Gatorade’s “Win From Within” mantra applies to all athletes–professional, amateur, recreational. And in Canada this rings–or is that rinks?–particularly true in the national sport of ice hockey. With this in mind, sledge hockey athletes unquestionably exemplify the “Win From Within” ethos.
Sledge hockey (known as sled hockey in the United States) is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center.
Thanks to a partnership with the NHL, NHLPA and Hockey Canada, Gatorade had access to a number of NHL players, more importantly its brand representative, NHL superstar Sidney Crosby. On August 18th, 2014, Gatorade invited the sledge hockey team, The Cruisers, many of them Paralympic athletes who performed at Sochi that year, to be filmed for a Gatorade documentary about the incredible athleticism and skill exhibited in their sport. What they didn’t know is that also invited was a group of NHL Players to play a surprise game of sledge hockey with them. The players are some of the NHL’s best: Crosby, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, Logan Couture, Ryan Miller, Nathan MacKinnon. These stars all put their rivalries aside to give these sledge athletes the game of a lifetime.
The result is this “Gatorade Sledge Hockey” documentary short directed by Lionel Coleman via Toronto production company Wilfrid Park for agency TBWAToronto. (Coleman recently took on U.S. representation via The Cavalry Productions). The piece captures an inspiring, emotionally moving game and interaction among hockey brethren.
