By StephanieLee Elliott
NHL Public Relations | NHLPA
New Partnership to Be Unveiled at Start of 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, April 20
WHITESTONE, N.Y. (April 16, 2024) – BODYARMOR Sports Drink today announced a new multi-year North American partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) to become the “Official Sports Drink” partner of the NHL and NHLPA. The BODYARMOR brand will be featured for the first time across the League on Saturday, April 20, the opening day of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As part of the agreement, BODYARMOR will hydrate NHL Players with its BODYARMOR Sports Drink on benches at games and practices, and off-the-ice in locker rooms and in training facilities. BODYARMOR’s logo and branding will also be featured across all hydration queues including coolers, squirt bottles and towels on NHL benches during NHL games.
“As an industry leader in sports hydration, BODYARMOR is a natural fit to bring on as our Official Sports Drink partner. This is a game-changing partnership,” said Kyle McMann, NHL Senior Vice President, Global Business Development. “The BODYARMOR team shares in our vision to grow the game, and beyond hydrating the best hockey Players in the world on and off the ice, BODYARMOR will be woven into core NHL fan engagement and youth initiatives along with a robust presence across our efforts to promote NHL prospects. We’re thrilled to welcome BODYARMOR to the NHL family and look forward to working together to engage our passionate fans.”
“The NHL is a marquee sporting property in North America and hockey is one of the fastest-growing team sports, so we couldn’t be more excited to partner with the League and the Players as their Official Sports Drink,” said Tom Gargiulo, CMO of BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition. “NHL Players demand the best in hydration, so we’re proud to be able to provide BODYARMOR Sports Drink options to some of the best athletes in the world.”
“We’re extremely excited to team-up with BODYARMOR, and their best-in-class hydration products, as the Official Sports Drink partner of the NHLPA and NHL,” said Jasmine Lew, NHLPA Senior Director, Business Operations & Associate Counsel. “The combination of the Players’ world-class skill on the ice, along with their ever-increasing audience and accessibility off of it, will be showcased through this new partnership. We are proud to be in a position to amplify BODYARMOR’s enthusiasm for growing the sport alongside the importance of hydration.”
Along with product placement, BODYARMOR, and the NHL and NHLPA will collaborate on exclusive custom content and key media integrations featuring top NHL Players – including BODYARMOR’s newest athlete partner and 2023 Hart Memorial Trophy winner (NHL regular-season MVP) and 2022-23 Ted Lindsay Award recipient (most outstanding player, as voted by NHLPA members), Connor McDavid.
“BODYARMOR is unlike anything else out on the market today, and that was a big reason why I joined the team,” said Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. “They provide the best in hydration and have a ton of momentum lately with expanding to Canada – so teaming up with the NHL and NHLPA was a perfect next step and I’m excited to be a part of it as the brand continues to grow.”
The wide-ranging partnership also extends the brand’s presence to the youth level as BODYARMOR will support and expose young fans in local communities to the sport of hockey via NHL STREET – the NHL’s official youth hockey league providing kids with the opportunity to learn and play hockey – and as a partner of the Under-18 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) youth tournament.
To celebrate the launch and further underscore the brand’s commitment to hockey, BODYARMOR is launching a new initiative, ‘ICE ON US’ – providing hockey fans with FREE entry to select ice hockey rinks across the United States and Canada to play ice hockey on Saturday, June 8. Hockey fans can learn more about ‘ICE ON US” at @DrinkBODYARMOR on Instagram.
BODYARMOR has been disrupting the sports drink category for over a decade by offering superior hydration through premium products and continuing to innovate and find new ways to reach new consumers. The partnership with the NHL and NHLPA comes on the heels of an exciting start to 2024, including the brand’s expansion into Canada – BODYARMOR’s first-ever international expansion.
About BODYARMOR Sports Drink
Leading the world of sports and active hydration with game-changing innovation, BODYARMOR Sports Nutrition (BASN) is on a quest to become #1 in Sports Hydration. Bringing together two iconic brands, BODYARMOR and POWERADE (respectively #2 and #3 in the sports drink category), BASN exudes an entrepreneurial culture backed by the resources and insights of one of the world’s most recognizable companies, The Coca-Cola Company, which fully acquired BODYARMOR in 2021. BODYARMOR has been disrupting the world of Sports Hydration since 2011, offering a premium sports drink packed with electrolytes and antioxidants that provides superior hydration. Low in sodium and high in potassium, BODYARMOR Sports Drink is made with coconut water and contains natural flavors and sweeteners and no colors or dyes from artificial sources. BODYARMOR’s extended portfolio includes BODYARMOR LYTE, a low-calorie, zero sugar added sports drink; BODYARMOR SportWater, a premium electrolyte-packed high alkaline water with ph9+; BODYARMOR Flash I.V., the brand’s first-ever rapid rehydration beverage; BODYARMOR Flash I.V. Hydration Boosters, single-serve powder sticks offering consumers the ability to refuel and replenish on-the-go; and most recently, BODYARMOR ZERO SUGAR, a premium sports drink with ZERO sugar and ZERO grams of carbohydrates with NO artificial sweeteners, flavors or dyes.
About the NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, consists of 32 Member Clubs. Each team roster reflects the League’s international makeup with players from more than 20 countries represented, all vying for the most cherished and historic trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup®. Every year, the NHL entertains more than 670 million fans in-arena and through its partners on national television and radio; more than 191 million followers – league, team and player accounts combined – across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; and more than 100 million fans online at NHL.com. The League broadcasts games in more than 160 countries and territories through its rightsholders including ESPN, TNT Sports and NHL Network in the U.S.; Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada; Viaplay in the Nordics, Baltics, Poland and the UK; MTV3 in Finland; Nova in Czech Republic and Slovakia; Sky Sports and ProSieben in Germany; MySports in Switzerland; and CCTV5+ in China; and reaches fans worldwide with games available to stream in every country. Fans are engaged across the League’s digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL® App; across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™; and on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring unprecedented access to player and team statistics as well as every regular-season and playoff game box score dating back to the League’s inception, powered by SAP. NHL Productions develops compelling original programming featuring unprecedented access to players, coaches and League and team personnel for distribution across the NHL’s social and digital platforms.
The NHL is committed to building healthy and vibrant communities using the sport of hockey to celebrate fans of every race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. The NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone® initiative reinforces that the official policy of the sport is one of inclusion on the ice, in locker rooms, boardrooms and stands. The NHL is expanding access and opportunity for people of all backgrounds and abilities to play hockey, fostering more inclusive environments and growing the game through a greater diversity of participants. To date, the NHL has invested more than $100 million in youth hockey and grassroots programs, with a commitment to invest an additional $5 million for diversity and inclusion programs over the next year.
About the National Hockey League Players’ Association
The National Hockey League Players’ Association, established in 1967, is a labour organization whose members are the players in the National Hockey League. The NHLPA works on behalf of the players in varied disciplines such as labour relations, product licensing, marketing, international hockey and community relations, all in furtherance of its efforts to promote its members and the game of hockey. In 1999, the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund was launched as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. Over the past 24 years, more than 80,000 deserving children in 34 countries have benefited from the players’ donations of hockey equipment. NHLPA Goals & Dreams has donated more than $25 million to grassroots hockey programs, making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.
COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS & NHLmedia.com
