Latest news with #UtahHockeyClub
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLSE CEO Keith Pelley Explains Decision Not To Hire New Maple Leafs President After Brendan Shanahan's Dismissal
Trading Into First Overall Pick Is Possible For Blackhawks The New York Islanders jumped ten spots to select first in the 2024 NHL Draft by winning the first lottery. The Utah Hockey Club jumped from 14th to 4th by winning the second. That left the San Jose Sharks with the second overall pick and the Chicago Blackhawks at third.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL draft lottery winners, losers as New York Islanders, Utah Hockey Club move up
The NHL draft lottery had a new look and a vastly different result. The 23rd-place New York Islanders earned the right to pick first overall in the June 27-28 draft by winning the first live draft lottery in league history on Monday. The 19th-place Utah Hockey Club won the other drawing and moved up the maximum allowed 10 spots to fourth place. Advertisement The Islanders, currently between general managers, had 3.5% odds of winning the No. 1 overall pick. They will select first for the first time since drafting John Tavares in 2009. The top-ranked North American prospect is Matthew Schaefer, though NHL Central Scouting said it's close. The Erie (Pennsylvania) Otters defenseman missed the rest of the season after breaking his collarbone during the winter while playing for Team Canada at the world junior hockey championship. He had 22 points in 17 games. Last year, the last-place San Jose Sharks and the 31st-place Chicago Blackhawks held onto their current spots and picked first and second, respectively. They will pick second and third this year. Previously, the draw was conducted off camera, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly would turn over cards with team logos on them until the winner was revealed. But everyone got to watch the draw of the lottery balls live, and commissioner Gary Bettman was in the room, too. NHL draft order after the lottery New York Islanders San Jose Sharks Chicago Blackhawks Utah Hockey Club Nashville Predators Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Seattle Kraken Buffalo Sabres Anaheim Ducks Pittsburgh Penguins New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Columbus Blue Jackets Vancouver Canucks Montreal Canadiens (from Calgary Flames) Draft lottery winners Next Islanders general manager Nice perk for whoever lands the job to replace Lou Lamoriello. The Islanders didn't have much of a chance to win the draft lottery, but they now will land a solid prospect. Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting, said, "Schaefer easily projects as a future All-Star in the NHL.' Utah Hockey Club They were competitive in their first season in Salt Lake City and missed the playoffs by nine points. By winning the second drawing, they'll pick fourth this year after choosing sixth in 2024. Sharks and Blackhawks Because Utah could only move up to fourth, the Sharks and Blackhawks move back only one spot each. If Schaefer goes first, these teams could end up with Michael Misa, James Hagens or Anton Frondell. Draft lottery losers Nashville Predators They had a surprisingly bad season despite adding free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Despite having the third-best odds to win, they drop to fifth. The live drawing There's probably a reason this is done off camera. ESPN did a great job of explaining, but it was a little tedious to watch, starting with the deliberate loading of the lottery balls. Then we watch them bounce around for 30 seconds before one was drawn, then the process was repeated twice. Before the fourth and deciding ball was drawn, they cut to commercial, followed by another 30 seconds of bouncing. Calgary Flames After three balls in the second drawing, the Flames were in the mix to move from 16th to sixth. If that happened, under trade terms with Montreal, they would have held onto that pick and instead sent the Canadiens the pick that Calgary had acquired in a trade with the Panthers. But Utah won. So no sixth pick, no 16th pick (heading to Montreal). They'll pick wherever the Panthers land, which could be much later. Top North American skaters Erie (OHL) defenseman Matthew Schaefer Saginaw (OHL) center Michael Misa Boston College center James Hagens Brantford (OHL) center Jake O'Brien Seattle (WHL) defenseman Radim Mrtka Brampton (OHL) right wing Porter Martone Moncton (QMJHL) center Caleb Desnoyers Brandon (WHL) center Roger McQueen Barrie (OHL) defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson Everett (WHL) left wing Carter Bear Top international skaters Djurgarden (Sweden) center Anton Frondell Djurgarden (Sweden) right wing Victor Eklund Modo Jr. (Sweden) Milton Gastrin Karlovy Vary (Czechia) left wing Vojtech Cihar Ufa Jr. (Russia) right wing Alexander Zharovsky When is the NHL draft? The 2025 NHL Draft will be held June 27-28. The first round will be on June 27 and rounds 2-7 will be held the next day. The times haven't been announced yet. It will be held in Los Angeles at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater. Top prospects will be there, but not team representatives, who will take part virtually. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL draft lottery: Order, winners, losers after Islanders victory
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Survey: Is Utah Mammoth a good name for an NHL franchise?
What makes a great name for a hockey team? With the Utah Hockey Club officially deciding to be known as the Utah Mammoth last week, we have debated the new name at length here at The Athletic. Some people here like it. Others … well, not so much. Part of that debate has spun off into a different question: What are the best team names in the NHL? And what makes them great? Advertisement In order to help answer that question, we've pulled together a survey of all 32 current team names, including the Mammoth. We've set it up so that you don't need to rate every team if you don't want to, so if you just want to evaluate the Mammoth and your favorite club, go right ahead. One star is the lowest ranking. Five stars is the highest. Here's the survey link. We'll leave it open for at least the next few days to collect as many votes as possible. (Photo courtesy of Utah Hockey Club / the Utah Mammoth)
Epoch Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Epoch Times
Utah NHL Fans Show Ownership of New Mammoth Mascot
It took 13 months, as many rounds of balloting as the papal conclave, and 850,000-plus votes by fans for the Utah Hockey Club to arrive at the new Utah Mammoth mascot. Utah received the NHL franchise in 2024 when the Arizona Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City. The first season of the Utah Hockey Club produced a 38–31–13 season, where the team fell short of the playoffs as the Delta Center sold out for all of the team's 41 home games. 'We love the passion of the people of Utah and the way they showed up for the team during its inaugural season and the energy they brought to voting on its permanent identity,' team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith said '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, and it stands as a symbol of who we are, where we came from, and the unstoppable force we're building together.' It's unique for Utah that a professional team relocates and changes its name to fit the area. When the New Orleans Jazz moved to Utah in 1979, the franchise kept the name and the colors. Utah is not known for having a jazz scene as New Orleans does, but mammoths are part of Utah's history. Archaeologists have found mammoth fossils in multiple parts of Utah, including a nearly complete skeleton in 1988. Related Stories 4/18/2024 6/13/2024 Other names considered along the way included Outlaws, Yeti, and Wasatch. A latecomer, Outlaws didn't make the final cut. Yeti didn't last, because the franchise couldn't work out trademark issues with the Yeti cooler company. Wasatch, a long mountain range in the state, didn't make it among the finalists. 'I told all my friends that were going, 'If you're not voting for Mammoth, you better not talk to me again,'' Utah hockey fan Keegan Wright The fans interviewed by the newspaper indicated their excitement over the Mammoth nickname. In the final stage, the Utah Hockey Club limited fan voting to those who attended the games. The Delta Center had iPad stations for fans to vote during a four-game stretch in the second half of the season. Utah hockey fan Brian Bolnick said he likes what the process did for the fan base amid a new team in town. 'The community here has obviously blossomed a ton since the team arrived and I think it is going to exponentially grow even more now that we actually have an identity,' Bolnick told The Salt Lake Tribune. 'I feel like all of us are kind of woven into that jersey. It is awesome to know that we all got to play a part in that,' he added. 'I really appreciate what Ryan and Ashley [Smith] and the SEG group are doing for Utah as a whole, but especially the hockey community.' Ryan Smith, who also owns the Jazz, announced that the fans would decide on the new Utah NHL team's name following the 2024 move. For Utah hockey fan Kyle Finneman, it spoke volumes to see that process come to fruition. 'At the end of the day, when you're a billionaire, you get to do what you want. So, to take the saying of what people want always speaks volumes,' Finneman told The Salt Lake Tribune. 'It's nice to be heard. That's all anyone wants as a fan is to be heard. He could've done whatever. Sometimes the easy answer is the community answer.' Ryan Smith expressed how he liked the process. He added that what nickname the fans wanted became crystal clear. 'I think my favorite part was that our fans made it really easy for us. Every single night we were doing the voting, Mammoth just started running away with it,' he NHL commissioner Gary Bettman may have said it best in the end as the league grows in a new state. 'We trusted you to trust the people of this community,' Bettman told reporters on Wednesday. 'Everything you've tried to do and everything you've done has been a mammoth undertaking.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
It's official: Utah Hockey Club has a new name
Salt Lake City firefighters hoist up new signage before a press conference announcing the Utah Hockey Club changing their name to Utah Mammoth held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday morning that Utah's NHL team will now be known as the 'Utah Mammoth.' Why Mammoth? Four rounds of public voting yielded approximately 850,000 responses. Mammoth was the clear favorite, according to the team. Advertisement The new team name is intended to represent strength, momentum and an earth-shattering presence, and pays homage to the boldness with which the franchise entered the league. Fans will notice that the name is singular: Mammoth, not Mammoths. The team noted that this represents unity as a state and moving forward as one. '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,' said team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith in a press release. '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.' Advertisement Mammoths roamed the earth 10,000 years ago and bones have been found in Utah, meaning they lived in the area. The Utah Mammoth unveiled its logo Wednesday morning. What will Utah Mammoth jerseys look like? New logos and altered jerseys accompany the name change. The home jerseys will feature a similar logo to the one in the most recent survey, with a few changes — a mountain outline, a mark in the shape of the state of Utah, an uppercase 'M' for Mammoth and a U-shaped tusk. These jerseys will have an alternate logo on the shoulders in the shape of the state, with 'Utah' spelled out and a hockey stick underlining the letters. As the Deseret News reported in November, the new away jerseys are very similar to those from the team's inaugural season: U-T-A-H descends on the front in a staircase formation. Advertisement The Utah Mammoth jerseys do, however, have a slightly different font, which the team calls 'Mammoth Sans.' The shoulder emblems on the away jerseys will be the same as the primary logo on the home jerseys. The home and away jerseys for the Utah Mammoth. The Utah Mammoth jerseys have been redesigned. Both the home and away jerseys will feature wording inside the back of the collar reading 'Est. 2024,' with a white ring added to the inside of the away collar. The names and numbers on the jerseys will also use a new font. The 'A' and the 'H' in Mammoth Sans both feature angled crossbars as a nod to several of the inaugural season logos. The striping and the colors will be the same as the inaugural season jerseys. Advertisement An additional logo will feature a 'U' with a mammoth tusk swooping across the front. Mammoth merchandise will be available in the team store starting at noon on Wednesday. Jerseys will not be available yet, but shirts, hoodies, hats and more will be. The new jerseys will be on display at the NHL draft from June 27-28. Each player Utah drafts will don one. The team received the fourth pick at Monday's draft lottery. The new branding might be a good reason to keep the pick, rather than trading it. The Utah Mammoth's primary and alternate logos. | Smith Entertainment Group New team name, new rally cry The Utah Mammoth will adopt the rally cry 'tusks up,' which became popular on social media among those in favor of the name over the past few months. Advertisement The team did not specify the extent to which it would use the slogan, but it could become the Utah Mammoth's official hashtag on social media and be used for merchandise. A new in-arena mascot will accompany the name change. Details will be released at a later date, according to team leaders. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Colorado Mammoth lacrosse team, supports SEG's use of the name.
