CCM drops Ovechkin and other Russian players from marketing

This just in from TSN's Rick Westhead, CCM Hockey has made the decision to drop superstar Alex Ovechkin and other Russian NHLers from its marketing materials in response to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

From Westhead:

CCM Hockey will stop using Washington Capitals star and other Russian NHL players in any global marketing initiatives, the company said late Monday.

CCM chief executive Marrouane Nabih said the equipment company made the decision following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

“We are very sad to witness, like the rest of the world, what is happening in Ukraine,” Nabih wrote in an email to TSN. “Although Mr. Ovechkin is not responsible for the Russian government’s actions, we took the decision to not use him (or any Russian player) on any global CCM communication at this point.”

- Rick Westhead

Wow... that's about as big of a statement as we've EVER seen from a hockey manufacturer before. It'll be interesting to see if CCM rival Bauer Hockey makes a similar decision with Bauer sponsored Russian players like Andrei Vasilevsky and Nikita Kucherov.