The Utah Hockey Club, which had announced plans to adopt the name “Yeti” for its NHL expansion team, has been forced to scrap the moniker due to a trademark dispute with a cooler company. According to ESPN, the team’s initial choice for its identity was met with excitement by fans, but the revelation of the legal issue has thrown a wrench into the club’s branding efforts.
The dispute centers on the trademark of the name “Yeti,” which is widely associated with Yeti Coolers, a Texas-based manufacturer of premium outdoor products. The cooler company holds a registered trademark on the name “Yeti” for various product categories, including coolers, drinkware, and apparel. As the Utah Hockey Club’s new name was being processed, Yeti Coolers filed an objection to the use of the name for the hockey team, citing the potential for confusion among consumers.
In response to the challenge, the NHL club announced that it would abandon its attempt to use “Yeti” and seek out a new, more distinctive name. The team had initially engaged in an extensive fan voting process, narrowing down a list of possible names for the franchise, with “Yeti” emerging as a fan favorite.
Mike Maughan of Smith Entertainment Group, the team’s parent company, explained, “We engaged deeply with Yeti Cooler Company and worked with them over a process to see if there was some coexistence agreement that we could engage with them on. They have a unique and strong trademark on anything published Yeti or Yetis. We did not have a coexistence agreement with Yeti and therefore have decided to move on from that name,” as reported by ESPN.
The news of the name change has prompted mixed reactions from fans. Some have expressed disappointment over the loss of what they had hoped would be a unique and memorable team identity, while others have shown understanding of the legal challenges involved.
In an effort to include fans in the process, the team has pledged to continue soliciting public input for the new name. The Utah Hockey Club will be running another voting campaign to ensure that the team’s final name is one that resonates with the community.
The Utah Hockey Club revealed that fans will have the opportunity to vote on three possible permanent nicknames:
- Utah Hockey Club, the current name
- Utah Mammoth, one of the six finalists presented last year
- Utah Wasatch, named after the Wasatch mountain range in Utah, similar to how MLB’s Colorado Rockies are named
The Wasatch option is described as “a new option created to honor the idea of a mythical snow creature with a Utah-centric approach inspired by the Wasatch Mountain range,” as reported by Yahoo! Sports. Essentially, it serves as a workaround for the Yeti nickname, featuring a Yeti mascot without using the name itself.
The Utah Hockey Club is now in the midst of the rebranding process, working with designers and marketing experts to ensure that the next name reflects the culture of the team, the community, and the state of Utah. With the NHL season rapidly approaching, the team’s leadership is eager to unveil the new name and to move forward with building a strong fanbase for its debut season.
As the club transitions into this next phase, one thing is clear: despite the setback with the Yeti name, excitement for the Utah Hockey Club remains high, and fans are eager to see the new identity unfold.