It’s been two weeks since former Michigan Wolverines forward Mike Cammalleri was announced as the National Hockey League’s new trade partner for the 2022 draft in Montreal.
Co-founder of BioSteel Sports Nutrition in 2009, Cammalleri met with the media to discuss the company’s multi-million dollar, multi-year contract to replace Gatorade as the league’s official hydration drink.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Cammalleri said BioSteel has “come full circle” from the days he developed the idea while playing 15 years in the NHL from 2003 to 2018 and while attending Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1999 to 2002.
“I was training with some of the world’s leading experts in strength and nutrition, starting with my days at the University of Michigan,” Cammalleri said. “One of the topics we discussed was looking at what you consumed. We looked out for certain products with harmful sugars, food coloring or food coloring, artificial ingredients and preservatives.
“It got to the point in my career where I was ordering so many different things and mixing them up. It wasn’t a viable solution, so I reached out to my childhood best friend (John Celenza, now co-CEO of BioSteel with Cammalleri).) and he put five things on the table and said: “Why don’t we put it in a bottle?”
“We went through a year of research and development and then I started training with Matt Nichol, who had had similar challenges as the strength coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. We brought him on as a partner and we had healthier hydration and clean for professional athletes and ultimately the everyday consumer.”
Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mathieu Schneider isn’t surprised Cammalleri made the transition to entrepreneur from high-scoring forward with the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers.
Now a special assistant to NHL Players’ Association executive director Schneider, who assisted on Cammalleri’s first NHL goal with the Kings in 2002 and rented his California home to Cammalleri during his second stint in Los Angeles, he was in Montreal to announce the deal between BioSteel, the NHL and the NHLPA.
“I’m very proud of what he (Cammalleri) has been able to do off the ice and what he’s been able to do while on the ice,” Schneider said. “He’s a super role model for our young guys to continually develop as a person and understand that hockey is a big part of your life, but you still have a lot of life to live after you retire from the game. Mike understood that a very early age.
“He’s a very thoughtful guy who’s not afraid to take risks. When we were on the (NHL) competition committee, he always had outside-the-box ideas and wasn’t afraid to share them. very intentional, so he didn’t it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him that this venture has been so successful.”
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The grandson of Holocaust survivors on his mother’s side of the family, Cammalleri was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, north of downtown Toronto. After playing his last two years of junior Ontario hockey with the Bramalea Blues (191 points in 87 games), he recorded 131 points in 110 games with coach Red Berenson’s Wolverines, advancing to the Frozen Four in two of his three seasons, losing in the semifinals to Boston College in 2001 and Minnesota in 2002.
“The University of Michigan is a very special place for me,” said Cammalleri, who studied management and communications. “I made some lifelong friendships and learned lessons that would be applicable in the business world. I truly believe that our life is just the sum of our relationships and how we treat each other.
“One caveat of my time at Michigan was that my scholarship was endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Connie Kinnear. Tom, at the time, was the dean of entrepreneurial studies at the business school, and he brought me at a venture capital meeting. when I was 18. It was nice to be exposed to business at a young age.”
A second-round pick of the Kings while attending Michigan in 2001, the 5-9, 185-pound Cammalleri recorded 642 points in 906 regular season NHL games with 32 points in 32 playoff games. In 2010, he tied the Canadiens playoff scoring record set by Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur with seven goals in seven games.
When Cammalleri faced the Red Wings during the team’s 25-year playoff run with Stanley Cup titles in 2002 and 2008, he recalled “the frustration of chasing the puck all night” and watching the seven-time winner of the Norris Trophy Nicklas Lidstrom “always grabbing his stick”. on the disc”.
“When I was playing, I was shy with my company,” Cammalleri said. “I didn’t want people to know about my involvement. Now, I don’t have the same conflict of interest. It’s okay for people to know about my role in the company. My comfort level is better. As I get older in life, I hope to make valuable contributions.”
Starting with the 2022-23 NHL season, BioSteel products will appear on every bench, penalty box and goal. In addition, BioSteel will have a year-round platform for branded programming featuring NHL brands, logos, teams and players, including the combine and scouting draft. They will also be the presenting partner for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to the nation’s top NCAA player.
Based in Toronto, Cammalleri was in Michigan this week to meet with local BioSteel distributor John Shouneyia, a former Wolverines teammate and owner of Value Center Marketplaces in Clinton Township and in Madison Heights and Johnny Pomodores Fresh Market in Farmington Hills.
“It’s a big cash-flow business,” Cammalleri, 40, said. “We had to fund the business, raise capital, get partners and try to find growth and a route to market. It’s an industry dominated by some pretty big players that everyone knows. There are a lot of challenges but also opportunities. It’s been a fun ride.” .
