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.
Utah Hockey Club hit a legal roadblock for adopting Yetis as its team name. AP
“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.”
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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.
Nick Schmaltz #8 of the Utah Hockey Club, Logan Cooley #92 of the Utah Hockey Club, Clayton Keller #9 of the Utah Hockey Club and Olli Maatta #2 of the Utah Hockey Club celebrate a goal during the second period against the Ottawa Senators on January 26, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images
“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.
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The Yeti cooler brand has rejected the idea of a co-existence agreement with the team..
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.
The idea for Rize Sweet Rollz dates back five years, when founder Casey Vanderhoef was serving time in prison.
Vanderhoef began developing the concept while incarcerated, using that time to think through both the product and the purpose. Since his release last July, Vanderhoef has turned that vision into a growing business.
His company now makes a point to hire people who were formerly incarcerated, offering what Vanderhoef calls a critical first step after release.
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Like many utilities in the Trump era, Rocky Mountain Power is pulling back on its renewable energy plans. But more than a dozen Utah communities are taking matters into their own hands.
About 300,000 homes and businesses will soon be part of a novel, bottom-up program to bring new clean power to the state’s fossil-fuel-heavy grid. The Utah Renewable Communities initiative allows city and county governments to offset their electricity use with 100 percent renewable power, backed by a $4 monthly bill surcharge.
“There’s no other program available to our residents that is this affordable or this impactful to Midvale’s environmental and economic future,” said Dustin Gettel, mayor of the Salt Lake City suburb of Midvale.
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Midvale is set to vote Tuesday on whether to join 15 other communities that have signed up ahead of an enrollment deadline next week. Three other eligible communities have opted out, although one may reconsider.
