The long wait is over as Utah’s NHL team finally has a permanent name and will now roam the rink as the Utah Mammoth.
Mammoth was selected by team fans over Utah Outlaws and another option to keep the Utah Hockey Club, which the franchise used during its inaugural season in Salt Lake City.
The nickname was formally announced at an event Wednesday morning at the Delta Center in which NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will join team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.
Ryan and Ashley Smith explain below why Mammoth was chosen for Utah's NHL team:
“From day one, we committed that this team would be built with and for the people of Utah, and we are excited to celebrate today’s launch with the entire state. The community chose the Utah Mammoth brand, and it stands as a symbol of who we are, where we came from, and the unstoppable force we’re building together,” the Smith’s said in a statement.
Just a half hour after the announcement, crews at the Delta Center were already busy adding banners featuring the new team name.
According to the team, over 850,000 people voted in a fan poll that began during the season.
Along with the nickname, the team also unveiled its new logo and jerseys, which will continue to use the same colors as it did as the Utah Hockey Club.
Watch below as the team debuts the Mammoth nickname:
The Mountain Mammoth logo shows a mammoth’s head featuring long, curved tusks in the shape of a "U" and a mane featuring snow-capped peaks as a nod to Utah's Wasatch Mountains.
During home games, the team will wear black jerseys featuring the logo and black pants, while the away jerseys will be nearly identical to those worn during the inaugural season.
Fans didn’t need to wait long to get their hands on new merchandise as the first items were sold starting at noon Wednesday. Fan gear will also be available at NHLShop.com beginning on May 14.
Why the Mammoth is a perfect fit for Utah:
The team will also hold merchandise drops and community events happening across the state this summer, with the first scheduled for May 17.
Mammoths and Utah go way back, with fossils having been discovered throughout the state.
What do mammoths have to do with Utah?
“These massive, resilient creatures stood over 14 feet tall, weighed up to 22,000 pounds, and used their curved tusks to dig through snow, fend off predators, and thrive in Utah’s glacial terrain,” the team explained. “Evidence suggests mammoths charged in herds at speeds exceeding 25 miles per hour, comparable to the speeds reached by the fastest skaters in the NHL.”
The announcement comes nearly a week after the team’s YouTube channel appeared to accidentally change its handle to @UtahMammoth before it was quickly changed back.
This story was originally published by Jeff Tavss with the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City.
