Molson/PWHL
PWHL player name plates, normally found on the back of the jersey just below the shoulders, will "now be moved down to the bottom of the jersey in an effort to provide more visible recognition of the players themselves,” according to Mike Ganter of the TORONTO SUN. It is the brainchild of Molson, who is “dipping [its] toe in the PWHL sponsorship family.” Too often those name plates are “obscured by the hair of the player,” and in moving their own sponsorship into that area and moving the player's name to a more visible area, Molson “ostensibly is covering its own name so the players’ can be seen.” Molson & Economy Brands Marketing Dir Kara Fitzpatrick said, “I played competitive hockey growing up, so on a personal level, this is one of the most impactful and more personally tied projects that I’ve worked on. ... We’ll happily hide our logo to elevate players the way that they should be.” PWHL Toronto F Natalie Spooner is “one of those women whose name in the traditional across-the-shoulders area is often difficult to see with her long ponytail covering it up” at times. The league’s leading goal scorer is “one of the most recognizable faces” and sees “great value in trying something like this.” Spooner: “I think it’s pretty cool. ... The main thing has always be ‘Oh, we wear cages,’ but this is something that is so simple that maybe we didn’t think of this and Molson thought of it and brought this ‘See your name’ initiative to us.’” Ganter noted this is just the “first in what Molson hopes to be a series of initiatives as the two groups move forward with their multi-year sponsorship” (TORONTO SUN, 3/4).
