At the end of May, projected top three picks Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, and Jonathan Drouin all signed equipment deals with Reebok-CCM. Had Jones stayed in the top 3, it would have been 3 out of 5 years Reebok-CCM swept the top 3. The practice of signing players before their draft date is now common within the industry, let’s take a look at recent top picks and where they all signed.
2012-Post-draft, top pick Nail Yakupov signed with Warrior, while ex-teammate and third overall pick Alex Galchenyuk is with Reebok-CCM.
2011-The year prior saw a big sweep by Reebok-CCM, landing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog, Jonathan Huberdeau, Adam Larsson, and Sean Couturier before the draft.
2010-As with their career paths, Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin went down different routes with their equipment deals. Seguin to Bauer and Hall to Easton prior to their draft date.
2009-This was another year the top 3 picks were locked by Reebok-CCM, signing John Tavares, Victor Hedman, and Matt Duchene.
Companies aren’t just limited to pre-draft equipment deals the year players are available for the draft, 15-year old phenom Connor McDavid has already signed with Reebok-CCM (he isn’t eligible until 2015). He is the youngest to sign with the company (Sidney was 17).
Rick Nash is believed to be the first player to sign an equipment deal while still in junior, signing with TPS Hockey back in 2001.
Reebok-CCM is the exclusive supplier of all equipment in the CHL except for sticks and skates where other companies can jump in. This gives the company an advantage in landing top CHL players who’ve already sported the equipment for a year or two.
So what do these deals usually mean for these players? They get decked out head-to-toe in their company’s gear, including their own blade pattern, sometimes an apparel line (like with a Crosby or Ovechkin), but also a nice six-figure paycheck. (Source: TSN)