Toggle sidebar

Utah team nickname/colors/logo, mascot (and related marketing)

When the Leafs moved the AHL St. John's Maple Leafs to Toronto to become the Marlies, one of the names they considered was Toronto Rush, but one of the big strikes against the name was that due to the trademarks owned by the band Rush, all merchandise would need to use the full Toronto Rush name.

So I suspect they could get a trademark for Utah Yetis but all merchandise would need to use that full name and not just Yetis. And I'm not sure any team wants to deal with that kind of limitation.
 
Many of those duplicate sports teams names were from early 20th century. (There's also NFL and NHL Jets.)

MLB Cleveland Indians had a lot of issues finding a unique name they could claim when they renamed.
NFL Washington Redskins also had some issues with their rename.

Vegas Golden Knights had to deal with multiple entities with their nickname, from Army paratroopers to a small college they had to pay off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CTHabsfan
No Fun Shogun said:
I still don't get why so many get hung up on teams having to be related to something specifically local. Rangers are only the Rangers as it was a play on words on Tex's Rangers after an old owner, the Sharks and Hurricanes play inland, the Ducks are after a movie franchise on the other side of the country, the Flames are because Sherman burnt down Atlanta, when was the last time you saw a bear in Boston, the Kraken are a Mediterranean water myth, and that's just a few of the random names in the NHL alone.

The only thing seperating the Utah Yeti/s from being an established brand if they go that route is time. If we all got used to the Wild as a team name, Yeti will be secondhand by 2030.
Click to expand...

Ain't no penguins in Pittsburgh. That said, Yeti just annoys me because there's a similar cryptid that is regionally accurate. Not that Sasquatch would be much better of a team name, but it'd feel less like low-key cultural appropriation.

I also just don't like the way it sounds as Utah Yeti. It lacks something that Seattle Kraken can get away with...not that I like the Kraken name, but it doesn't sound as out of place as Utah Yeti does. Maybe it's just that the creature that inspired the Kraken myth has been found off the coasts of the PNW, so it feels less like a straight-up Norwegian thing. Most sea-going cultures had a similar myth, which we can now point to specimens of giant squid being found in every ocean on the planet undoubtedly inspiring them.

Of course if they start winning any name would be embraced by the fans. You couldn't go a year without some sports writer in Pittsburgh pleading for the team to change the name to something more serious/threatening. Those complaints suddenly dried up after 1990-91 for some reason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveG
OK, I thought of one scenario where I'm cool with Yeti, and it's "they replace Andre Tourigny with Mike Yeo as HC, and the team is informally "the Abominable Yeomen"."

That said, I'm resigned to them figuring this out, but I am holding out some scant hope that they can't, and have to settle on Utah Outlaws or the like.
 
Wasach is a cool sounding name if it meant anything other then naming the team after yourselves. May as well just be the Utahns
 
LadyStanley said:
Many of those duplicate sports teams names were from early 20th century. (There's also NFL and NHL Jets.)

MLB Cleveland Indians had a lot of issues finding a unique name they could claim when they renamed.
NFL Washington Redskins also had some issues with their rename.

Vegas Golden Knights had to deal with multiple entities with their nickname, from Army paratroopers to a small college they had to pay off.
Click to expand...

The Panthers’ were in the 90s, but even that’s pretty old.
 
Yukon Joe said:
It's going to be HC - you just know it.
Click to expand...
I actually think they're rigging it for this outcome by not including Outlaws. The limited evidence we have (Twitter polls, replies on social media, our own HF poll) all suggest Outlaws was the second choice of most fans and they were awarded the trademark. Excluding it and limiting voting to fans who are at the games (who are more likely to have bought into Utah HC branding, literally) screams stitch up to me
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JunkyardKangaroo
Utah Axemen.....they have a history of Forestry and logging in the mountains. Its unique, has many options for logos and some history. Far less gimmicky then Mammoth or Yeti.
 
Brodie said:
I actually think they're rigging it for this outcome by not including Outlaws. The limited evidence we have (Twitter polls, replies on social media, our own HF poll) all suggest Outlaws was the second choice of most fans and they were awarded the trademark. Excluding it and limiting voting to fans who are at the games (who are more likely to have bought into Utah HC branding, literally) screams stitch up to me
Click to expand...

I suspect, without any particular inside knowledge, that Outlaws would run into the same issue as Yeti - trademark concerns. It's a common enough name for minor or amateur sports teams.

Either that or Ryan Smith just didn't like it.

You do have to wonder about Mammoth though, given the NLL Mammoth (unless they figure they can just settle that with money).

gstommylee said:
I hope the NHL blocks utah hockey club. Its a joke with zero ways of marketing the brand
Click to expand...

Utah HC would not be my choice, but clearly there are ways of marketing the brand given that MLS and Euro hockey clubs manage to do it.

Ultimately Ryan Smith paid a billion dollars and the NHL will let him name the team just about anything he wants.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom