Nickname + Logo Review: We Have A New Professional Sports Team Re-Brand, The Utah Hockey Club Is Now.... Utah Mammoth (Singular)

John Rich5/07/2025 8:30 PM

The plural of Mammoth isn't Mammoth. It's Mammoths. Mammoth can alsolbe an adjective if it's used to describe something that is huge. Which sort of implies the Utah Hockey Club are naming themselves the Utah Huge. Which now that I've typed that out, I don't hate. I came across a whole mess of ridiculous adjectives and verbs used as team nicknames in my many years of umpiring travel baseball. I think there's 20 youth baseball organizations in Ohio alone who call themselves the "_____ Elite". But I've never seen anybody go with Huge. The Ohio Huge would have been a problem at the Nations Baseball 11u State Tournament.

But that's not what Utah is doing. Personally, when I saw the Utah Hockey Club was holding a fan vote to rename their team, and the vote came down to Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, and keeping the Utah Hockey Club as is, I wanted them to keep the Utah Hockey Club nickname, but adopt a mammoth-based logo. I think that's the sweet spot. Mammoth has awesome logo, mascot, and branding potential. But it doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue as a nickname. Which I'm sure is the reason behind them going with the singular noun "Mammoth" (the animal), as opposed the the plural "Mammoths". The '-ths' ending is awkward. Even "Utah Mammoth" is a bit clunky. But to their credit, the singular Mammoth is a very team oriented nickname. The 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies who take the ice for Utah's professional hockey team every night will not be 20 individual mammoths playing for selfish glory. Together they will be one. One heartbeat. One trunk. Two tusks. One mammoth.

The Mammoth's logo itself leaves a bit to be desired. The mountains on the back of the mammoth's head are a nice touch. It's a strong color scheme. But they just had to go with the stupid, way-too-popular italicized triangle shaped logo that so many professional sports franchises insist on using nowadays.

The NFL is the worst offender. The Patriots, Ravens, Buccaneers, Rams, Cardinals, Jaguars, Eagles, Lions, Broncos, Titans, Bills, Panthers, and Seahawks all do something similar.

A few of those logos are a little bit different. It might not be fair to throw the Bills in there. But you see what I mean. They all have that sleek, "fast looking" shape to them. The Mammoth logo fits that mold exactly. But the old school logos (i.e. Blackhawks, Penguins, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Islanders) are so much better. They might not feature a "fierce" animal, but they have so much more character. The Mammoth logo had potential to be great. But I'm sure after months and months of focus grouping their brand to death, the billion dollar consulting firm they hired objectively proved that the sleek sideways profile mammoth will net their franchise the greatest profits.

Regardless of my personal qualms with the logo, the nickname makes sense for Utah, a place where mammoths used to roam. However I was a bummed to learned that Utah was not dominated by Woolly Mammoth's, but rather its close relative, the larger (yet objectively inferior) Columbian Mammoth.

Obviously the Woolly Mammoth's would be preferable. But I'd still put the money line odds of Utah's mascot becoming a Woolly Mammoth named "Woolly The Mammoth" at -500. And they have an excellent emoji + hashtag combo which their social team is already working hard to establish in

Overall, I appreciate the direction the Utah Mammoth brand is headed. The mammoth is a top tier animal. Easily my favorite of the Ice Age. There should be at least one high profile sports team, whether it's collegiate or professional, who carry on the mammoth's legacy. And I can't think of a better fit for it than a brand new NHL hockey franchise in Utah. But if for whatever reason you're still not big on the name, maybe this graphic the Utah Mammoth's Twitter account tweeted out in a video explains the nickname will help sell you on it.