Utah Hockey Club finally reveals permanent identity as the Mammoth
They're the Utah Mammoth now. (Photo by)
The NHL team in Salt Lake City will be called the Utah Mammoth going forward, ending a protracted, yearlong naming process that began with the Arizona Coyotes becoming the Utah Hockey Club last year.
The franchise revealed its new identity with a video on X on Wednesday.
To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here
and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so.
A new Ice Age dawns. Introducing Utah Mammoth. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/B2yuoflDRt
— Utah Mammoth (@utahhockeyclub) May 7, 2025
The team also revealed its new jerseys and logo. The team's primary colors will be black, white and light blue.
To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here
and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so.
Of course, fans were already well aware of what name was coming. Some social-media users noticed the club's YouTube account had changed its handle to @UtahMammoth in April, and the franchise declined to confirm or deny if the leak was real.
To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here
and view the "Content and social media partners" setting to do so.
Utah Hockey Club's official YouTube page now shows UtahMammoth 🦣 pic.twitter.com/pi4CU5tDCb
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) April 30, 2025
With a name in place, the Mammoth can finally end a saga that went through an extraordinary amount of phases and possibilities before landing on an option that was there from Day 1.
Why did it take this long for the Utah Hockey Club to find a new name?
The Hockey Club nickname was instituted on an interim basis last summer, with 20 options presented for a fan vote. The possibilities were largely snow and mountain-themed, including the Mammoth, along with options such as the Swam, Fury and Hive. That list was eventually narrowed to six finalists: the incumbent Hockey Club, the Mammoth, the Yeti, the Outlaws, the Venom and the Blizzard.
And then the team picked the Mammoth from that group, right?
Wrong! While those six options were put up for a fan vote, those results were never revealed. Months later, it was reported the club was scrapping its choice of the Yeti due to a copyright issue with the Yeti cooler company, and so the matter was sent to a third round of voting with the options consisting of the Hockey Club, the Mammoth and a new combatant, the Wasatch.
In case you weren't aware, the Wasatch is the mountain range overlooking Salt Lake City and was basically a go-around to use the team's Yeti-themed art with that specific name no longer an option. Fans hated it so much it was replaced by the Outlaws on the ballot before voting even finished.
And now, we have a winner, after three rounds of voting and 21 different names put forward by the team. Utah can finally rally around the Mammoth.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
14 hours ago
- USA Today
Dave Canales is an NFL anomaly. He's a Latino head coach: Opinion
Dave Canales is an NFL anomaly. He's a Latino head coach: Opinion Show Caption Hide Caption Greg Olsen believes Travis Kelce 'controls how he leaves the game' Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen has high praise for Travis Kelce and shares when he believes Travis Kelce will eventually retire from the NFL. Sports Seriously Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps. The NFL has played 105 seasons, and 531 different men have served at least one game as a head coach. Before last year merely four — or 0.75% — were Latino. The Carolina Panthers last season hired Dave Canales as the fifth. He's Mexican American and has the coveted reputation of quarterback whisperer. His schemes are fluid and multiple, concepts blended from different systems to better suit his players. The team in 2024 went 5-12 but towards the end of last season you saw some of the Canales effect. Second-year quarterback Bryce Young struggled as a rookie but in his final three games last season, Young completed 65 percent of his passes for 612 yards, 7 touchdowns and no interceptions. That was good for a 111.6 passer rating. What does this all mean? Canales got the opportunity many Latino coaches in the NFL do not, and he's making the most of that chance. His path is also something of a contradiction, one that perfectly captures the complicated state of the Latino experience in today's NFL. From the moment Carolina hired him, Canales became a symbol of seismic progress. His hiring came just 17 days after the Commanders fired Ron Rivera, the fourth Latino head coach in NFL history. Moreover, Canales rode a path observed almost exclusively in the career arcs of white coaches; before getting the Panthers gig, he had spent just one season as an offensive coordinator. But from the moment he was hired, Canales also became a more uncomfortable marker, an acknowledgement of acute scarcity. He remains the only Latino head coach in the NFL. His appointment in Carolina came during a record NFL hiring cycle in which four men of color were named head coaches, signaling further progress. But a harsh reality remains: given the extremely low number of Latino coordinators and assistants, it may be several years — perhaps even much longer — before we see the NFL's sixth Latino head coach. 'My grandfather came from Mexico,' Canales told the Panthers' official website. 'He made a life for himself in the Central Valley in California, joined the military to get citizenship. He and my grandma just breathed life into their children that anything is possible. For me, I found football early on and I was able to chase that dream — it's that Mexican American in me, that willingness to take a job and just apply yourself to it and take real pride in your work, just show up every day and take advantage of opportunities that come along.' Those opportunities, by and large, have been atypical for Latino coaches in the NFL. A lack of exposure and lack of institutional support for candidates, racial biases in hiring and a lack of diversity at the ownership and executive level have complicated pathways for Latino assistants to ascend into coordinator roles, jobs that USA TODAY Sports research has shown are springboards for head coaching positions. Canales is an exception. From 2006-08, he was coaching at El Camino College, which is more or less a straight shot down I-110 from the University of Southern California. At the time Canales was at El Camino, Pete Carroll was coaching the Trojans, and Carroll ran summer camps for high school and elementary school players on USC's campus. Carroll hired Canales to be a coach at these camps and it was then that Carroll became his mentor. In 2009, Carroll hired Canales to be USC's assistant strength coach, and when Carroll bolted for the Seahawks the following year, he once again brought Canales. Canales spent 13 seasons in Seattle, grinding from offensive quality control assistant all the way to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Before the 2023 season, he broke away from Carroll's mentorship when the Buccaneers hired him as offensive coordinator. He starred in the role, resurrecting the career of Baker Mayfield. Then he got the Panthers job. What the recent history of Latino coaches shows is that Canales is a distinct anomaly. 'Does it feel good to be a trailblazer?' There have been few Latino assistants in the NFL with coordinator-level titles. What happened to two of them in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and former Commanders run game coordinator Juan Castillo shows how difficult it is for Latino coaches. Flores, 44, was already a head coach, for the Miami Dolphins, for three seasons. He went 24-25 in Miami before he was fired in 2021. He has an open class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its franchises, alleging the league is 'rife with racism,' particularly in the hiring and promotion of Black assistants. Rivera, 63, wasn't hired as a head coach in the NFL after his last head coaching stint. He's currently with the University of California as the football program's general manager. That leaves Castillo, 65, a veteran assistant with over 30 years in the NFL, and one who has extensive experience on both offense and defense. He has worked under three different NFL head coaches, and some of the game's brightest minds: Andy Reid (Chiefs), John Harbaugh (Ravens) and Sean McDermott (Bills). Castillo told the Philadelphia Inquirer back in 2011 that he dreamed of becoming a head coach. At the NFL scouting combine later that year, Harbaugh said he was 'a supporter of Juan' and that he thought "he'll be a head coach in this league someday.' NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator Castillo told USA TODAY Sports that he was was never asked to do a single head coaching interview. When the Commanders fired Rivera in January 2024, they also released Castillo, and many others, too. After spending last season with UCLA, Castillo is now an offensive analyst for the University of Michigan. In 2024, the NFL, for the first time since the Rooney Rule was implemented in 2003, did not feature a single non-white offensive coordinator. Currently, there are only two coordinators who identify as Latino or Hispanic. Flores identifies as Latino and Mike Kafka, from the Giants, has previously told USA TODAY Sports through a team spokesman he identifies as Hispanic. While Latino and Hispanic are often colloquially used interchangeably they can have different meanings. An increasing Latino fan base In 2023, only 23 of the 844 NFL assistants (2.73%) for which there were data identified specifically as Hispanic or Latino(a). That's according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which publishes annual report cards on racial and gender hiring in the major U.S. sports leagues. (The most recent year for the report is 2023.) That figure was three more than the year prior, a 0.2% increase. For NFL players, the number is even lower. Only seven of 1,536 (0.5%) for which there were data in 2023 identified specifically as Hispanic or Latino(a), according to TIDES. 'I don't think the public thinks of Latinos when they think of head coaching jobs,' Dr. Richard Lapchick, the director of TIDES, told USA TODAY Sports. 'I don't even think most people know this topic as a point of discussion in their fandom, whereas they might have a passing knowledge of people pushing for more Black head coaches. It's just not on the radar.' Playing is arguably the quickest pathway into coaching, and the consistently low total of Latino players explains in part the lagging number of Latino coaches. But this is where everything becomes further complicated. Opinion: Is NFL caving to anti-DEI movement? The optics don't look good. Per the SSRS/Luker on Trends Sports Poll, there were 34.6 million Hispanic NFL fans in the U.S. in 2023, the most ever recorded. That was up 13.4% from last year's total of 30.5 million. In fact, compared with a decade ago, when there were 26.3 million Hispanic fans, today's figure represents a colossal 31.6% increase. Chad Menefee, the executive vice president of strategic intelligence at SSRS, told USA TODAY Sports in an email that Hispanic NFL fandom is outperforming all other demographics the company tracks. Since 2014, there were 8.2 million new Hispanic NFL fans recorded, while there were 1.9 million new non-Hispanic Black fans. Non-Hispanic white fandom has remained essentially flat. These millions of new Hispanic fans are flocking to a league where they increasingly will not see themselves represented on the sideline. For the moment, Hispanic fandom is a booming market for the NFL, one the league has tried to monetize with International Series games, targeted commercials and other initiatives. But there may come a time when these new fans abandon the sport, perhaps in search of something where they are more robustly represented, something with stronger cultural ties to their heritage. That also may never happen. But as these new Hispanic fans converge in this space, they may encounter something all too familiar, for the obstacles facing Latino assistants in the NFL are precisely the same forces that often keep Latino people in the domestic workforce from also ascending in their chosen industry.
USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
Kevin O'Connell is a QB guru. How that happened is best part of his Vikings story
Kevin O'Connell is a QB guru. How that happened is best part of his Vikings story Show Caption Hide Caption QB Sam Darnold reflects on his impressive 2024 season with the Vikings Seahawks QB Sam Darnold talks about his impressive 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings. Sports Seriously Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps. It was last December when former tight end Greg Olsen, an announcer on Fox, said something that has become increasingly popular now about Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. But then, Olsen was one of the first high-profile people to put it so bluntly and publicly. 'If you're starting a franchise and you need a great coach, play-caller, quarterback whisperer," Olsen said, "he might be the guy.' He probably is the guy. But how did O'Connell get to this point? I've been told by several people who've been around O'Connell that he does this one thing that is increasingly rare in the NFL (and actually in all of society): He listens. He listens extremely well. O'Connell prepares and works hard but his listening skills are supposedly what distinguishes him from some other coaches. When it comes to formulating a game plan, he accepts input more than the average coach, it seems. He's perhaps mastered the trickiest part of doing the job in that he listens while simultaneously leading. None of this is to say O'Connell is alone at doing this, but he might be the best at it. Even the way he handled the Aaron Rodgers situation was impressive. More listening. More good communication. It was a tricky one for O'Connell. He had to navigate what is a friendship between the two men and explore (delicately) the possibility of Rodgers joining the Vikings while simultaneously protecting the interests of J.J. McCarthy. "When there was an opportunity — when him and I connected this offseason just to kind of talk about what that would look like — we had a lot of great dialogue about it, but it always was centered around what was best not only for the present in the Minnesota Vikings organization, but the future," O'Connell said. "I was very honest about my feelings towards J.J., my obligation that I felt like we were going to give him the best possible situation to begin and thrive on this NFL journey, and let's see where it goes. We stayed in touch and had some communication," he said. "... Out of respect for our friendship and everything, that's about as much as really kind of happened." There's also the preparation part of O'Connell's game, and this is where McCarthy, who is taking over the position from Sam Darnold, will also greatly benefit. Vikings offensive tackle Brian O'Neill once explained O'Connell's attention to detail this way: 'It's always, like, 'Hey, we're going to do this run this way because, later in the game, that's what they're going to see, and the way our formations are, they're going to think it's this, but it's really that,'' O'Neill said a few months ago. 'It's keying players into why we're installing things the way we are, rather than some coaches who call plays and install plays, and the players don't know why.' Said O'Connell to ESPN: "Coaching, in my opinion, is about what you do in those moments to help make sure that your team improves and players improve. And then doing it in a way that never ever alters their confidence to go get their job done. "If we're only going to operate the way we want when things are going well, that's a culture that has nothing to do with what we're trying to build here. And luckily, because I think we have great players and we have great people in our locker room and our coaching staff, people have adhered to that being our way of doing things, and it has shown up." O'Connell was named Coach of the Year in 2024 and in many ways it wasn't just about the season. It could have easily been a lifetime achievement award as he has worked around many quarterbacks and changed their careers for the better. The latest was of course Darnold. If O'Connell's history continues, McCarthy will be another QB success story for him. Just watch ... and listen.
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
This NFL coach and QB combination could be the most dangerous in 2025
This NFL coach and QB combination could be the most dangerous in 2025 Show Caption Hide Caption DeMarcus Ware believes Evan Engram will help Bo Nix's growth in NFL Former Broncos linebacker Evan Engram believes veteran TE Evan Engram will help Bo Nix's growth in the NFL. Sports Seriously Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps. Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is on the phone. His voice is slightly hoarse from a cold but the story he told comes through loud and clear. It was about quarterback Bo Nix. It went like this. They knew that Nix was a good athlete. They saw it when Nix was at Oregon. But they didn't realize how explosive he was until Nix started actually practicing and playing in the NFL. "One thing about the QB that came even as a little surprise for us," Payton told USA TODAY Sports, "was seeing some of these off-schedule throws from him, and it kind of stunned us at how good he was at that. It's because he's so fast. I don't think people get how athletic and how fast he is." Off-schedule or off-platform throws are when the quarterback makes a pass while not in a balanced or standard throwing position. Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes excels at these. Nix is getting really good at them. In fact, he's getting good at it all. He's a big reason why the Broncos' Super Bowl window is officially open now. You read that correctly. Payton is asked for a bottom-line evaluation of Nix. "I'm seeing a player who I think will continue to make big strides," said Payton. Nix last season was off to a good start. He set Broncos rookie records for passing touchdowns (29), completions (376) and passing yards (3,775). He was also the first rookie quarterback in league history to record multiple games with at least 300 passing yards, four passing scores and a passer rating of at least 140. What Payton has found in Nix is most likely another quarterback star. Payton has had this before. (More on that in a moment.) This season we could see this duo become the most dangerous coach-quarterback combo in football. It's also why that Super Bowl window is opening now. Notice, I didn't say the best coach-quarterback combo (though that could happen as well). I said the most dangerous. If anyone can unseat the current best combo right now in Andy Reid and Mahomes, with three straight Super Bowl appearances, it would be this one. Yes, the combo of Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts just beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl, but Reid-Mahomes is still the gold standard. Payton and Nix, however, just entered the chat. The Broncos were a stunning 10-7 last year in part because Nix shocked everyone. But there's a reason he did. This is what Payton does. Give him a good quarterback, he makes him really good. Give him a great quarterback, he helps make him a certain Hall of Famer. See: Brees, Drew. Brees finished his career as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards and completions when he retired in 2021. Tom Brady would later pass him. (Brady would later pass errybody.) Brees made 13 Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl, where he was also named Super Bowl MVP. Brees once remembered how this historic pairing began. "It goes back to when he first sat me down before I ever signed with the Saints, and he started drawing up plays on the board that was a combination of his West Coast offensive background and philosophy, and the things that I did well with the San Diego Chargers," Brees said. "I remember looking at him saying, 'Oh, you guys run these concepts as well?' And he said, 'No, but I know that you ran these and you ran them very well, and we're going to build this offense around you and your strengths.' "Right away, I realized that that was such a unique approach and maybe so much different than what I expected, especially from a first-time head coach, coming into a really tough situation with high expectations." That is classic Payton. I'll always believe that Payton is the best play caller in the history of the sport. One of the best play designers. One of the best at getting his players to understand his concepts, and adapting his concepts to the player. I know this because I've seen it up and close and personal. Watched him do it. Brees will skip into the Hall of Fame and some day Payton will follow him. Now, I'm seeing the same thing in Denver. It goes beyond the obvious that Nix and Brees are similar specimens. It's Payton again morphing the offense around what Nix does best. Payton is also criminally underrated in building a good culture. He's creating Saints West. Not the Saints you see now. Or the almost comically bad Saints teams from the 1970s. It's the one that was once solid and even feared. Payton is helping his own cause by putting pieces all around Nix. The Broncos had a successful offseason signing key free agents in safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and tight end Evan Engram. The latter will be that "joker" weapon for the Broncos who maneuvers around the formation creating mismatches. 'That is a cool thing to just embrace,' Engram said. 'Sean talks about it a lot. It was a big part of the pitch coming here. ... I definitely see that it is something that has to be earned with the way I work and the way that I learn the offense to gain the trust of Sean, Bo, and the rest of the coaches and players. I think we have a bunch of 'Jokers' on this team, honestly, that can have a great role on this offense. It is definitely something that I like to embrace, but it is also something that I am going to earn, too.' And there's a piece of data you should know. The Broncos had 134 games missed due to injuries in 2022. That number fell to 35 in 2023 and 33 last season. It shows Payton is figuring out more than just the QB situation. So, this is just your warning. Will the Broncos win the Super Bowl this year? Maybe not. Or, heck, maybe so. What's certain is the Super Bowl window for this team is officially open. Thanks primarily to Payton and Nix.
