It's been obvious for months now that the Utah Hockey Club is leaning towards "Yeti" or "Yetis" as its permanent name starting next season, but there is now a roadblock in the way. This week, Salt Lake City-based news station KSL reported that the U.

The team filed trademark applications for the final six names — Utah Blizzard, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti as determined by online fan voting — with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last year.

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) and goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) hug after a win over the Minnesota Wild of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) St. Paul, Minn. • Utah Hockey Club has had this week circled on the calendar.

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At first glance, the Utah Hockey Club played a perfect game on Thursday. But the stats suggest there was lots of room for improvement.

Devan McConnell, the team’s director of high performance, is at the forefront of the effort. He uses sports science to maximize the performance of Utah’s skaters. It is an area of the game that has been further embraced by the NHL in recent years.