Even though many pro athletes make millions of dollars per season, the cream of the crop often receives numerous other perks as they are offered endorsements and sponsorships to sell and promote certain products. It’s common for these sports elites to be sponsored by various sportswear manufacturers and other companies as a way to promote their goods.
For instance, the best hockey, football, soccer, and basketball players can often be seen using or wearing a specific brand of sports gear in return for free equipment and extreme cash bonuses.
Is the recent number one NHL draft pick Connor Bedard sponsored already?
Yes, Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks, the NHL’s first-overall draft pick in 2023, is officially sponsored by Sherwood Hockey of Canada after recently inking an exclusive contract with the famous company.
Take a look at the Instagram post that Sherwood and Connor posted:
View this post on Instagram
Why Did Connor Bedard Choose Sherwood Hockey?
According to a press release issued by Sherwood, Bedard will use the company’s Sherwood Rekker Legend sticks and wear the company’s gloves. Sherwood’s Rekker Legend hockey stick appears to be a good choice for the young star as it comes with a low kick-point and an ergonomic tapered-shaft. This is ideal for skilled players with lightning-fast shot releases and quick hands. It suits his style of play which emphasizes play making and scoring.
Bedard was quoted in a press release as saying:
“I’m really excited to be joining the Sherwood team. Since I started working with Sherwood to develop hockey equipment that I felt could improve my game, I have been really impressed with their approach, expertise and dedication to building the best gear. They are doing a lot of cool things around the sport I love and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Do We Know How Much Money Sherwood Is Paying Bedard?
The amount of money Bedard will be receiving from Sherwood hasn’t been announced. However, we do know that his standard three-year, entry-level contract with Chicago will see him earn the maximum $950,000 allowed until the end of the 2025/26 NHL season. He will then become a restricted free agent on July 1st, 2026 when he’s just 20 years old. The $950,000 salary is based on signing bonuses of $95,000 and a base salary of $855,000.
However, Bedard also has the maximum performance bonuses of $3.5 million for his first three seasons written into his contract. If for some reason he should happen to play in the minor leagues during the time of the deal his annual salary will drop to $82,500 per season.
Do We Know How Long the Contract is?
The length of Connor Bedard’s endorsement deal with Sherwood Hockey wasn’t officially announced either, but it’s likely to cover his first three years in the NHL, the same as his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks.
What Other NHL Players are Sponsored by Sherwood Hockey?
Some of the other well-known NHL who Sherwood Hockey sponsors include:
- Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers
- William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings
- Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings
- Artturi Lehkonen of the Colorado Avalanche
- Connor Brown of the Edmonton Oilers
The company also sponsors female player Emily Clark of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHA) and Canadian Women’s National Team; Saroya Tinker of the Toronto Six of the women’s Premier Hockey Federation and Savannah Harmon of the PWHPA and US National Women’s Team.
Who Else Is Connor Bedard Sponsored By?
Just prior to the launch of the 2023/24 NHL season, Connor Bedard is known to have signed sponsorship deals with Lululemon, Hyundai, BioSteel and Holt Renfrew.
View this post on Instagram
Lululemon is a Canadian sportswear company which was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia. This makes sense for Bedard as he is from Vancouver.
BioSteel is a sports nutrition company based in Toronto, Ontario. Holt Renfrew is another Canadian business as it runs a chain of luxury department stores and is also headquartered in Toronto, while Hyundai is a South Korean manufacturer of automobiles.
How Does Sherwood Hockey Compare to Other Hockey Brands?
Sherwood Hockey was founded in Sherbrooke, Quebec in 1949 and also manufactured hockey gear under the Chimo brand name between 1977 and 1986. The company has been the NHL’s official puck supplier since 2008 after taking over the InGlasCo company. Sherwood is known for its line of hockey equipment which includes sticks, gloves, shin pads, shoulder pads and jockstraps Sherwood also manufactures a line of clothing which features t-shirts, compression garments, jackets, hoodies, socks, accessory bags and caps.
The Sherwood Hockey Company is now owned by the Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) which is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922, bought Sherwood in 2018 and two years later re-launched the famous brand. Sherwood collaborates with athletes as well as companies such as OVO, Staple Pigeon, Better Gift, and Disney.
Back in the days when hockey players actually skated around with a piece of lumber in their hands, Sherwood was regarded as one of the finest manufacturers of wood hockey sticks and equipment in the world. In fact, Sherwood was one of the last hockey manufacturers to produce wooden sticks in Canada, as the company still made its Feather-Lite sticks there in 2020.
However, when Wayne Gretzky burst upon the pro scene in the late 1970’s and began playing with Titan sticks and equipment and then switched to Easton, some of the older companies such as Sherwood, Bauer and CCM began to fall by the wayside.
While Bauer and CCM have rebounded greatly in popularity, Sherwood still isn’t as well known these days as many of its competitors, which include the Warrior, True, Graf, Vaughn, Jofa, Reebok and Under Armour brands. But by signing Bedard to its team, Sherwood will now have a step up when it comes to attracting younger hockey players to its brand.
Final Thoughts
Even though the 18-year-old Bedard had yet to step on the ice in and NHL game, he’s viewed as a generational talent and many companies are competing with each other to have him endorse their products. They see Bedard as being another Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid.
The odds look pretty good that they’ll be correct , but it’s now up to Bedard to prove them right and come through with the goods. As an ambassador of several companies, Bedard will have a lot of pressure on him to live up to expectations of him on and off the ice.
But from what the hockey world has seen of him so far this shouldn’t be much of a problem at all, especially after racking up 143 points in 57 games with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season on 71 goals and 72 assists to lead the league.
He also led Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championships and was named the most valuable player of the tournament. Time will tell, but fans should expect to see Bedard sign several other endorsement deals during his playing career.
Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.