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Secret Deodorant to sponsor PWHPA

By Peter Odney , 10/22/20, 4:15PM CDT

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A pledge of $1 million is the largest corporate sponsorship made in the history of professional women's hockey in North America.


New Brighton, Minn. native Samantha Donovan will skate for the PWHPS's Minnesota Region.

Five North American regional teams to benefit from new sponsorship deal

In the middle of a pandemic, Secret has stepped up to the plate - make that took the ice. 

The deodorant company, whose products are manufactured by corporate giant Procter and Gamble, has committed to a sponsorship worth $1 million with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. It is the largest financial commitment by a corporate entity in the history of professional women’s hockey in North America. 

“With the visibility, (Secret’s sponsorship) will help create a sustainable professional women’s hockey league, and (help) give all the female hockey players an equal opportunity to play the sport we love,” Minnesota Region Assistant Coach Mira Jalosuo said in a text message Thursday.  

The PWHPA has consolidated into five regions for the six upcoming showcases, including teams based in Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto, in addition to American teams based in Minnesota and New Hampshire. The set of showcases will be called the Secret Dream Gap Tour. 

“As a brand committed to empowering and emboldening women, we can’t stand by and see gender equality unravel. Secret® proudly stands with the PWHPA and its players to fight for a new professional league to ensure all players – regardless of gender – are given the same chance and support to play,” Secret Senior Brand Director Lisa Reid said in the PWHPA’s press release, published on Oct. 22. 

“Hockey is Canada’s sport, and this issue is both symbolic and pervasive. Countless women are being told they don’t deserve the same opportunities as men; tackling professional hockey equity is our first, but not last, fight. The PWHPA and its players represent the top athletes in the sport who deserve to have the same opportunities as the men,” Reid continued in the press release. 

This year’s PWHPA rosters feature 38 Olympians across the five teams, with eight hailing from the Minnesota region. Among those, five are Minnesota natives, including goaltender Maddie Rooney, defender Lee Stecklein, and forwards Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, and Kelly Pannek. 

For all five PWHPA rosters for the upcoming year, click here.  


Stillwater girls varsity head coach and Minnesota Region assistant Mira Jalosuo.

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