Despite a wealth of young stars like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nial Yakapov, the Edmonton Oilers are now richer than they think.
Scotiabank announced a new six-year sponsorship deal with the NHL franchise on Monday that makes it the team’s official bank. This is the fifth such sponsorship for Scotiabank (its also the official bank for the Vancouver Canucks, Oilers, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators). It also has a partnership with the seventh Canadian franchise, the Montreal Canadiens.
To kick off the sponsorship, Scotiabank had Oilers captain Andrew Ference and assistant coach Steve Smith show up as surprise guest coaches at a practice for one of the 194 teams it sponsors in the Edmonton region on Tuesday.
The sponsorship includes several fan initiatives and community programs, including an in-game feature focused on community hockey and the Scotiabank Girls HockeyFest – a free hockey festival for girls 7-14 that offers them the opportunity to improve both their on-ice and life skills by learning from elite female athletes.
“We feel it’s important to build teamwork and camaraderie in both sport and community, and we truly believe that everyone needs a team,” said Scotiabank’s chief marketing officer, John Doig, in a release. “We’ve been able to see first-hand how much hockey means to people from coast-to-coast, particularly at the community level.”
Scotiabank has a long association with hockey at both the professional and grassroots level. It currently sponsors an estimated 5,000 minor hockey teams and leagues across the country.
