Bill Armstrong might’ve leaked the Utah Hockey Club’s upcoming name.
When speaking to a pool of reporters following the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Armstrong discussed the team’s two new selections, Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin. What the team’s general manager said has some fans speculating that he might’ve outed the Utah Hockey Club’s future name.
“When we hit Pick No. 5, that’s when we knew,” Armstrong said. “That’s when we knew he would be a Utah Yeti.”
He added more fuel to the fire when he answered a follow-up question.
“I’m not allowed to pick the name,” Armstrong said. “I think the little kids in Utah vote about 25 times a day, so I think they got it.”
While watching the NHL draft party at the Delta Center on Friday, Darrin Jensen, a lifelong hockey fan, speculated that he thinks the team name should be the Yeti because the kids would love it.
“Honestly, when you think about the Yeti, they can do some really good marketing for that,” Jensen said. “I think they can do something like that with a Yeti for the kids here, but they can also do the logos and things to make it kind of fierce is the best way to put it.”
As it stands, the Utah Hockey Club won’t have an official name until the start of the 2025-26 regular season.
Ryan Smith, Utah HC’s owner, has left the naming of the franchise up to a fan voting process, and it’s now down to six names: Utah Yeti, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom, Utah Mammoth and Utah Blizzard.
