CCM Named Presenting Sponsor of ECHL All-Star Week
By Jack Briggs
In a press release dated September 18, 2012, the ECHL announced that CCM is the presenting sponsor of All-Star week. The skills event will take place January 22 and the all-star game on the 23rd in Loveland, Colorado at the Budweiser Event Center. From the official press release:
"CCM has been the exclusive supplier of hockey sticks, helmets, visors, gloves, pants, track suits and protective equipment for ECHL players the past eight seasons and has been partners of the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League for more than 10 years. CCM is the official sponsor of the ECHL Rookie of the Yearand Most Valuable Player awards.Reebok–CCM Hockey, a subsidiary of the adidas Group, is headquartered in Montreal. With operations in Canada, the United States and Europe, the Company is the world’s largest designer, manufacturer and marketer of hockey equipment and related apparel under two of the most recognized hockey brand names: Reebok Hockey and CCM Hockey. Reebok-CCM Hockey equips more professional hockey players than any other company, including superstars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Reebok-CCM Hockey is also the official outfitter of the National Hockey League, the Champions Hockey League, the American Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, the ECHL and several NCAA and national teams."
Two things I took from the paragraph. The first is Reebok-CCM is a subsidiary of adidas Group. I did not know the a in adidas was not capitialized. The second was the inclusion of Alex Ovechkin in the list of NHL players who wear Reebok. If you have been to the Behind The Mask superstore on Shea in Scottsdale, you will see a large cardboard standup of Ovi. Wearing Bauer gear. From helmet to skates. All Bauer. Is Ovi being paid by both companies, or did adidas include him in the press release and hope that people would not notice?
When a player signs an entry-level contract with the NHL, they have to (due to the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the ECHL and AHL) report to either a ECHL team or an AHL team. The AHL is generally considered to be a step up from the ECHL. The Coyotes ECHL affiliate is the Gwinnett Gladiators of the South Division of the Eastern Conference.