Utah Hockey Club Reportedly Could Reveal Nickname Before NHL Draft Amid Mammoth Buzz

The Utah Hockey Club could reveal its new nickname ahead of the NHL draft on June 27, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

According to Wyshynski, an NHL source indicated the announcement could come "in late June."

The report comes days after fans noticed the Utah Hockey Club Youtube handle had been changed to @UtahMammoth.

The handle has since been removed, and Utah officials declined to confirm if the Mammoth is the team's future nickname, per Wyshynski.

The 2025 NHL draft will have a decentralized format for the first time, with each team gathered in their own home market, the league announced in March.

Wyshynski noted this change could allow Utah to announce the name at a draft event in Salt Lake City.

The Utah Hockey Club announced ahead of its inaugural season that the club would play in 2024-25 under a temporary name and branding, and settle on a permanent identity ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Utah captain Clayton Keller indicated back in September that the franchise was leaning toward the nickname Yeti, but team owners Smith Entertainment Group dropped pursuit of the name after running into trademark issues with the cooler brand.

SEG executive Mike Maughan told the Salt Lake Tribune's Belle Fraser in January the team had needed to move on because of the extended timeline needed to produce new merchandise ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The franchise has held a series of fan votes surrounding potential names, most recently taking place at Delta Center over a four-game stretch in late January and early February. Fans in attendance were given the chance to vote between Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Outlaws.

The club showed voting fans proposed branding alongside each name:

Maughan said in January that Utah was "very confident" any of the final free names would clear the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO previously rejected other potential names including the Utah Blizzard and Utah Venom as well as the Utah Yeti, per KSL.com's Ryan Miller.

The NHL draft is set to begin on Friday, June 27. Utah is currently set to draft at No. 14 in the first round, although that number could change given the results of Monday's draft lottery.