North American ice hockey’s NHL, along with the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), has entered into a multi-year partnership with Canada-based sports nutrition company BioSteel.
The partnership entails BioSteel becoming the official hydration partner of the NHL and NHLPA, and will get underway during the 2022-23 NHL draft in Montreal, Canada. BioSteel is already the presenting sponsor of the event’s coverage on the domestic Rogers Sportsnet broadcaster.
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It marks BioSteel’s first partnership with a major North American sports league and will see the brand allocated “league-wide ringside marketing and product supply rights, retail activation rights, community engagement platforms, [and] player and marketing activation rights …”
Beginning next year, BioSteel products will be seen used during player hydration breaks during NHL fixtures, with the products’ branding to also be “featured on each bench, penalty box, and goal net.”
While this does expand BioSteel’s reach into the major US sports leagues, the brand already has a significant deal in place in the world of ice hockey, having become a commercial partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in late April this year.
BioSteel is now set to be a partner of the 2023 and 2024 World Championships in a deal brokered by Infront, which is the governing body’s commercial and marketing partner agency.
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By GlobalDataThe firm, according to an NHL release, will be able to activate brand programming all year round, including across the NHL’s marks logos, teams, and players.
The company will also be a presenting partner of a “marquee NHL social platform”, details of which will be announced at a later date.
In addition, BioSteel will take up another presenting partner position, for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award – given each year to the top collegiate men’s ice hockey player in the country.
Keith Wachtel, chief business officer and senior executive vice-president at the NHL, said: “BioSteel is an extremely motivated and engaged partner who is going to bring our sport to fans through their distribution channels like never before.
“This landmark deal includes a commitment to executing extensive retail activations and through all the League’s media platforms, and as such, the NHL, our players and our fans are going to benefit significantly from this partnership.”
Michael Cammalleri, BioSteel’s co-founder and co-chief executive, added: “To see this brand become the official hydration partner of the NHL is truly a full-circle moment, and we’re so proud to partner with the League and the Players’ Association to support players hydration both on and off the ice and to introduce a new generation of fans to our brand and products.”
Outside of ice hockey, the energy sports drink is also a commercial partner of the US Soccer governing body, and of NBA basketball’s LA Lakers.
It also has specific endorsement deals in place with several top-tier US athletes across a range of sports.
The NHL, meanwhile, entered into a partnership with Mitchell & Ness, the US-based sportswear lifestyle brand, last week.
Under the agreement, the brand is set to design and manufacture officially-licensed lifestyle apparel, headwear, and accessories for the NHL and all 32 of its teams.
