Wayne Gretzky Partners with Northland Sticks and Aims to Make Hockey More Affordable

Wayne Gretzky and the Wayne Gretzky Foundation launch an initiative with Northland to make hockey more affordable for families with a new offering of sticks.

Wayne Gretzky first used Northland hockey sticks when he entered the NHL. Now, he and the Wayne Gretzky Foundation are partnering with Northland with the goal to make hockey more affordable for families in Canada and the United States.

Gretzky and Northland, owned by Roustan Hockey and W. Graeme Roustan, plan to tackle the issue of equipment costs and "assist families that otherwise cannot play the sport without a more affordable offering," according to a news release on Thursday. (Full disclosure: Roustan is also the owner and publisher of The Hockey News.)

"I hope this will assist parents in finding an economical way for all boys and girls to achieve their dreams," Gretzky said in a statement.

As for The Great One, he's not only partnering with the stick brand he used when he began his NHL career that cemented him as the consensus No. 1 hockey player of all-time, but his hometown of Brantford, Ont., is also where Northland sticks are currently manufactured.

Gretzky and Roustan began this partnership by offering hockey stick bundles at $99 for a pack of three youth and junior sticks and $109.99 for a pack of three senior sticks, which includes shipping to Canada and the continental United States, according to the announcement.