The Utah Hockey Club had to pivot in its search for a name after it hit a major roadblock. 

The team, which relocated from Phoenix to Utah before the 2024-25 NHL season, had its trademark application for Utah Yetis rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month because of a concern consumers may be confused with the Yeti cooler brand. 

And attempts to enter into a co-existence agreement with the company failed, forcing the organization to find another name instead, an executive with the team said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

“We have engaged with Yeti coolers extensively. The NHL has also helped engage with us with them,”  Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan said. “Their leadership made the decision that they didn’t want to have that co-existence agreement. …They have a unique trademark that allows them to prevent the use of the word Yeti or Yetis.”

The bigger issue for the team was the branded merchandise. 

The USPTO does allow for an appeal within three months of an application for a trademark being rejected, but the delay would make it hard to have everything ready to go for the launch of a new brand. 

“The name of the team is one thing, but it’s all of the merch, all of the clothing, the pucks and the mini sticks and all of those things. It’s a little hard to launch a brand if you don’t have all of that stuff ready to go,” Maughan said. “Because Yeti coolers determined that they did not want to enter into a co-existence agreement, it put those things on hold and we decided to move on from the name Yeti.”

The organization will turn to its fans to help find another new name with the final three names in the running being Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Wasatch. 

Fan voting will occur over the next four home games and only those physically at a game at the Delta Center will be able to participate in the vote. 

Fans will use iPads at stations set up throughout the Delta Center to answer a short survey on the potential name. 

The team will staff two people at each iPad station to ensure secrecy about the specific details of the options.