Mammoth name reveal latest ‘exhilarating’ experience for Utah

Mammoth finished ahead of Utah Hockey Club and Utah Outlaws.

"Every single night we were doing the voting, Mammoth just started running away with it," Ryan Smith said. "If it was horse racing, because I just watched the Kentucky Derby, it was like pulling away."

Ashley Smith said the reaction to the name when it was announced, including from the Mammoth players, elevated her level of excitement for what's ahead.

"I just think everyone can feel it," she said. "Watching that [hype] video [announcing the Mammoth], if we are not all just total Mammoth fans, right -- if we were given the vote again right now, no matter what everyone previously voted in this room, you would vote Mammoth."

Ryan Smith said that by the time of the press conference, which was 11 a.m. MT, three hours after the team officially revealed the name and everything associated with the branding of it, the rallying cry #TusksUp had been used more than 10,000 times on social media.

"It's going to be how we're known," Ryan Smith said. "This whole thing has come together, but this entire identity has been chosen by our community. I don't think people thought we would actually go for it, but we did and we landed in a spot that we're pretty excited about and we know that the community wanted, because they chose it."

Next for the Mammoth will be continuing to build the team into a Stanley Cup Playoff contender after Utah (38-31-13) finished seven points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference this season. On Monday, it moved up 10 spots in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery to get the No. 4 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. The first round will be held June 27 at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

Off the ice, there are bigger events being planned, with Bettman saying the NHL already has done a site visit for an outdoor game that could be played at Rice Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah football team.

"I believe that we can pull all the things together that need to be pulled together," Bettman said. "Just up the road a little bit, there's a nice stadium. We have to schedule these things in advance, but it's on our radar."

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