CCM will be an official equipment supplier of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, according to an announcement on Friday afternoon.
The company will supply helmets, protective gear, skates and sticks to players beginning in January 2024 when the puck drops for the league’s inaugural season. CCM is the second official PWHL partner to be announced following Canadian Tire Corporation, which announced a multiyear agreement last month.
“We are so proud to be partnering with the PWHL,” CCM CEO Marrouane Nabih said in a press release. “Growing and making a more inclusive game of hockey is a key priority for CCM and we are excited to share our passion in this way. Working with the talented individuals of the PWHL to support women’s hockey is true to who we are, and to what we want to support as a brand and as a voice in hockey. We look forward to the upcoming season and to building upon our relationship for the long term.”
Players in the PWHL are expected to have multiple equipment options; Bauer will be one of the league’s official partners and equipment suppliers, according to a league source. Players will also be able to sign their own individual endorsement deals and players with existing deals can wear that equipment.
“The PWHL is proud to partner with CCM, a brand that has a rich history of equipping the world’s best hockey players while simultaneously helping promote and grow the game we love,” said Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s senior VP of hockey operations. “With CCM as an official supplier, PWHL athletes will benefit from access to CCM’s high-quality and innovative line of sticks, skates and equipment when they hit the ice for our inaugural season.”
CCM was the official equipment supplier of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association for the 2022-23 season and stepped up to pay Brianna Decker $25,000 after the former U.S. Olympic team member appeared to post the best time in the premier passing drill at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game. A fan clocked Decker in at 1:06 while she demonstrated the event, which beat Leon Draisaitl (1:09) — the eventual winner who took home the $25,000 prize.
We’re gonna #PayDecker. pic.twitter.com/TbWSD7NAQP
— CCM Hockey (@CCMHockey) January 26, 2019
Along with NHL stars like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, CCM endorses several women’s hockey players, including Sarah Nurse (Toronto), Erin Ambrose (Montreal), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota) and PWHL No. 1 pick Taylor Heise (Minnesota). CCM also developed hockey’s first head-to-toe line of equipment built for women, according to Catherine Ward, the company’s vice president of product commercialization and innovation.
This won’t be the first time Bauer is involved in women’s hockey, either; it was a supplier for the PWHPA prior to the 2022-23 season, provided support to the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League and has a roster of players highlighted by stars Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin. Meanwhile, Warrior Hockey was the equipment sponsor for the PWHL predecessor, the Premier Hockey Federation.
(Photo: Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
