SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club is just weeks away from opening its doors, but even the team admits it’s no secret what fans are most interested in about the franchise.
“I knew that would probably be the first question,” team president Chris Armstrong said at media day on Wednesday.
The question? What will the team ultimately be called?
Since the team’s arrival in the spring, local fans have had a say in choosing the nickname through a lengthy voting process.
“It’s exciting that the fans in the state kind of decide for themselves, right? So we’re excited to see what they choose, and no matter what the name of the team is, I’ll be proud to wear that jersey,” said left wing Lawson Crouse.
Rick Bowmer/AP
The The last six finalists were announced in the summerincluding the current name, along with Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom and Yeti.
It seems that there is already an answer.
“We knew exactly what our fans would have liked to call us,” Armstrong admitted, “and now it’s about exploring all the possibilities to give our fans exactly that.”
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But even the team’s top brass are keeping quiet about the new nickname.
“This is above my pay grade,” joked general manager Bill Armstrong, who is not related to Chris. “I’ll tell you one thing, and I’ve said this from the beginning, is I love the way they did it because it gives the fans, the eight-year-old kids, the opportunity to vote online for the name of the team, and I love that.”
Rick Bowmer/AP
Chris Armstrong said the whole process was complicated from a legal and intellectual property perspective and the team was in the process of determining what was feasible.
While the state is still waiting to learn the team’s true nickname, the players already showed tremendous pride in representing Utah as they participated in the Rookie Showcase outside of Los Angeles last weekend.
“We put on our white jerseys. Utah’s simple crest is on the front and it was spectacular for us to put that jersey on,” said Bill Armstrong. “It meant a lot to our players to be the first to play in this rookie tournament. But just the simplicity of the jersey and the colors are spectacular for us.”
“The way it is, it’s almost perfect for us.”
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