At Montreal’s Verdun Auditorium, the dream of taking part in skilled hockey is already a actuality.
However a brand new collaboration is hoping to encourage the subsequent technology lengthy earlier than they step onto the ice.
Toy large Mattel, by its iconic Barbie model, has partnered with CCM Hockey on a new apparel and hockey gear collection.
The aim is to assist younger women see themselves within the sport.
“I do know it’s sort of a stereotype in a way that women who’re extra sporty usually are not as girly. However this permits women to specific themselves,” mentioned Nicole Gosling, Montreal Victoire defender.
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“You see it with our sport day stroll in suits — so many women are exhibiting off their type and I feel that’s necessary.”
Girls’s hockey has seen a surge in visibility lately, particularly with the launch of the skilled ladies’s hockey league.
In Montreal, the Montreal Victoire are serving to lead that momentum. However manufacturers say rising the sport begins a lot earlier.
“Rising the sport is tremendous necessary for us at CCM hockey,” mentioned Catherine Ward, vice-president of Product Commercialization & Innovation at CCM Hockey. “So this was an initiative to be not as conventional, a bit extra inclusive, and convey new women into the sport.”
Consultants say pairing Canada’s nationwide sport with one of many world’s most recognizable manufacturers creates a strong crossover, one that might introduce hockey to a complete new technology.
‘Numerous women who’re type of on the sting of if they need to play or not, will simply really feel proper at residence — very relaxed — sporting that tools and feeling actually recognizable as a feminine,” mentioned Rocco Matteo, E3 Consulting managing accomplice.
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