Elliotte Friedman delivers interesting take on Utah HC name change debate

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Nov 26, 2024 04:11 GMT

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After years of turmoil and financial strife, the Arizona Coyotes finally pulled the plug on the failed experiment in the desert and relocated. And for the first time in National Hockey League history, a team was placed in the state of Utah.

The Utah Hockey Club began play in Salt Lake City in time for the 2024-25 NHL season with a new color scheme and a new enthusiastic fan base, who packed Delta Center (home of the NBA's Utah Jazz) for their inaugural contest against the Chicago Blackhawks last month.

One interesting aspect of the new team is that they are officially known as the Utah Hockey Club, and don't yet have an official mascot.

The reported word is that by the start of the 2025-26 NHL season, both will be remedied. But as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet recently opined, what if they decide to just keep things as they are?

"So, Sunday night I played cards with my buddies, and I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, 'What if Utah doesn't get a team name, aside from Utah HC...keep it," he said.

"Hold on," interjected Kyle Bukauskas. "Is this because you've gotten so much joy out of calling them the Utahns? You just don't want that to change?"

"Partially, I will admit that calling them the Utahns, to be honest, I'll probably keep doing it anyway," Friedman responded. "But yes, that is - that is something I thought of."

Among the reported names in contention for the official Utah HC mascot include the Utah Blizzard, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom, and Utah Yeti.

The Utah Hockey Club is already endearing itself to Salt Lake City fans

It was a sellout crowd at Delta Center in October against the Blackhawks, though the capacity of the venue is the smallest in the NHL at just under 12,000 fans since the venue wasn't initially designed for hockey

But still, it's vastly superior to the situation the Coyotes were once in, playing as guest tenets at Mullett Arena - the home of the Arizona State Hockey team, in a venue that sat under 5,000 fans.

The venue rocked with enthusiasm when Dylan Guenther entered the history books, scoring the first goal in Utah history:

At 8-10-3 through 21 games, the young squad continues to find its legs.