gave a more decided nod to Blizzard.
Men and women both preferred Blizzard, with Yeti coming in second.
Last month, Ryan Smith told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that SEG had narrowed the list to four names, with Smith going so far as to mention two — Yeti and Mammoth.
“We’ve got our four,” Smith said. “I think Mammoth’s up there. I think Yeti’s up there. I think a couple other ones are up there. I think it should be good.”
In a statement on NHLinUtah.com last week, SEG said, “Now, it’s time for round two, and we just decided to go ahead and include all six of those options in this second voting pool to see which ones will come out on top as fans continue narrowing it down.”
The second round of voting runs through June 20 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Once the team name has been selected, SEG and Doubleday & Cartwright will “craft the team identity inclusive of the logo, mascot, and other branding elements” ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.
A ranking of the possible names by the Deseret News’ Ryan McDonald had both Mammoth and Yeti as top-six names, along with Black Diamonds, Outlaws, Mountaineers and Caribou. Three of those did not make the final six in the fan vote.
For the upcoming 2024-25 season — the inaugural season for the NHL in Utah — the team will wear jerseys with UTAH across the front, “as a reflection of the team’s new roots in the state and dedication to its fanbase,” according to the SEG press release.