Bauer, CCM, Warrior: Behind the business of how NHL players choose their equipment (2024)

The NHL’s biggest stars put on a show every night. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby roofs backhand shots like only he can. Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils dances through defenses with the puck on a string. Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson crushes 100 mph one-timers from the left circle.

They’ve all perfected their craft, and they all use different tools. Crosby wields a CCM Ribcor Reckoner composite stick. Hughes prefers the Bauer Vapor HyperLite 2. Karlsson mans the blue line with a Warrior Alpha LX2 Pro in hand.

Hockey equipment is a big business, and the NHL plays a vital role. There’s a constant battle going on with the biggest manufacturers for market share among the best players in the world, and that landscape is constantly changing. Behind the curtain, in NHL equipment rooms and rinks across North America, a lot goes into each player choosing a brand of stick, skates, helmet, gloves and pants.

There are the heavyweights. Bauer and CCM combine to account for 77 percent of the sticks and 89 percent of the skates currently used by NHL players, according to GearGeek. Younger companies like True and Warrior have carved sizable market shares for themselves, thriving with specific pieces of equipment rather than the head-to-toe approach. There are also a handful of players using Sherwood sticks, and Ottawa Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic is the lone player clinging to his Easton helmet.

The reasons vary for each player’s equipment preferences. Some have stuck with a brand they’ve used since they were young. It was good enough to get them to the highest level, so why mess with what’s working? Others seek out the newest innovations in search of any edge they can get.

And for a select few, endorsem*nt deals make it an easy decision.

“When I came into the league, I wasn’t wearing Bauer, but when you sign the deal with them, you’ve got to wear their stuff, right?” Hughes said with a laugh. “But seriously, I really love their stuff. I like what they mean as a brand, and they have some really good people working there, too.”

It may come as a surprise how few NHL players are being paid by equipment manufacturers to wear their gear. Only the biggest stars have those types of deals. Crosby has partnered with CCM for years, appearing in commercials and partaking in various community events. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Toronto’s Auston Matthews also are front and center for CCM. Karlsson and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl are headliners for Warrior, while Hughes, Colorado’s Cale Makar, Boston’s David Pastrňák and U.S. women’s hockey team Olympic gold medalist Hilary Knight serve as faces of Bauer hockey.

“We look to create relationships with the athletes that make the impact both on and off the ice, because the players we promote help demonstrate and communicate our brand values, and there’s a lot of mutual pride in these relationships,” said Henry Breslin, senior manager of elite athlete services at Bauer. “We ask those players to give us a significant amount of their time to make really interesting content to reach our consumers.”

The rest of the players fall into two tiers. There are those who wear a bevy of brands, mixing and matching with whatever they prefer for each piece of equipment. Then there are players who choose one brand and wear their equipment from head to toe. Those players, Breslin said, are given spending credit at various clothing and athletic companies, depending on which brand they’re partnered with.

Ultimately, performance trumps all. The perks are nice, but players use the equipment they believe allows them to play their best. With multimillion-dollar contracts riding on performance, any edge they can gain is invaluable. Some are more averse to change than others, preferring to stick with the same equipment they’ve used since their youth hockey days.

“I grew up with Bauer skates, and it just feels good for me,” Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov said. “I don’t want to just try to change it when it feels good.”

The American Hockey League has had a long-standing deal that has outfitted all of the league’s players in CCM equipment for nearly two decades. The league extended the deal for another five years in 2021, ensuring CCM will remain the exclusive supplier of sticks, helmets, gloves, pants and jerseys.

Their hope is that many will stick with the product after graduating to the NHL. There are certainly players who just go with the flow.

“I’ve never been a big equipment guy growing up. My dad would just get me the cheapest thing,” New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. “In college, we used Warrior, but I used a CCM stick, and then once I got into the NHL, I just started using Bauer. I just kind of like the feel of it. I used it before I got to college. I just wanted to go back to it.”

Fox has tried several brands, and he’s not alone. The number of players using each brand is in constant flux. As of Tuesday, there are exactly 280 NHL players using both CCM and Bauer sticks, with 130 using Warrior, 30 using True and seven using Sherwood.

Those numbers can shift daily, and the biggest drivers of those changes are equipment representatives for each company. Their job is to service the players currently using their gear and convince others to make the switch.

Each company divides the league into regions, with a different rep working for the teams in that area. Eric Kleineck, an equipment representative for NHL and AHL teams in the Southwest now in his fourth season with Bauer, takes care of the Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Because each team has only two goalies, the goalie reps are able to handle one conference each.

Equipment reps spend nearly half the season on the road, bouncing from city to city to visit each team. They prioritize the players already wearing their company’s gear, checking in to make sure they’re happy. They meet with team equipment managers to check inventory and make necessary orders, then chat with each player to talk through how the gear is performing and see if they’d like to make changes.

The reps are always accompanied by a giant bag of hockey gear, filled with the latest models.

“I’ll bring my gear in on a visit, set it up and give them the opportunity to ask me any questions,” explained Tim Boron, goalie equipment representative for Bauer. “If they want to sample gear, I can make them gear. If they do want to try something, I’m there for them to talk day to day to tinker with what they like or try something different, whether that’s a different lacing structure on a glove, a different pad stiffness or a different boot angle to accommodate them. Whatever will make them feel most comfortable.”

Manufacturers unveil new models to the public each summer when they hit retail stores, but equipment reps get them early so they can give the pros the first look. As the new models leak into the NHL and AHL markets, they create buzz around the products before a public launch.

Most players prefer not to make major changes midseason, but sometimes a goal-scoring slump can push a player toward an equipment change.

“If guys are in a slump, they might want to tweak their pattern or their flex point,” Kleineck said. “It’s kind of an ongoing thing, but during the season, they’re usually pretty dialed. We try to be problem solvers, if there’s an issue, to make sure the guys are performing at the highest level. As much as you can, you try to take the equipment mental side out of it so they can just go play hockey.”

John Kirk has worked in the industry for 35 years and spent the last 14 as a pro equipment rep for Warrior. He’s seen it all, including plenty of slump-busting equipment changes. Kirk worked with Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron for years in St. Louis.

When Perron ran into his old friend last season in Detroit, Kirk said the reunion was pleasant. After scoring only two goals in his last 29 games, Perron switched to a Warrior stick in late March. Two games after that, he scored three goals against Pittsburgh.

“Perron goes, ‘Hey Kirky, look how long it took you to get me into a Warrior. I finally did, and I got a hat trick!’” Kirk recalled. “It’s great when that happens, when you have a player who goes into (your gear) and lightning strikes for him.”

Every equipment recommendation to a player comes with a lot of thought. Reps simply aren’t handing players sticks until one feels right.

“I constantly watch hockey games and practices when I’m visiting a team, looking for things,” said Shawn Mamane, pro service rep for CCM. “A player can come off the ice, and I can say, ‘Hey, you know what, I think I should make you a sample (of a stick) with a stiffer blade. I’ve been noticing you’re spraying the net a little bit high and right when you’re coming down the wing and taking hard shots.’

“They’re like, ‘How did you know that?’ Well, That’s part of my job. It’s really cool to be a part of this equation.”

In building relationships, Mamane also values the importance of educating players about the equipment and how vital it is for them to find the right fit.

“If the player doesn’t truly understand what he’s using, he’s not going to be able to explain what he likes and what he doesn’t like,” Mamane explained. “Being able to create that one-on-one relationship with a player so we understand their needs, and, most importantly, educating them so they can be a part of the process … once they’re properly educated, they can communicate with the right words what they need, what they don’t need, and what feels off.”

Some players can be very particular with their gear. Some wear skates until they fall apart. Some prefer the new skate feel and switch them out often. Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault changes skates every three or four games and goes through 20 to 25 pairs in a single season.

Some players have different stick flexes they use throughout the season. On the second night of a back-to-back, they’ll use a more flexible stick to counteract any fatigue. If they aren’t feeling the amount of pop they want on shots, they’ll switch to a stick with a stiffer flex.

When the reps visit players currently using their gear, they also build relationships with other players. That way, if they consider switching things up, they know who to call.

“They smooched me a long time ago,” Karlsson joked when asked why he uses Warrior equipment. “I’ve had a great relationship with the guys at Warrior ever since I moved to them a long time ago. They have a great group of people. I know the guy who makes the sticks; I met him my first year. Like I said, I think we have a good relationship. They’ve always been very accommodating with my needs and what I want to change.”

The equipment itself is important. However, the company’s relationship with players, as well as its ability to make changes quickly when called upon, plays an equally vital role in recruiting new players.

“Sometimes, we’re almost like a psychologist for them,” Kleineck said. “If they’re having issues, we talk through it. They might say something feels different because it’s a different graphic, and we’ve tested the product and it tests the same. It’s just kind of a mental thing, and we just have to chat through it.”

When a gear change haspositive results, word of mouth can be an equipment rep’s best friend.

“I consider myself a very good salesman,” Kirk said, “but the best salesman is a guy in that (dressing) room who loves our gear and talks to other players about it.”

Equipment reps are serious about their responsibility to make sure the players have exactly what they need to play their best — and that’s not always easy. Boron recalled a night last season where he personally made changes to new skates for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Boron sat in the basem*nt of his home in Minneapolis with the skates and a screwdriver. He prepped the skates for Vasilevskiy to wear, then shipped them to Denver using next-day air, where they were picked up by Lightning staff. That night, Vasilevskiy wore the skates against the Avalanche.

“It was kind of funny for me to have the skate in my basem*nt with my family and my dogs, and the next day, (Vasilevskiy) is wearing it in an NHL game on TV,” Boron said.

Whatever it takes to keep the players happy. The more who choose to wear a particular company’s gear, the more young athletes watching at home may want to use the same stick or skates as their favorite player. NHL teams pay for every stick, glove and skate used on the ice, but that’s only a fraction of the company’s sales.

They’re far more concerned with the retail gains that can be made from outfitting the world’s best.

(Illustration: Sam Richardson / The Athletic; photos: Maddie Meyer and Ethan Miller / Getty Images)