Smith Entertainment Group release bracket to name Utah NHL team

SALT LAKE CITY — Coming soon: A team name for Utah’s NHL club.

Smith Entertainment Group released a survey process Wednesday to find a name for the new hockey team.

“We will have several rounds of voting. We want the entire community to feel part of that,” SEG official Mike Maughan said Tuesday at a Salt Lake City Council meeting. “The NHL team we view as a community asset and that means the community gets to be involved in every portion of that.”

The first round of voting opened Wednesday night and will be available until May 22. Fans are encouraged to select up to four preferred names from the list of 20 options.

“Utah has shown up for this team from the moment the NHL awarded us the franchise less than three weeks ago, and it is only fitting that our fans get the rare opportunity to help name the team they’ll be cheering for,” team owner Ryan Smith said.

The initial names include Hive, Powder, Black Diamonds, Swarm, Canyons, Yeti, Outlaws, Caribou, and many more.

But don’t expect the team to be sporting a (new team name goes here) sweater when the puck drops for the 2024-25 season.

The name isn’t expected to be announced until well into the inaugural season.

“We will wear only Utah on sweaters and our branding will be only Utah,” a team spokesperson said.

Smith is practicing patience when it comes to the branding of the new team. The team will not have a logo, a mascot, or official colors when it takes the ice for the inaugural season in Utah.

Once the fans decide on the team name, SEG will turn to creative consultancy Doubleday and Cartwright to help come up with the team’s logo and colors.

Doubleday and Cartwright have worked with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Inter Miami FC, ESPN, Nike and more.

The team’s official branding will be unveiled ahead of the 2025-26 season.