CCM Hockey | |
Company type | Private |
Industry | Sporting goods |
Founded | 1899Weston, Ontario, Canada | in
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Marrouane Nabih (CEO) Mike Jaure (founder) |
Products |
|
Owner | The Hockey Company (1991–2004) Reebok (2004–2005) Adidas (2005–2017) Birch Hill Equity Partners (2017–) |
Parent | Sport Maska Inc. |
Website | ccmhockey.com |
CCM Hockey is a Canadian brand of ice hockey equipment owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners through its portfolio company Sport Maska Inc. The history of the brand traces to 1905, when Canada Cycle and Motor Limited, founded in 1899, began manufacturing hockey equipment as a secondary business. After Canada Cycle went bankrupt in 1982, it sold off its cycling and hockey divisions to separate owners. The hockey division was acquired by Sport Maska, a Quebec-based manufacturer of jerseys.
In 1991, Sport Maska was placed under the ownership of a new holding company called SLM International. By 1998, SLM's portfolio of brands had grown to include Canadien, CCM, Heaton, Jofa, Koho, and Titan, and in 1999 SLM changed its name to The Hockey Company. In 2004, Reebok purchased The Hockey Company, but a year later was itself purchased by Adidas. In 2017, Adidas sold all of its hockey operations and brand rights, which remained consolidated under Sport Maska, to the private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners.
CCM's range of products for hockey includes sticks, skates, helmets, shoulder pads, elbow pads, goaltender masks, goaltender pads, goaltender gloves, knee pads, throat collars, and team uniforms for the American Hockey League.
CCM was founded in 1899 after the collapse of the bicycle market. Established "when the operations of four major Canadian bicycle manufacturers amalgamated: H. A. Lozier, Massey-Harris, Goold, and Welland Vale Manufacturing." [1] CCM produced bicycles for many years in the area of Weston, Toronto, Ontario. They also briefly produced the Russell automobile.
By 1905, with saturation in the bicycle market, CCM began producing hockey skates using scrap steel that was left over at the plant from the manufacture of bicycles and automobiles, [2] and subsequently began manufacturing other hockey gear. [3]
In 1937, CCM acquired the Tackaberry brand made by a Manitoban named George Tackaberry and "Tacks" remained the company's signature skate until late 2006, when the Tacks line was replaced with the "Vector" line, then the "U+" line, and"RBZ" line, now the "Jetspeed" line. The "Tacks" line was later reintroduced in 2014.
CCM Inc. went bankrupt in 1982, and in January 1983 the company was sold in two parts. The bicycle division was sold to Pro-Cycle Inc. of St. Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec, while the hockey division was sold to Sport Maska Inc., also of Quebec. [4] Sport Maska been founded by Gérard Cóté in 1936 as G. C. Knitting Inc. In 1976, David Zunenshine (1929–2013) purchased the company and in 1979 renamed it after the Seigneurie de Maska.
The company entered the toy industry in 1988 through the acquisition of Coleco Industries and in 1990 when they acquired another financially troubled company, Buddy L Corp., a 70-year-old manufacturer of steel and plastic toy cars and trucks based in the United States. [5]
In 1991, Zunenshine created a Delaware holding company to consolidate his portfolio of businesses. The company was called SLM International Inc., an acronym for St. Lawrence Manufacturing. [5] SLM purchased Kevin Sports Toys International Inc. (the maker of the Wayne Gretzky NHL hockey game), Norca Industries Inc. (a plastic toy manufacturer of such products as swimming pools, sleds, and sandboxes), and Innova-Dex Sports Inc. of Montreal (a bicycle helmet manufacturer). [5]
SLM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1995, selling off Buddy L and the SLM Fitness equipment business. [5] The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1997 and reorganized. [5] The company acquired Montreal-based Sports Holdings, Inc, in 1998, and became the world's top producer of hockey merchandise [5] adding the brands Koho, Titan, Jofa, Canadien and Heaton. Titan and Canadien were well-known brands of wooden hockey sticks in the 1980s and 1990s, with Wayne Gretzky having used the Titan 2020 while playing with the Edmonton Oilers. Heaton was known for its goaltending equipment, which was used for years by Martin Brodeur as well as many other NHL goaltenders.
In 1999, SLM was renamed The Hockey Company. [5]
In June 2004, Reebok purchased The Hockey Company. [6] All brands other than the CCM brand were retired and Reebok introduced its own RBK Hockey gear, later to be rebranded as Reebok Hockey. [7] Reebok in turn was acquired by Adidas in 2005.
In the fall of 2013, Adidas created a new goaltending equipment line under the CCM brand name. [8] Beginning in 2015, Adidas began phasing out the Reebok name from their hockey equipment lines, by creating equivalent or similar product lines under the CCM name.
In 2017, Adidas sold its hockey operations, where were held by Sport Maska Inc., to a Canadian private equity firm, Birch Hill Equity Partners, for around $100 million. [9] In 2018 CCM hired a new CEO, Rick Blackshaw. Blackshaw told the media that "We have some nice momentum. We're seeking to make investment in product and product innovation and the brand. [10]
As of June 2021, the newly appointed CEO by Birch Hill Equity Partners is Marrouane Nabih. [11]
CCM manufactures a wide range of ice hockey equipment at all price points, from recreational to professional. One major rival is Bauer Hockey. CCM is one of the official licensees, sponsors, and on-ice suppliers of hockey equipment for the National Hockey League (NHL) until 2014. CCM has changed its logo multiple times but use all three.
NHL player George Parsons was forced to retire due to a career-ending eye injury in 1939. [12] He then became involved with CCM hockey, helping to develop helmets and facial protection which would be safer for players. By early 1976, CCM had developed a hockey helmet complete with eye and face shield and lower face protector that was both approved by the Canadian Standards Association and endorsed by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. [13]
Main endorsers of CCM players gear include Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrice Bergeron, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid.
In recent decades, CCM has been one of the most used goalie pads in the NHL. This popularity was in large part due to CCM's partnership with Quebec-based goalie equipment company Équipements de gardien de but (EGB) (name stylized as 'Lefevre on products and marketing materials), a family business that began making hockey equipment in the 1970s. [14] Some notable goalies that used CCM were Marc-André Fleury and Carey Price. During 2020 CCM and Lefebvre decided to end their partnership. Today CCM offers the Extreme Flex, Axis, and the youth YT Flex goalie products. [15]
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near the area in front of the net called the goal crease. Goaltenders tend to stay at or beyond the top of the crease to cut down on the angle of shots. In the modern age of goaltending there are two common styles, butterfly and hybrid. Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment to protect the body from direct impact.
A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring their use include ice hockey, lacrosse, inline hockey, field hockey, rink hockey, ringette, bandy, rinkball, broomball, and floorball. This article deals chiefly with the goal masks used in ice hockey.
A hockey helmet is worn by players of ice hockey, inline hockey, and bandy to help protect the head from potential injury when hit by the puck, sticks, skates, boards, other players, or the ice. The shell of a hockey helmet is generally made of a substance called vinyl nitrile that disperses force from the point of contact, while the liner may be made of either vinyl nitrile foam, expanded polypropylene foam, or other material to absorb the energy, to reduce the chances of concussion. Hockey helmets grip the head from inside by cupping the back of head, or the occipital protuberance. Helmet manufacturers will have a chart that relates their helmet sizes to head measurements. On older models, the helmet size is adjusted by loosening the screws on the side to slide the front portion forward or back.
Yann Joseph Richard Danis is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils. He played in the butterfly style of goaltending.
Bauer Hockey LLC is a manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates and apparel. Bauer produces helmets, gloves, sticks, skates, shin guards, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey jocks and compression underwear, as well as goalie equipment. Some of its equipment, such as its ice hockey skates, are also approved for use in the sport of ringette.
In ice hockey, the goaltender wears specialized goaltending equipment to protect themselves from the impact of the puck, and to assist in making saves. Ringette and rinkball goaltenders use the same equipment with some exceptions. This article deals chiefly with the sport of ice hockey.
Carey Price is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Considered one of the best goaltenders in the world during his career, Price is the winningest goaltender in Canadiens history as of the 2023–24 season, with 361 career wins.
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In ice hockey, butterfly style is a technique of goaltending distinguished by the goaltender guarding the lower part of the net by dropping to the knees to block attempts to score. The butterfly style derives its name from the resemblance of the spread goal pads and hands to a butterfly's wings. The butterfly style is contrasted with stand-up style, where most shots on a goal are stopped with the goaltender on his feet.
Cooperalls were a brand of ice hockey equipment manufactured by Cooper Canada. The name has since become a generic term for all hockey pants featuring a waist-to-ankle outer shell and the basic design remains popular in the sports of ringette and broomball but not ice hockey.
Reebok International Limited is an American footwear and clothing brand that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company which had been founded in 1895 in Bolton, Lancashire. From 1958 until 1986, the brand featured the flag of the United Kingdom in its logo to signify the origins of the company. It was bought by German sporting goods company Adidas in 2005, then sold to the United States–based Authentic Brands Group in 2021. The company's global headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts, in the Seaport District.
In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection as this is a sport where injuries are common, therefore, all players are encouraged to protect their bodies from bruises and severe fractures.
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Cooper Canada Ltd. was a sporting goods and fine leather goods manufacturer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In its heyday, the 1960s through to the 1980s, the company was Canada's leading producer of fine leathergoods, hockey, baseball and lacrosse equipment. The company pioneered team-coloured hockey equipment and the use of nylon, foam, and modern plastics in equipment manufacturing.
Jofa is a Swedish brand of ice hockey equipment owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners through its portfolio company Sport Maska Inc. The brand originated in the company Jonssons Fabriker AB, later renamed Jofa AB, which was founded in Malung, Sweden in 1926 by Niss Oskar Jonsson (1909–2002). Jofa was a pioneer in the development of the plastic helmet, which was worn most notably by Wayne Gretzky.
Karhu is a Dutch sports equipment company based on an originally Finnish brand, focused on running. Originally established as "Oy Urheilutarpeita" in 1916, it was renamed "Karhu" four years later. Karhu's line of products includes sneakers, t-shirts and jackets. In past years, Karhu also manufactured skis. In 2008, the company was sold to a group of investors organised under "Karhu Holding B.V.". The investors responsible for operations are Dutch/American businessman Huub Valkenburg and the Arese family from Italy. Karhu Holding B.V. is based in the Netherlands and is run by Emanuele Arese.
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David Ayres is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former head coach of the Port Perry Lumberjacks of the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
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Canadien is a Canadian brand of ice hockey equipment owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners through its portfolio company Sport Maska Inc. The Canadien brand was created in 1969 in Drummondville, Quebec and was manufactured originally by the company Les industries du hockey Canadien, Inc. The original company was sold in 1978, and since that time the Canadien brand has gone through numerous ownership changes. Since 1998 it has been part of a consolidated group of six hockey brands that comprises Canadien, CCM, Heaton, Jofa, Koho, and Titan. In 2017, Birch Hill Equity Partners of Toronto acquired the group of brands, which are held by the company Sport Maska. While CCM remains the flagship brand of the group, products made under the Canadien name appear occasionally.