Hello, women’s hockey fans! It’s Lydia Murray from The Ice Garden, here to bring you this week’s edition of Hockey Friday. This week, I’ll be taking a look at all the partnerships and sponsors the PWHL has announced so far, so you can get a better idea of what companies are backing women’s hockey.
Before I dive into the monetary partnerships, I wanted to highlight one the PWHL entered with several other North American hockey leagues. Together, these leagues created the Respect Hockey Culture Center. Per the press release, it is “a centralized platform which provides access for players, coaches, and employees to confidentially receive mental health support services and to report on incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination.”
Founding Partners
Moving on to monetary partnerships, the PWHL has two Founding Partners. The first was the Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC). The CTC encompasses numerous brands beyond Canadian Tire, with subsidiaries Pro Hockey Life, SportChek, and Sports Experts also listed on the PWHL’s website as Official Partners. The CTC kicked off the partnership by sponsoring the inaugural PWHL draft.
More recently, the PWHL announced AIRSUPRA® as its first U.S. Founding Partner, and it is now the Official Pharmaceutical Brand of the PWHL for 2024. Shoulder patches on the three U.S. franchises’ jerseys headline this partnership, which also includes “multiple game activations and giveaways in U.S. markets throughout the season, along with in-arena signage, broadcast components, digital integration, and unique social media content across league and team platforms,” per the press release.
Inaugural Premier Partners
In addition to their founding partners, the PWHL has two Inaugural Premier Partners. Air Canada became the first on December 28, 2023, and they were also named the official airline of the original six teams. Air Canada also has jersey branding rights for PWHL Montréal, and they launched an ad campaign featuring girls hockey players alongside PWHL Montréal player Mélodie Daoust. Other aspects of the partnership are in the press release.
A few weeks later, the PWHL announced Woody Creek Distillers as their first U.S. Premier Partner on January 9. The distillery has also been designated the league’s official spirits. The partnership includes social media content such as “Walk-Ins Presented by Woody Creek Distillers,” plus multiple in-venue and broadcast components. More components of the partnership are in the press release.
Official Partners
Lastly, the PWHL has numerous Official Partners, including CCM and Bauer, who lead a large group of Official Equipment Suppliers. Earlier this week, the league also announced a multi-year partnership with Molson that kicked off with the “See My Name” campaign on March 8. Molson sponsored the space above the numbers on the backs of the jersey, which can be covered up if players have long hair depending on how they choose to wear it. In doing this, the player names were moved below the numbers, so Molson covered “its name so hers can be seen.” This was how the jerseys looked in the former Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), but it is just a pilot program in the PWHL for now. It was the first of many things Molson will be doing to elevate players.
Other Official Partners of the PWHL include:
In a strange occurrence, there are three other official partners listed on the PWHL website, but there has been no official announcement of them outside of that.
Finally, other partnerships that have received press releases on the PWHL’s website, but are not listed under the “partners” tab, include:
The PWHL is frequently unveiling more partnerships, so keep an eye on their website and social media channels for more.
Links
Take a look at how each PWHL team is stacking up through eight weeks of the season.
PWHL Power Rankings: Week 8 (02/26-03/03– The Ice Garden
Dan Rice and Allie Morse caught up with Tera Hofmann, a former pro goaltender, on this week’s episode of Around the Rink.
Around the Rink: Q&A with Tera Hofmann– The Ice Garden
In the international hockey world, there’s a new docuseries set to premier on March 9 about the U.S. Women’s National Team. The six-part series is called “Defending Their Ice.”
New U.S. Women’s National Team Docuseries ‘Defending Their Ice’ Opens With A Nod to the Past– USA Hockey
In NCAA news, women’s hockey playoffs are underway. Here’s a look at how things went down in the ECAC last weekend.
NCAA Roundup: ECAC Hockey Quaterfinals Version– The Ice Garden
Want more info on the NCAA playoffs? Take a look at what’s ahead in the WCHA, and a deeper look at the ECAC field.
NCAA Women’s Hockey: What to Watch, 2024 ECAC and WCHA Semifinals– The Victory Press
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